New memorial projects

for the 75th anniversary of Jeju 4·3

 

[Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation]

Jeju 4·3 Film Festival

Marking the 75th anniversary of Jeju 4·3, the Jeju 4·3 Film Festival will be launched this year to reflect on the importance of peace and human rights through the genre of movies. The festival will offer a special screening event where the viewers can laugh and mourn together while watching films on Jeju 4·3, human rights, and peace. A planning committee has been created to accelerate the selection of works considering the characteristics of diverse viewers, including Jeju 4·3 victims’ families, teenagers, college students, and ordinary residents. Starting in April, up to three films will be screened every month. The festival will also arrange events for communication such as talks with the viewers to share their impressions of the films.

 

Jeju 4·3 Game Development

A unique history class will be offered through a PC or smartphone game. The Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation is working with school teachers across the country to develop an educational game on Jeju 4·3. It will feature a history education game targeting not only elementary, middle, and high school students but also adults such as teachers and parents. Players will solve quizzes while walking around the Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall and the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park. Available both online and offline (through site visits), users can enjoy the game depending on the context of the exhibit. To learn history playfully, the game has been developed by Lee Hae-jung (chairman of the Jeju 4·3 Game Development Committee) and nine teachers from outside Jeju with experience in developing history games, in collaboration with five teachers from Jeju Province. The game is scheduled to be released in March.

 

Expansion of the on-site healing project

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation will expand the Eup, Myeon, and Dong On-Site Healing Project, a provincial project to heal the trauma of Jeju 4·3 victims and families and restore the communal spirit of residents.

As part of the project, specialists visit those victims and bereaved families who have difficulties accessing the Jeju 4·3 Trauma Center. The professional staff help heal their trauma and improve the quality of their lives by offering counseling services, music and horticulture therapies, and storytelling performances. In 2022, a total of 15 on-site programs were held, with 594 residents joining. This year six staff members will be hired for those with accessibility issues due to disabilities or a lack of public transportation. The cases of participants unable to access the programs will continue to be monitored and managed.

 

[Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3]

Podcast by Jeju 4·3 Victims’ Families

The Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 will produce and operate a podcast as a new channel for communication, without insisting on formalities. A variety of shows will be aired featuring the testimonies of victims’ families, interviews with experts, policy introductions, and field trips. The shows are being produced to target all citizens who are interested in Jeju 4·3, including Jeju residents and victims’ families. The organizers plan to expand to a global audience by producing content in foreign languages.

 

[Jeju 4·3 Memorial Project Committee]

Peace Walk for the Next Generations

Establishment of a youth network connecting historical issues in the past

Pilot virtual reality content of ‘Over the Ocean’ to be released

The Jeju 4·3 Memorial Project Committee consists of 49 civic groups, including Jeju 4·3-related organizations and other civil society organizations.

In addition to running the current Jeju 4·3 Peace Walk program, the committee will work with the Roh Moo Hyun Foundation to launch the Peace Walk for the Next Generations, which is open to young Japanese participants. The project has been promoted for the purpose of raising national and international public awareness of Jeju 4·3.

The committee will also form a partnership with the Student Union of Jeju National University to establish a youth network connecting historical issues in the past such as Jeju 4·3, the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and the Yeo-Sun Incident.

Based on the investigation of Jeju 4·3 historical sites in the regions outside of Jeju, the committee will release a pilot of virtual reality content called “Over the Ocean” and promote the use of the Jeju 4·3 app.

To raise international awareness of Jeju 4·3, the committee will urge the National Assembly to adopt a resolution to call for international solutions to Jeju 4·3, including the clarification of the U.S. Army Military Government’s responsibility in it. Within the same context, efforts will be made to invigorate the Jeju 4·3 International Network for Truth and Justice. The committee will also invite foreign journalists to inform the world about Jeju 4·3.

Activities to address the domestic political issues will be carried out, such as working for the revision of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act and pressing the provincial council to set up an information board at the memorial monument for Park Jin-kyeong [commander of the 9th Regiment of the National Defense Guard assassinated by members of his corps who were against his brutal hardline crackdowns]. Additionally, the committee will give a lecture on the topic of “National Unification in Jeju 4·3” and work with other institutes to shift the 70-year-old Korean War Armistice Agreement to a Peace Treaty.