On the 18th of May, 1980 , despite South Korean military’s violent
suppression of the Gwangju Democratization Movement,
Jürgen Hinzpeter infiltrated the city and recorded scenes of a massacre.
His footage brought the attention of the world to the devastation in Gwangju and had a
lasting impact on the movement for democracy in South Korea.
There are now movements across the world to protect democracy and, like Hinzpeter,
many video journalists are trying to capture the truth.
The Hinzpeter Awards are jointly organized by the May 18 Memorial Foundation and
the Korea Video Journalist Association. The Awards have been established to discover, and bring attention to, video journalists like Hinzpeter who demonstrate extraordinary journalistic spirit in their coverage of democratic movements around the world.
The Hinzpeter Awards aspire to recognize and honor video journalists who seek the truth,
protect human rights and fight for justice as recorders of reality and chroniclers of history.