hankyoreh

On May 22, 1987, a young girl is lifted up by her mother during a protest in Seoul's Myeongdong District, wearing a t-shirt that says, "I want to live in a country free of lies." The rally was part of a nationwide escalation of protests against the government following the January 14, 1987 death of Park Jong-cheol, who died after being tortured during interrogation by police, and the May 9 injury of Yonsei University student Lee Han-yeol, who was struck with a tear gas canister fired by riot police while at a rally. Lee would die from his wounds a month later.

On May 26 at Seoul's Gwang Bridge - now along the Cheonggye Stream walking area - supporters of the pro-democracy campaign, being waged under the title of the "National Peace March," wave the Korean flag out of a car, cheered on by passersby.

Protesting the torture of student activist Park Jong-cheol at the hands of police, students at Seoul's Ewha Womans University [sic] wear masks to protect themselves from tear gas at a May 26, 1987 rally, as they hurl rocks at riot police from the university's gate.

A common sight: Seoul citizens wearing plastic bags over their heads to protect themselves from the tear gas that seemed to be constantly lingering in the air during the spring of 1987.

On July 5, Lee Han-yeol, after a month in critical condition at Seoul's Severance Hospital, died of his injuries. Two days later, the streets in front of the hospital filled with angry protesters, who were gassed by riot police.

A mother, carrying the Korean flag, looks down at her young child at a pro-democracy gathering at Seoul's Myeong-dong on June 18.

On June 13, a group of nuns show their solidarity with the student protesters at a rally in Myeong-dong.

Buddhist monks, shadowed by riot police, pray at a sit-in protest on May 23.