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Red poster with white text.
A poster produced in the 1980s that reads, "How could Roh Tae-woo, the mastermind of the Kwangju Massacre, become president?" "[Minjuhwa undong p'osŭt'ŏ, chŏndan]," Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.

The Posters of the Minjung Movement in the 1980s

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(The following is a post by Elli Kim, Korean reference librarian in the Asian Division)

When reflecting on South Korea’s most notable achievements, one often considers its remarkable economic development—commonly referred to as the “Miracle on the Han River”—and the Korean Wave (Hallyu), which has brought various facets of Korean culture, including cuisine, dramas, films, and music to the cutting-edge of global culture. But an even more significant accomplishment is that South Korea distinguished itself as one of the few newly independent countries to successfully transition to a parliamentary democracy in 1987. After four decades of authoritarian rule, South Korea’s shift to democracy in 1987 was the culmination of a resilient struggle since the April Revolution of 1960.

Central to this movement was the concept of the minjung (民衆 “common people”) as a driving force for historical progress toward democracy in South Korea. While representing a broader alliance of students, intellectuals, religious leaders, workers, and politicians, minjung became the embodiment of the counterhegemonic resistance against authoritarian regimes. Thus, the South Korean democratization movement is synonymously referred to as the minjung movement.

Five color posters from 1980s South Korea.
South Korean Democratization Movement, 1960s-1980s Research Guide.

Within the Library of Congress, the Asian Division’s Korean collection holds unique materials related to the Minjuhwa Undong South Korean Democratization Movement (SKDM). Of particular interest is a grouping of posters from the 1980s that are invaluable historical artifacts from this period of the minjung movement. These posters not only played a pivotal role in amplifying collective action of that era, but they also offer rare insights into how the movement’s agenda, objectives, and strategies unfolded within South Korea’s complex geopolitical landscape during the Cold War.

This blog post will delve into the role of the undongkwŏn (“counterhegemonic force”)—those who were the creators of these posters—and explore the key issues they addressed, including minjung, minjok (民族ethnic-nation”), anti-Americanism, class conflict, and the pursuit of unification during the democratization movement in the 1980s.

 

Undongkwŏn, the Creators of the Minjuhwa Undong Posters

A flier with black text and an illustration showing an armed soldier protecting an election ballot box from an individual who is a caricature in the 1980s
“Mojip konggo.” [1980s], [Minjuhwa undong p’osŭt’ŏ, chŏndan], Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.

During the zenith of South Korea’s democratization movement in 1986-87, numerous minjuhwa undong posters were displayed in public spaces to inform and mobilize citizens, despite the military regime’s strict surveillance. These posters were primarily produced by the undongkwŏn (運動圈, literary meaning “sphere of the movement”), which means those who were leaders and participants in the democratization movement. While students, intellectuals, and dissident politicians had been leading the democratization efforts since the April Revolution of 1960, it was in the 1980s that the term undongkwŏn gained a specific connotation referring to the practitioners of the movement. Historian Namhee Lee defined the undongkwŏn as a “counterhegemonic sphere,” emphasizing their role in leading and fighting against authoritarian regimes. The posters in the SKDM collection visually capture how the undongkwŏn articulated their objectives of democratization and communicated with the broader social groups.

 

Kwangju Uprising

A poster with a white background and green text from the 1980s
“Haksal wŏnhyung No T’ae-u ka taet’ongnyŏng i toel su ŏpta chŭkkak sat’oe hara.” [1980s], from the [Minjuhwa undong p’osŭt’ŏ, chŏndan], Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.
The democratic struggles of the 1980s are a continuation of various democratization movements against the Park Chung Hee military regime and the 1980 Kwangju Uprising. This pivotal democratic movement took place when citizens of Kwangju rose up against General Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup of December 12, 1979. Chun’s military regime brutally suppressed the movement, and hundreds of people were killed or severely injured. The Kwangju Massacre significantly catalyzed the June Uprising of 1987. Posters during 1986-87 frequently referenced the Kwangju Uprising, labeling figures like Roh Tae-woo (1932–2021), who played a major role in the Massacre, as the “butcher of Kwangju”; as reflected in the above poster, which reads, “The mastermind of the [Kwangju] Massacre, Roh Tae-woo, cannot become president. Resign immediately.” Using bold, simple, and eye-catching visuals created with stenciling techniques, these posters conveyed powerful anti-military regime messages that authorities deemed subversive. Many participants in the undongkwŏn operated through underground networks, making handmade production of materials a safer choice. Stenciling was widely utilized to express the voice of the democratic movement while maintaining anonymity during the production process.

 

Ideological Divergence in the Undongkwŏn

A poster with a black background and white text with a woodcut illustration of a man holding a black cloth with white text on it in the 1980s.
Tan’gyŏl kwa chŏnjin ŭl wihan ch’ŏngnyŏn ch’onghak 2-hakki chin’gunje. [1980s], from the [Minjuhwa undong p’osŭt’ŏ, chŏndan], Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.
In the 1980s, South Korean university campuses became hubs for disseminating posters that conveyed the message of anti-American sentiment and the ideas of minjung and minjok. These ideological platforms in the democratization movement are an outcome of the major intellectual discourse of the time, the so called “South Korean Social Formation Debate” (sahoe kusŏngch’e nonjaeng). While reflecting on the failure of the Kwangju Uprising, intellectuals and students rigorously discussed the fundamental contradictions they found in South Korean society. This intellectual discourse focused on two pivotal questions: Was South Korea a capitalist society or a semi-colonial state? And what constituted the fundamental contradiction within South Korean society?

This discourse not only shaped the ideological landscape, but it also set different objectives and strategies of the democratization movement. By the late 1980s, two distinctive groups among others in the undongkwŏn came to the forefront: National Liberation (NL) and People’s Democracy (PD). The NL group prioritized national liberation and the reunification of the Korean peninsula, understanding the division of Korea as the principal contradiction stemming from South Korea’s semi-colonial status under U.S. imperialism. Anti-Americanism was widely embraced in the movement. Eventually, the NL movement divided into the Chuch’esa sangp’a (主體思想派, abbr. Chusap’a) group, which officially embraced North Korea’s Chuch’e ideology, and the non-Chusap’a group, which distanced itself from Chuch’e ideology. The NL group actively focused on the unification movement, often adopting 1948 as a symbolic starting year for their reunification aspirations.

In contrast, the PD group, inspired by global Marxist-Leninist movements, perceived South Korea as a fully capitalist society and prioritized class struggle against global capitalism as the fundamental task. This divergence in priorities—national liberation versus class struggle—led to distinct strategies within the democratization movement, with each group’s ideological vision shaping their unique approaches toward achieving democracy.

 

Taejabo (Big-Character Posters)

A big-character poster, hand-written, with a white background and black, red and blue text in the 1980s.
On left: Front of Nonghak yŏn’gye wa ch’usu hwaltong. Center: Back of Nonghak yŏn’gye wa ch’usu hwaltong. 1987; Right: [Sŏngju nongmin chiwŏn t’ujaeng]. [1980s]. [Minjuhwa Undong taejabo], Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.
The NL and PD groups within the undongkwŏn extended their activities beyond university campuses into factories and broader society. While the PD group emphasized grassroots organizing, labor movements, and democratic reforms, NL-aligned student unions defined South Korean society as feudalistic and emphasized solidarity with farmers (nongwhal). The poster above, known as a taejabo (大字報, big-character poster) was widely used during the democratization period. Taejabo served as a powerful tool to educate the public about democracy, critique the military regime, and mobilize action. This particular taejabo above provides a detailed account of how students traveled to Sŏngju in Northern Kyŏngsang Province to assist farmers with their harvests while promoting the unification movement and political struggle against the military regime. Different from other types of posters, which emphasize simplicity and precision, taejabo had the advantage of conveying detailed information on a large surface, allowing for the direct communication of complex ideas to the public, especially when the media was controlled by authorities. Additionally, they were highly effective in providing updates on rapidly changing situations keeping people informed as events unfolded. Thus, the undongkwŏn utilized taejabo to bridge their political ideology with broader social groups, including students, farmers, workers, and everyday people.

 

Minjung Art

On the left: A white poster with black and red text featuring a woodcut illustration of a man holding a bamboo pole with a flag in the 1980s. On the right: A white poster with black text and a woodcut illustration in blue of two persons embracing in the shape of a map of Korea used in 1988.
Left: “Mangwŏl Myoji ch’ambae mit chŏn’guk ch’ŏngnyŏn haksaeng taedongje.” Right: “Uri nŭn kyŏlk’o tul il su ŏpta.” 1988. [Minjuhwa undong p’osŭt’ŏ, chŏndan]. Korean Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.
The integration of Minjung Art inspired by the minjung movement is a defining feature of 1980s democratization movement posters. Departing from Western modernist styles like monochrome and abstract art, starting in the 1970s, Minjung artists believed that art should actively engage with social issues and participate in the democratization movement. Despite the military regime’s repression, these artists created woodblock prints and large banners at protest sites, using their work to critique history and reality. They sought to expose the realities of Korean society through realism and to reinterpret traditional Korean motifs in modern art.

For instance, the poster on the right above depicts what looks like two farmers or workers from North and South Korea intertwined to break the barbed wire fence—a symbol of the division of the peninsula. This woodblock print expresses the aspiration for reunification. The poster on the left illustrates a person wearing traditional Korean clothing and a mask, dancing with flags advocating unification, evoking the spirit of traditional Korean performance. These posters consolidated national identity and solidarity of the minjung by combining artistic expression with the Minjung Art movement.

 

Conclusion
In an era of media restrictions and censorship, democratization movement posters functioned as a powerful grassroots medium. They helped consolidate the ideas and objectives of democratization movements. The posters in the SKDM collection offer an intriguing way to understand how the undongkwŏn addressed their agenda and spread its objectives to the minjung.

The Minjuhwa Undong collection is part of the Korean Rare Book Collection and can be accessed in accordance with the Asian Reading Room’s rare book policy. For reference inquiries or appointments, please contact Korean reference staff via the Ask a Librarian service. For more details about this collection as a whole, please consult this research guide dedicated to materials on the South Korean Democratization Movement.

 

Further Reading

Cho, Hŭi-yŏn and Pak Hyŏn-ch’ae. Hanʼguk sahoe kusŏngchʻe nonjaeng. 4 vols. Sŏul Tʻŭkpyŏlsi: Chuksan, 1989.

Lee, Namhee. The Making of Minjung: Democracy and the Politics of Representation in South Korea. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007.

Park, Sunyoung, ed. Revisiting Minjung: New Perspectives on the Cultural History of 1980s South Korea. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2019.

Sŏ, Yu-ri. It’al kwa pyŏni ŭi misul: 1980-yŏndae minjung misul ŭi yŏksa. Seoul: Somyŏng Ch’ulp’an, 2022.

 


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