The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed, citizens, against soldiers and police of the Korean Government. The event is sometimes called 5·18, in reference to the date the movement began. The uprising is also known as the Gwangju Democratization Struggle, the May 18 Democratic Uprising, or the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.
The uprising began when Gwangju citizens took up arms, by raiding local police stations and armouries, after local Chonnam University students who were demonstrating against the martial law government were fired upon, killed, raped and beaten by government troops. Armed citizens were able to take control of large sections of the city, as government forces retreated, before soldiers re-entered the city and put down the uprising. During the course of the uprising, Korean Government reports measured 170 people killed, but other estimates measure 600 to 2,300 people killed.