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🇰🇷 South Korea /Health & Science

The “Field Hospital of May 18”: Doctors and Nurses’ Desperate Fight

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Jeonnam National University Hospital served as a major treatment center for wounded civilians during the May 18 Gwangju uprising.
  • Doctors and nurses treated a surge of patients, including gunshot victims, while citizens formed long lines to donate blood.
  • The hospital stands along the 21.5-kilometer “Sacrifice Course” of Gwangju’s May Road, which traces sites connected to the uprising.

Jeonnam National University Hospital is remembered as the “Field Hospital of May 18,” where doctors and nurses fought through the 1980 Gwangju uprising to save as many wounded civilians as possible. Patients filled the emergency room and spilled into the corridors, while severe cases arrived with injuries normally associated with a battlefield.

The hospital is the third historic site on the Sacrifice Course of May Road, a 21.5-kilometer route that begins at the former provincial government complex and passes through Namdong Cathedral, Chosun University, the Baegopun Bridge area, and sites on the city’s outskirts before returning to central Gwangju. A memorial marker stands near the hospital’s rear entrance, where the emergency room and mortuary operated during the uprising.

This hospital was the field hospital of the Gwangju uprising, where it treated injured citizens and citizen soldiers with dedication and showed the true character of medical professionals.

· Jeonnam National University Hospital memorial markerThe inscription describes the hospital’s role during the uprising.

The largest waves of patients arrived on May 21, when martial-law troops opened fire in front of the provincial government building, and May 27, when troops re-entered the building. Lightly wounded people generally went to Gwangju Christian Hospital and the former Red Cross Hospital. More seriously wounded civilians were taken to Jeonnam National University Hospital, while military casualties went to Chosun University Hospital.

At first, many patients arrived bruised, torn or unconscious without even knowing why they had been beaten. After the shooting on the 21st, gunshot victims began pouring in.

· Noh Seong-manNoh was an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the hospital during the uprising.

Accounts published by hospital doctors and nurses describe the change from patients arriving bruised, torn or unconscious to a flood of gunshot victims after the May 21 shooting. One doctor recalled seeing head, chest, abdominal, spinal and limb wounds. Staff also treated patients whose identities could not be confirmed, using temporary labels based on their clothing or where they were found.

The hospital’s memories also include the civilians who lined up to donate blood. Students and other residents waited outside, with some crying and asking that their blood be used to save the injured. The medical workers’ recollections present that volunteer response alongside the hospital’s exhausting effort to treat the wounded and identify the dead.

The line of people winding from the blood bank entrance to the hospital’s main gate is still vivid in my mind. Many of them were young students.

· Seo Sun-palSeo was a clinical pathology resident who recalled the civilian blood donations.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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