5.18 Gwangju Cemetery

Gwangju May 18 Democratic Cemetery

English / 日本語 / 한국어

About the project

[Hwangto Hanwoo Museum] 2013
Samga Brand Beef Town in Hapcheon, Gyeongsamnam-do, South Korea
Museum design and production
commissioned by Hapcheon County Office / 165.2cubic meters
a media table, a media installation, sculptures, wood, steel, and other interior materials

This miniature model represents the May 18 Democratic Cemetery, honoring those who sacrificed their lives from May 18 to 27, 1980, in resistance against military dictatorship, martial law, and for the release of democratic leaders. The model commemorates the democratization movement dedicated to these ideals.

CAD Drawing

Issue: We faced the challenge of starting without any blueprints.

Solution:

  1. Satellite Maps and Measurements: Utilized internet satellite maps to measure and sketch the entire cemetery site accurately.

  2. Purchase and Modification of Contour Lines: Obtained current contour lines of the location and adjusted them as needed to proceed with the project.

  3. Ratio Calculation and Verification: Compared contour lines with satellite maps to calculate precise ratios for accurate representation.

  4. Miniature Model Drawing: Reduced building scales to 500:1 and terrain scales to 600:1 to create detailed miniature drawings.

  5. On-Site Visits and Measurements: Personally visited the cemetery to measure all buildings and confirm the overall structure using videos.

  6. Texture and Pattern Verification: Examined photographs and videos to accurately replicate textures and patterns on the ground and building surfaces.

Through these steps, we successfully overcame the challenge of starting without any blueprints and completed the project effectively.

Constructing terrain according to contour lines

I mowed the woodrock to the correct contour lines and stacked them to make the terrain. Acrylic was cut with a laser to match the location of the graveyard and the boundary of the floor.

Buildings

The building was made by assembling laser-cut acrylic and wood according to the drawings made, and the textures on the surface were made to look like real-like textures.

Sculpture

Since all the sculptures had a deep meaning in the history of democratization, I tried to make their meanings look better.

Statue

There were two statues, but the size was less than 10mm in size. It was a sculpture with many democratized warriors within 5X2mm. One person was a small size of about 1.5mm, but it was made as close as possible to the action of a person.

Trees

Since there were many trees on the terrain, so it was important to express them. In order to increase the details of the tree, even though the height of the tree is as small as 6 to 9 mm, it made all the pillars of the tree and drove into the terrain. It took a long time to build and plant about 5000 trees and grass. However, this work did not seem to be a simple forest, and it raised the overall perfection.
Traffic facilities

I have tried to have the facilities of the road and the real road of reality. After the work was completed, we found that the underpass on the road was an important place in the democratization movement.

Tombstones

I wanted to inscribe on tombstones but canceled because it was a size that visitors could not see. It was unfortunate that the names of passed away people could not be inscribed in the tombstone.

Nameplate

I put name badges in each location so that I could serve as a guide to those visiting the tomb. The stage was treated with a urethane coating.

Size compared with objects

Installation

This model was installed at the Gate of Democracy which is the entrance of the Gwangju cemetery at . Later, the head of the cemetery engraved my signature on the work.It meant he is thankful to me for making the work so good.