Gwangju: the City of Democracy

Gwangju, in the southwest of South Korea, is admittedly hard to sell as a place to live or even visit. The economically stagnant former capital of South Jeolla Province, it doesn’t have glistening shopping malls, stunning architecture or expansive green spaces. Mixing drab residential areas with industrial shops and standard motels, it’s a metropolitan city of 1.5 million without a metropolitan feel. But Gwangju has May 18. When you’re in the city, you can’t escape the phrase May 18, or “5.18