ABSTRACT
This chapter examines responses to place-of-memory making that provoke the memory unmaking practices that constitute the politics of forgetting. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observations and archival research, the work focuses on two tragedies in South Korean history: the May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju and the Sewol Ferry disaster. In both cases, the indurate actions of the conservative national government provoked nationwide anger that precipitated each regime’s eventual downfall. We argue that unmaking memories and impeding memory-place-making are an articulated practice in the politics of forgetting by a governing body that hopes to avoid the type of scrutiny that could threaten their hold on power. We also argue governmental interference in memory making had active support from right-wing organisations and citizens. By focusing on various reactions to the memories in question, this study expands discussions on the diversity of spatial strategies that inform the politics of forgetting and remembering.
