The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as May 18 Democratization Movement, was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup of Chun Doo-hwan. The uprising was violently suppressed by the South Korean military with the approval and logistical support of the United States under Carter administration, which feared the uprising might spread to other cities and tempt North Korea to interfere.