Insane weekend II, part 1: Gwangju

In May, I did a crazy weekend trip out to Fukuoka and Hiroshima, Japan (1, 2, 3) and the DMZ (1) back-to-back in less than 4 days. I said to myself that I probably won't travel so insanely again until I leave Korea.

Yeah, right.

My school's classes finished on Wednesday, and I unexpectedly had Thursday off. Friday was already a day off, and I had already planned to go to Busan for the weekend with a friend. So now I have an extra day off, and my time in South Korea is limited. What did I do?

I decided to do another insane traveling weekend.

One of the places I was already considering was Gwangju (광주/光州), in the southwestern part of South Korea. Mainly, it's for historical interest; Gwangju was the site of a major political uprising and massacre during the country's period under military rule. One of the pivotal sites, the former Jeollanam provincial building, was being scheduled for demolition so it seemed a bit important to visit it now rather than later.

I woke up bright and early on Thursday morning. I live near Seoul Station, which serves most train routes going to other parts of the country, but in this particular case, the KTX bullet train to Gwangju started at Yongsan Station. I had to make an extra journey, but Yongsan isn't too far away. The trip to Gwangju takes a bit longer than usual because after Daejeon, the high-speed rails stop and the train goes at regular speed. After what felt like forever, I arrived at Gwangju Station.

Gwangju Station in all its glory.

Unlike some of the other KTX terminal stations, Gwangju Station is not connected to the subway system. I had to go on foot for a while to reach one, but in my stupidity during the planning phase, I didn't realize that there's another KTX station in Gwangju that DOES connect the subway. Whoops.

The Gwangju Subway has an interesting payment system. In Seoul, we have T-Money cards, which are contact-less smart cards that you use. One-time only tickets in Seoul work exactly like the cards, except you return them to a machine at the end to get your 500 KRW (50 cents CAD) card deposit back. Gwangju's system gives you a small POG-like token. It has a sensor inside, which you scan like a smart card. When you exit, you don't scan it. Instead, you insert the token in a slot, and the ticket machine swallows up the token and lets you out.

Views of a Gwangju Subway car. It's narrower and feels more cramped than Seoul's subway cars, but are a lot fancier.

My first stop was the former Jeollanam provincial offices. This building was the site of a lot of bloodshed and violence during South Korea's period under military rule; these uprisings eventually led to the democratization of South Korea, which is a source of pride among residents of Gwangju. One of the people involved in the uprisings was Kim Dae-Jung, who eventually became one of the most influential presidents of South Korea and unfortunately passed away on the day I arrived at Incheon airport last year. (Canadians: he was like the Koreans' version of Pierre Trudeau, except more activist-like.)

The former Jeollanam provincial offices, site of much bloodshed and violence during the Gwangju democratization uprisings in 1980.

When Gwangju became a self-governing metropolitan city, the capital of Jeollanam province (which Gwangju used to be a part of) moved out and the building was vacated. In the photo above, you can see demolition fences around the building, and much of the area looks like a construction zone at the moment. The fate of the building is uncertain, but in any case, my timing was impeccable.

After having lunch nearby, I went out to the 518 Memorial Park, which is dedicated to the victims and heroes of the uprisings (nicknamed "518" because of the uprising's starting date, hence the name of the park).

The 518 Memorial Park.

Afterwards, I decided to check out the World Cup Stadium. Officially named Guus Hiddink Stadium, it was one of the important venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea. It was named after the Dutch-born head coach of the South Korean team during that tournament. It was a bit far, and I decided to catch a taxi back rather than waste more time.

Gwangju World Cup Stadium, or Guus Hiddink Stadium.

Near Gwangju Station is another important site of the Gwangju uprisings, Chonnam National University. It was at this university that the uprisings started in the first place, and it shows. Throughout the university are structures dedicated to the uprisings as well as reminders of how democracy is something worth fighting for in the face of injustice.

Path near the entrance to Chonnam National University.

A plaque commemorating the university's role in the Gwangju uprisings.

A statue dedicated to the Gwangju uprisings.

After seeing the university, I headed back to Gwangju Station and started making my way home on the KTX... and got ready to head off across South Korea again the very next day, this time to Busan for two days.

---

Coming next:

To Busan, day 1
To Busan, day 2