Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Jeju 4.3 Butchery

The history of Jeju 4.3 is still now being uncovered. Bitter ideological infighting in Korea between 1948 and 1954 killed 30,000 people on tiny Jeju island, with thousands more systematically raped and widespread destruction of property. Jeju 4.3 was held secret and suppressed for many decades (a 1978 novel Aunt Suni that discussed events led to author Hyun Ki-Young's arrest & torture). It's now admitted that Government forces were responsible for the great bulk of the outrages (link).

It's terrible people can refuse to recognize such horrors, as if turning our thoughts away makes reality disappear. But massacre of indigenous peoples by "settlers" still takes place in our world. Terrible.

Here's a key article about Jeju 4.3 (link)

Below is part of a poster illustrating continuing struggle, as local activists seek to stop construction of a naval base threatening a UNESCO World Heritage site & national park in Gangjeong, Jeju island.