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Outlook: My secret photos of South Korea's fight for democracy

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28/03/2023 GMT

My secret photos of South Korea's fight for democracy

BBC World Service - Outlook, My secret photos of South Korea's fight for democracy

Na Kyung-taek risked his life to document a brutal military crackdown in South Korea

Photojournalist Na Kyung-taek found himself at the centre of a massive wave of student-led protests, erupting from the city of Gwangju in South Korea in 1980.

Na Kyung-taek was working as a photojournalist for a South Korean newspaper, when he found himself at the centre of a mass protest in the city of Gwangju on 18th May, 1980. Also known as the Gwangju Uprising, students and civilians were demonstrating against martial law, imposed after a military coup in 1979 led by General Chun Doo-hwan. The whole country was under strict media censorship, but Kyung-taek risked his life to take images of the uprising that would go on to be seen around the world. According to government official figures the military crackdown left more than 200 people dead or missing. His photos of the protests were published in two books, Gwangju in May and When the Day Comes in May.

Kimi Werner grew up on the tropical Hawaiian island of Maui and began learning to dive when she was six years old. She's a champion freediver - which means she's trained for years to dive without any breathing apparatus. It's something that most people just can't do - Kimi can hold her breath for over four minutes. She's also a trained chef and mostly dives to catch sea creatures to feed herself and her friends. She told Outlook about some of her underwater adventures. This interview was first broadcast in April 2016.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Deiniol Buxton and Lina Chang 

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: South Korean soldier beats a civilian with a club during the protests in Gwangju. Credit: Na Kyung-taek)

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