Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Witness History Podcast on the BBC World Service with me

Mike Lanchin first-hand accounts of events that have shaped our world. In May

1980 South Korean soldiers killed hundreds of anti-government protesters in a crackdown

against demonstrations in the city of Guangzhou.

What became known as the Guangzhou Massacre took place after protesters had

managed to take control of large parts of the city, but across South Korea

the demonstrations against military rule had been rolling on for months.

The demonstrators are calling for democratic elections and an end to martial law.

Students are at the forefront of the protests in the capital soul and they're getting increasingly violent.

30,000 students were on the streets battling with police.

Then the students captured a bus and rammed it through the police cordon.

One policeman was killed, three others badly injured.

It's the most serious challenge to almost two decades of military rule.

The fighting raged for hours into the night and similar disturbances were reported from two provincial towns.

After we heard that martial law was spread out nationwide,

we said that this is something long, we have to say something.

Kim Jong was a 22 year old student in one of those provincial towns Guandhu.

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