GWANGJU, South Korea: It is 40 years since Choi Jung-ja saw her husband, who has been missing since South Korea’s military dictatorship killed hundreds of people when they crushed the pro-democracy Gwangju Uprising, a scar that burns in the country’s political psyche to this day.

On May 18, 1980, demonstrators protesting against dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s declaration of martial law confronted his troops, and 10 days of violence ensued.