Protesters and suppression forces confront each other on Geumnam-ro in Gwangju on May 17, 1980. Black and white converted to color. 

Gu Bon-ki (left), former co-representative of the Candlelight Action, and Kim Min-woong, standing representative of the Candlelight Action, who officially declared his candidacy as an independent for the Gwangsan-gu parliamentary by-election in Gwangju. [Photo=Yonhap News] 

Why should we so resolutely oppose the inclusion of the 'May 18th Democratic Uprising' in the preamble of the Constitution? The most perfect and horrific audio-visual teaching material for this fundamental question has appeared in the Gwangju Gwangsan-gu by-election arena.

"The US Conspiracy of the Gwangju Massacre"

This bizarre speech, uttered by a white-haired man who took the microphone at candidate Gu Bon-ki's rally, provides the answer. The one who confidently recited this absurd anti-American conspiracy theory was none other than Kim Min-woong. He is the elder brother of Kim Min-seok, the Prime Minister, who ranks second in South Korea's power hierarchy, and a figure who accurately represents the reality of the left-wing camp.

This single photograph encapsulates how the Korean left has taken history hostage and how it is being corrupted. For them, May 18th is not a historical tragedy steeped in the tears and blood of innocent citizens or an achievement of democratization. It is merely a convenient host for legally injecting the outdated and sick 'anti-American worldview' that they have blindly believed since the Juche faction era of the 1980s, into the public in 2026.

If the state tolerates and permits them to agitate with the flimsy, third-rate conspiracy theory of 'US behind the scenes' as if it were fact, the logical defense line of history will be completely collapsed at that moment. Let's think about it logically. If the 'North Korean intervention theory' is punishable for distorting the spirit of Gwangju, then this preposterous 'US forces massacre conspiracy theory' should also be severely punished by the same standard, shouldn't it?

Even as both extreme conspiracy theories prey on and devour May 18th, Gwangju itself remains silent, unable to firmly oppose this mentally ill historical distortion. Instead, external left-wing organizations, protected by power, monopolize Gwangju and treat these individuals as heroes.

As long as they try to hide under the eaves of the Constitution by using May 18th as their ideological shield, the inclusion of May 18th in the Constitution will not be a defense of liberal democracy, but a fatal act of self-harm that grants a free pass to anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories in the nation's highest norms.

Most importantly, what truly makes us nauseous is the chilling duplicity and routine hypocrisy of these grand anti-American warriors.

Look into the lives of those who stir up public anger by shouting about a US massacre conspiracy while holding a microphone. While they verbally denounce US imperialism, they are anxious to send their own precious children to study in the heart of that terrible killer nation(?), the United States, by any means possible.

They greedily suck the sweet milk of capitalism while denouncing American tyranny in front of the public, exhibiting perfect cognitive dissonance. They celebrate their children's studies in the US and their employment in American companies as family glory, yet they transform into anti-American warriors the moment they step into a public square – this is their sickening true face.

Unless Gwangju rids itself of these old student activist parasites, May 18th will forever be consumed as their political fuel. Discussing the inclusion in the Constitution under a regime that tolerates the Prime Minister's brother spreading anti-American conspiracy theories in broad daylight is not a commemoration of noble history, but a surrender of the national constitution to a fraud of old ideology. 

◆ Writer Park Ju-hyun

Composer, music director, columnist, and essayist. She actively expresses her opinions on political, current affairs, and social issues on Facebook, gaining the sympathy of many. She published the essay collection 'Crossing the Stormy Sea'.