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| ▲ Myanmar international student AYE AYE THIN, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Korean Studies at Seoul National University’s College of Education, and Yunn Shwe Zin, a Myanmar international student, a master’s course at the Acropolis Square in front of the Seoul National University Library, one of the symbols of the Korean democratization movement It is calling for democratization. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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“Currently, Myanmar people cannot leave their homes after 8 pm because the military has imposed night control orders. In that case, they resist in a classic way. Each person taps a pot meant to drive evil out of the house, and Facebook Live. We share the situation of the day with each other. We fight every day, every minute, online, offline. Eventually we will win.”
AYE AYE THIN, who experienced the democratization protest in Myanmar in 1988, raised his voice. On August 8, 1988, tens of thousands of students held a street protest in Yangon, Myanmar, calling for democratization. It is the so-called ‘8888 demonstration’. Eetin, a teenager at the time, was one of them.
On the other hand, Yun Shwe Zin, who was born in the 1990s, is the first to demonstrate this. He watched live on Facebook as the police fired rubber bullets and live ammunition in Yangon, Myanmar, where he spent his school days. Since then, they have been participating in Myanmar’s democratization movement by delivering the news of Myanmar to the Twitter of the presidents of each country and broadcasting YouTube.
In fact, the people of Myanmar have always resisted. From 1962 to 1988 and 2021. The military initiated three coups, and each time the people of Myanmar took their lives to drive out the military forces. When the Myanmar military coup broke out on the 1st, a nationwide protest began soon. Currently (as of the 24th) hundreds of people were injured in the military crackdown, and at least four civilians are known to have died. The Myanmar Political Offender Support Association (AAPP), a local human rights monitoring organization, reported that about 569 people have been detained since the military coup.
Eetin and Yun She-jin have different generations, but they became the same’democratization generation’ due to the Myanmar democratization movement in 2021. Those attending the Department of Korean Studies at Seoul National University College of Education held the ‘22222 demonstration (February 22, 2021)’ in Seoul, modeled after the 8888 demonstration. With the desire to do anything from a distance, they gathered support for the peaceful protests of the Myanmar people.
On the afternoon of the 24th at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul <오마이뉴스>They met with and said, “Did not the people directly acquire democracy through the democratization movement in Korea, too?” and said, “Please pay attention to the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) currently taking place in Myanmar.”
The interviews with the two were summarized in one question and one answer.
“I don’t want to live under the rule of the military, Myanmar is like Korea”
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| ▲ AYE AYE THIN, a Myanmar international student who is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Korean Language at Seoul National University’s Normal University, is calling for an end to Myanmar’s military dictatorship and democratization at the Acropolis Square in front of the Seoul National University library, one of the symbols of the Korean democratization movement. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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-Millions of people across Myanmar participated in the ‘22222 protests’. On the same day, we held a press conference in Korea.
Eetin : I went through the 8888 protests and suffered enough repression by the military. I know because I’ve been through it. You can never go back to before democratization. Since I was an associate professor of Korean language in Myanmar, I have a sense of responsibility as an educator. Our education in the military was poor. The military cut off information, repeated infusion training, and considered education insignificant. Back then, there is no future in Myanmar. Although my body is in Korea, I held a press conference to inform that I am participating in the struggle in Myanmar.
Yoon Shejin : Every day, I am in contact with Myanmar news on Facebook with my friends. In fact, I did not go through the 8888 protests, so I do not know the situation at the time. But I don’t want the democracy that my older generations have won hard to retreat. This is my job and the story of where I will live. I do not want to live under the rule of the military.
-How is the local situation in Myanmar?
Eetin : From the beginning of the protests, the military banned night traffic and gatherings of five or more people. I also controlled the internet. It was to do everything possible. He warned in such a way that if he violated this, he would extinguish blood. Eventually, he shoots a gun, but my Myanmar friends didn’t care. (Eetin shed tears and couldn’t talk for a while.) In fact, it’s the scariest thing we all die. The people of Myanmar were more afraid of military rule than death. That’s why they all protest every day, including the 22222 protests.
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| ▲ Myanmar international student Yun Shwe Zin, a master’s course in the Korean language department at Seoul National University’s Normal University, is calling for an end to Myanmar’s military dictatorship and democratization at the Acropolis Square in front of the Seoul National University library, one of the symbols of the Korean democratization movement. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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Yoon Shejin : Everyone I know is participating in protests. They are fighting for their lives. My younger brother, a college student, also bowed down to his mother before participating in the 22222 protest. Because the military warned against armed suppression, it was a greeting that meant that they might not be able to return after participating in the protests. And, like other Myanmar young people, they took part in protests with blood types and phone numbers on their forearms.
The way of protesting has changed significantly… “Aren’t you too smart?”
-Compared to the democratization protests in Myanmar in the past, the protest method has changed.
Eetin : It certainly is. During the 8888 protests, they fought without drinking water. Not now. After the military coup, people have been fighting in various ways in the sense of joining the protests rather than returning to their daily routine. They say that the car is broken, and they stop on the road and resist. That night, when the military towed a stopped car, people now drive at 5km for an hour, delaying the traffic situation. Isn’t it too smart? Also, the military stopped driving cars at all, so now people started walking slowly. It is a peaceful demonstration. It’s about dropping items bought in the market on the street, gathering people to pick them up one by one, and resisting everyday life.
Yoon Shejin : The military held a gun, and we picked up a cell phone. Our weapons are mobile phones and social media. The rally was broadcasted on Facebook Live, and Twitter was used to inform the international community. In our 20s generation, there are many international students because they can study relatively freely. That was the strength of this protest. When a video came out from Myanmar, it was spread with subtitles of the country in which he was studying. Those people (military) were armed with live ammunition, and all we have left is the media.
-The military has taken an ultra-strong response, such as proclaiming martial law in some large cities.
Yoon Shejin: I heard that hundreds of people were arrested. Nevertheless, people fight harder and gather more than they are afraid of. We know that only those who are arrested can be freed if we win this struggle.
The world where the SIM chip that used to cost 3 million won became 5000 won
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| ▲ Myanmar international student AYE AYE THIN, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Korean Studies at Seoul National University, and Yunn Shwe Zin, a master’s student in Myanmar, demanded the end of Myanmar’s military dictatorship and democratization at the Seoul National University campus in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. “Three fingers” is spreading out. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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-Eetin went through both military rule and democratic government. What was the biggest difference?
Eetin : The military controlled the information. Mobile phones were also expensive, but the price of SIM chips was enormous at the time. In the 1980s, there was a time when the SIM chip was 3 million won. Then, it fell to 1 million won, and the price fell from 250,000 won to 5,000 won by 2014. What this means is that people can access information freely. We learned that the military rule we had been through was wrong and that democracy should be maintained.
Yoon Shejin : I was born in the 1990s, so I didn’t experience military rule as much as Eetin, but there was definitely discrimination. When I was a middle and high school student, children with military parents took the test papers in advance the day before the test. Just because I had a good brain didn’t mean I could study well. If their parents were soldiers, they could get good grades. Of course, a lot has changed now.
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| ▲ AYE AYE THIN, an international student from Myanmar, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Korean Studies at Seoul National University, and Yun Shwe Zin, a master’s programme, are in front of the 5.18 Democratization Movement Monument installed in front of the Seoul National University Student Center. They are appealing for support. | |
| Ⓒ Kwon Woo-seong |
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“It doesn’t matter if it gets longer, we’ll be together until the end”
-The international community is also supporting Myanmar.
Yoon Shejin : Good news, but the international community needs to be more actively involved. The military will also be scared when the international community presses. Some of my friends are protesting in front of CCTV at the UN office in Myanmar. Stand for 3 to 4 hours holding a picket that says’How much longer should we die?’ Before more people die, the international community must step forward for Myanmar’s democracy.
-Are there any preparations to inform Myanmar’s struggle for democratization afterwards?
Atin : Myanmar is a Buddhist country. First of all, I plan to visit the temple with international students this week. Everyone has to stay alive and not hurt to win this fight. Until the situation in Myanmar stabilizes, it will continue to hold meetings and press conferences. In fact, there are some international students who are studying under government scholarships, so there are some things to be careful about. However, they are all the same mind. I hope that Myanmar’s struggle will end with victory in the early hours, but it doesn’t matter if it gets longer. We will be together until the end.