Editing Minjung (section)

=== Anti-American sentiments ===
The United States' supposed involvement in the [[Gwangju Uprising|Gwangju Democratization Struggle]] triggered the rapid spread of [[anti-Americanism]] sentiments. The protesters were expecting Americans to intervene for their side. Instead, the Twentieth Division of the [[ROK Army]] was sent to the area in response to the uprising. Although many Koreans, and especially those who had favored or participated in the movement, blamed the U.S. Government for "releasing" these troops from their duties near the DMZ, the American general in charge of defending against North Korean (DPRK) attack had no idea that they were going to be moved. He was awakened by a late-night telephone call by the ROK president, informing him that the Twentieth had been removed from their positions along the DMZ—thus creating a huge gap in the defensive line in the event of large-scale infiltration from the North—and sent south to Gwangju. Nevertheless, because the U.S. Command was nominally in control of joint forces, the urban legend persists that the United States was responsible for the forcible repression of the uprising by military means. Because of this, the US took a portion of the blame:

:<small>There may not have been an alternative to turning a cold shoulder to the citizens of Gwangju... But American operational control under the United States-South Korean Combined Forces Command made U.S. responsibility inescapable, and the release of frontline troops made hash of Carter's human rights policies; the United States paid dearly for both in Korean attitudes thereafter.</small>{{sfn|Cumings|2005|p=382}}

Initially, before Gwangju, there were negative attitudes towards the United States growing because of their support of Chun Doo-hwan. But Gwangju really catalyzed the Anti-Americanism among Koreans.