Terry Anderson, reporter who covered the Gwangju Uprising, passes away

Update: A tribute to him by a friend, which includes video of interviews with him, can be watched here.

I was saddened today to learn of the passing of journalist Terry Anderson. I certainly didn't know him well at all, but I corresponded with him a few times, most recently in December. 

Anderson is best known for having been held hostage in Lebanon for seven years until being freed in 1991. But I've always known of him for his coverage for the Associated Press of the Gwangju Uprising. His account of that experience can be read here. In it, despite the years spent as a hostage, he wrote:

Covering the Kwangju rebellion in 1980 was one of the most difficult, exhausting and emotionally demanding assignments I have ever had. Though a professional triumph for the Associated Press and for me personally, it left me with emotional and psychological scars that took years to heal.

He noted in an interview done for an MBC documentary in 2004 something not apparent in the photos of the time - the fact that it was May, it was hot, and the smell of death was everywhere, something he said "will never leave me." 

He also faced danger during the retaking of the Provincial Capital:

As the light grew, I saw two paratroopers on top of the building, just 15 or 20 yards away. Taking my camera, I cautiously crouched at the window, trying to take a picture. Both men spotted me, then opened up with their M16s. The first bullet struck inches from my ear, and I threw myself into a corner, where Ahn and another correspondent were already crouched. When the soldiers began shooting through the thin, lathe-and-plaster wall, we dove frantically out of the room into the hallway. We had believed the government knew this hotel was occupied by foreign press, but either no one had told the soldiers or they didn't care.

A number of journalists were in the Tourist Hotel with him, including CBS's Bruce Dunning, who wrote in the book Korea Witness, 

I also remember spending one night on the floor of a yogwan near the city center as small arms fire echoed sporadically. Apparently I remarked dryly, "This is a hell of a way for a grown man to make a living." I didn't really remember saying that until years later when the AP's Terry Anderson, who shared the yogwan floor that night, told me that many times during his years as a hostage in Lebanon he had thought of that remark.

When I was working on the book Called By Another Name with David Dolinger, David had wanted a section of the book to focus on his fellow PCV Tim Warnberg, so we reached out to a number of people who knew him, including his sister, Roxanne, who we did a lengthy interview with. One other person I was able to contact was Terry Anderson, who wrote of Tim,

I remember him well. He was generous with his time and his knowledge, and helped us any way he could to tell the story of the Kwangju uprising. I remember he put me in touch with a Korean pastor who generously allowed us to use his car - our only means other than bicycle to get around. The pastor, by the way, was appalled at the way we abused the vehicle, but the AP paid for the repairs. Tim was a kind young man who was justly angry at what he saw. We all liked him. 

Tim's sister shared with us a letter Tim had written to Terry on March 20, 1992, three months after his release from captivity in Lebanon:

Dear Terry, 

My name is Tim Warnberg and I met you in Kwangju, South Korea nearly twelve years ago when I was a Peace Corp volunteer and you were reporting on the massacre in that city. My co-worker was Judi Chamberlin and you interviewed me for the Associated Press and taped the interview as well. Robin Moyer, a photographer for Time magazine was also there. I am so happy that after all these years I now at long last have the opportunity to recontact you. I have kept your business card on my desk and thought about you each time there was some snippet of news about the hostages, hoping for your safe release soon. Before going any further, I want to warmly welcome you back to your freedom and your family. Your recent article about your captivity and subsequent release was very moving. Both before and after your forced confinement I have thought about your compassion and kindness when you were reporting on the horror which we witnessed in Kwangju. Your recent poetry and writing reveal that you still have not become jaded and have not been consumed by anger and bitterness but, even in the most depressing of circumstances, have tried to maintain your objectivity and your obvious understanding of and affection for people.

After my Peace Corps experience, I stayed in Korea, studying and working until 1985. I returned to the U.S. in 1986 and became a graduate student in Korean literature and language at the University of Hawaii. In 1987 I wrote an article, enclosed with this letter, titled The Kwangiu Uprising: An Inside View, which was published in the Journal of Korean Studies. I received my Master’s and was working on my PhD when I got the devastating news that I have AIDS. I returned home to my family in Minnesota and have somewhat improved but the disease is slowly taking its toll. I have thought back to the events in my life which have profoundly affected me and I think of those chaotic days in Kwangju. Not only was I affected by the horror of the massacre and shocked at what humans can do to each other, but, in the midst of catastrophe, I was also impressed with your courage and determination. As a reporter you endeavored to get the truth out, yet you never lost sight of the fact that the stories you were writing were about real people with real emotions. Although people may think that all reporters have these qualities, I realized then that this is definitely not the case. 

I hesitate to intrude further on the precious time to on you are spending with your family but my own situation forces me to be bold: I am wondering if the tape you made of my interview in Kwangju in May 1980 still exists. I don’t know what your policy is concerning the tapes you made when you were covering stories but, if possible, I would like to get a copy so that I can listen to my first-hand account of the massacre. If you have taped over the interview or lost the tape I will certainly understand. If that is the case, please accept this letter as a welcome back to “the world” and a wish for much good fortune in your future endeavors.

Sincerely, 

Tim Warnberg

I sent this on to Anderson, who replied, "thanks so much for preserving it and sending it to me. It brought his memory back so clearly." 

Anderson was also involved, along with LA Times reporter Sam Jameson, in an anonymous interview with USFK head General Wickham in August 1980 in which Wickham conceded that the US would likely support Chun if he came to power "legitimately." Chun, in an interview with Henry Scott-Stokes a couple days later, outed Wickham as the unnamed official, and Wickham was recalled to the US. You can almost hear the glee in Chun's voice after outing Wickham in the NYT article:

''That's very flattering,'' General Chon said of the reported remarks of the American. ''I can use support any time. It could also mean that I'm a little more liked, more popular, that's pleasing, but now rules will have to be obeyed.''

More on that interview and its fallout can be read in this post. (I should note that I've heard today through the grapevine the memory of someone present at the Chun interview who stated that Anderson gave Henry Scott-Stokes a copy of the tape with the recording of Wickham's interview on it, so that post may have to be amended.) Of the interview, Sam Jameson wrote that 

I felt that Wickham in the interview was merely predicting what Washington would do when it realized it had no choice but to accept Chun, not that he was acting as a "patron" of Chun. To the contrary, I thought Wickham's remarks showed that he was disgusted with Chun and upset with the political situation that Chun had created with his mutiny of December 12, 1979, and the palace coup of May 1980.

In December last year I wrote to Terry Anderson to ask him what he remembered of Wickham's demeanor during the interview in regard to his feelings about Chun. He replied,

It has been more than 40 years since that interview, but given the controversy around it, I remember it well. I think you are correct in your analysis. It was clear that Wickham did not like Chun or the situation Chun had put him in. [...] The fact that his distaste was even noticeable showed its strength. Good catch. Rgds. Terry Anderson

I'm glad I wrote to him when I did. 

Rest in Peace.

Traces of the Independence Movement and echoes of development in Seodaemun

Next weekend, on Saturday, April 20, I will be leading a cultural excursion for RAS Korea titled "Traces of the Independence Movement and Echoes of Development in Seodaemun," during which we will visit preserved houses and museums connected to the independence movement, as well as Donuimun Museum Village. 

For more information, and to register, see here.

Excursion summary:

In the Seodaemun area stand a number of preserved houses connected to the independence movement that have been converted to museums. As well, the area has been the site of redevelopment projects in recent years, which led to the preservation of one neighborhood which was renamed Donuimun Museum Village. We will visit these museums and learn about independence movement figures and Seodaemun’s history while also examining the ways in which the past has been preserved in the area.

We will set off from Dongnimun Station and visit the recently-opened National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government, which overlooks Seodaemun Prison. After learning about overseas attempts to gain Korea’s independence, we will walk past the Independence gate to Dilkusha, the former home of Albert and Mary Taylor. Albert Taylor was involved in mining in northern Korea, but it was his work as a journalist that led him to document aspects of the 1919 March 1 independence movement. After years of being subdivided into apartments, the city bought the house and restored it, converting it into a museum which displays mementos donated by the Taylors’ descendants.

After passing by the home of musician Hong Nan-pa, a western-style ‘Culture House’ which was built in the 1930s, we will walk along the restored city wall to Gyeonggyojang, which was built in 1938 and served as the home of independence activist Kim Ku from 1945 until his assassination in 1949 – which took place in the house. Today it has been converted into a museum, which we will visit. 

We will end our walk in Donuimun Museum Village, a restored neighborhood which features a local history museum, a memorial hall dedicated to Francis Schofield, a Canadian missionary and supporter of Korean Independence, and numerous buildings in which theaters, photo shops, and comic book reading rooms of the past have been recreated. A current trend is for museums in restored buildings to document the preservation process, so we will be offered the opportunity to think about how the local government preserved older aspects of the city in this neighborhood rather than redeveloping it – a fate suffered by the rest of the Gyonam-dong area to the northwest. 

This walking excursion will set off at 1:00 pm from exit 5 of Dongnimun Station (독립문역) #326 (subway line number 3). The excursion will last until about 5:00 and end between Gwanghwamun Station and Seodaemun Station (Subway Line 5). Participants may join Matt afterwards for a coffee or an early dinner (not included in the excursion fee) nearby. The walk is mostly flat, but comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

Video of my lecture "Experimental Artists Confront Conformity in Seoul, 1968-70"

On January 16, 2024, I gave a lecture for the Royal Asiatic Society titled “'We feel like we’re suffocating’: Experimental Artists Confront Conformity in Seoul, 1968-70,” which was previewed in an article I wrote for the Korea Times, "Experimental artists challenge 'suffocating' conformity in 1960s Seoul." Below is a video of the lecture.

I was pressed for time when preparing the lecture and only managed to watch the beginning of this (subtitled) interview with Kim Kulim. When I finished it after the lecture, I wished I'd been able to include a few revelations from it: Kim noted that the weekly magazine Sunday Seoul realized they sold more copies when the Fourth Group was covered, so they offered to fund their activities in exchange for access. This is where the body painting images and 'naked bodies entwined' photo shoot came from (visible below). Also, when Kim and the others were arrested on August 15, 1970, during their 'funeral march' in central Seoul, he was interrogated and asked how much North Korea had paid him to do it. He expected the worst, but found out later the editor of Sunday Seoul had contacted the police, and so the police, not wanting media exposure, let them off with warnings.