@article{ART003393995},
author={Park Kwang Myeong},
title={Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-},
journal={The Review of Korean History},
issn={1225-133X},
year={2026},
number={163},
pages={401-436}
TY - JOUR
AU - Park Kwang Myeong
TI - Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-
JO - The Review of Korean History
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 163
PB - The Historical Society Of Korea
SP - 401
EP - 436
SN - 1225-133X
AB - This article introduces records concerning the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the trial of Kim Dae-jung contained in the Human Rights Country Files, 1980–1981 of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs(HA), preserved at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration(NARA). It first examines the declassification and disclosure process of the records, the circumstances of their collection in Korea, and the composition and document types of the fifteen folders concerning Korea. Based on the item-level catalog prepared for this study, the collected records comprise 1,745 items totaling 3,149 pages and include diplomatic telegrams, memoranda, reports, letters, newspaper articles, and materials produced by foreign religious and human rights organizations. The article then examines selected records, including Korea Monitoring Group situation reports produced immediately after the outbreak of the May 18 events, Korea Communique and materials compiled by the Japanese Catholic Council for Justice and Peace, and documents concerning the Kim Dae-jung trial, including observation reports, The Trial of Kim Dae Jung prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser, and a related Action Memorandum. A comparison of these records with the 127 documents included in Volumes 5–7 of the source collection published by the May 18 Archives identified 36 identical unique documents. The significance of the collection, therefore, lies not simply in the discovery of previously unknown documents, but in revealing how records produced by different actors were collected and arranged within the State Department’s human rights country files and how information concerning political and human rights issues in Korea in 1980 was reported and reviewed within the Department.
KW - May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement;Kim Dae-jung Trial;National Archives and Records Administration(NARA);Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs(HA);U.S. Department of State;Declassification
DO -
UR -
ER -
Park Kwang Myeong. (2026). Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-. The Review of Korean History, 163, 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. 2026, "Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-", The Review of Korean History, no.163, pp.401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong "Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-" The Review of Korean History 163 pp.401-436 (2026) : 401.
Park Kwang Myeong. Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-. 2026; 163 : 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. "Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-" The Review of Korean History no.163(2026) : 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-. The Review of Korean History, 163, 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-. The Review of Korean History. 2026; 163 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-. 2026; 163 : 401-436.
Park Kwang Myeong. "Records: How the Dead Save the Living -Documents on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the U.S. National Archives-" The Review of Korean History no.163(2026) : 401-436.
