Chun Doo-hwan (born 18 January 1931), was an army general and dictator of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun became president as a result of martial law applied to Korea after the Gwangju democratisation Movement in 1980 and this era was marked by Chun's heavy-handed approach to the uprising as well as an assisination attempt on his life in Myanmar in 1983.