Special Project

Time to shed light on Darangshigul Cave: The Crevasse of History of the Truth-Finding Movement of Jeju 4·3

Park Kyoung-hun

Executive Director of Darangshi 30 Exhibition

 

[Second Floor Exhibition Hall Lobby at Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall]

[Entrance of the Exhibition, <Darangshi 30> Second Floor of Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall]

A crematorium in Jeju City on May 15, 1992. In front of the altar with only eleven paper cups to offer liquor to the deceased, the bereaved family burst into tears as they expressed their frustration. At that time, Ko Juang-chi, a bereaved family member of Go Gwang-eon, who came from Incheon, stated, “I strongly protested that if there was no other alternative than cremation, I would take even 1/11 of the ashes and have a separate burial. But in the end, I had no choice but to accept the decision.” The bereaved family member felt anguished that the ashes were thrown into the sea.

The remains of the victims who died from the brutal suppression of Jeju 4·3 had turned into dry bones lying in cold Darangshigul Cave for 44 years. Leaving the long, agonizing years of waiting and cruelty, they were compelled to be turned into a handful of ashes and scattered into the sea, pushed through the hasty process of the administrative authorities. It is unimaginable today, but it happened. In the name of the authorities and in the name of the administration, placation and manipulation were attempted at that time. In the end, the administrative act, driving a nail into the hearts of the bereaved families, was executed. 30 years have passed without a thorough investigation into or evaluation of the development of the process that was carried out at that time.

Now is the time to reflect critically if in some way the events surrounding Darangshigul Cave, consumed and discarded in the history of the truth-finding movement of Jeju 4·3, have been regarded only as a driving force of the movement that was stagnated by the public security policy. In the meantime, the government published The Jeju 4·3 Incident Investigation Report, and the Jeju 4·3 Incident Follow-Up Investigations Report 1 was published in 2019 as well. Nonetheless, despite the importance of the excavation of the remains of Darangshigul Cave as a symbolic event in the history of the truth-finding movement, a separate investigation has not been conducted.

The excavation of the remains at Darangshigul Cave itself was a historic event. However, the entire process of excavation and the handling procedure of the remains was ‘another example of living 4·3’. The measures taken by the authorities, who tried to quickly cover the issue through concealment and distortion under the public security policy, demonstrated the perspectives of the political leaders who viewed Jeju society as the ‘Red Island’, a view which prevailed even 40 years after the end of Jeju 4·3. Also, it was an incident that revealed the aspect of Jeju society which intended to exploit by triggering the trauma of the perpetrators and victims which had been dormant for 40 years due to manipulation. 30 years have passed since the entrance of the cave was sealed. Just like the site, this incident is sealed, unable to reveal the truth of that day. Most of the bereaved family members who were alive at the time have now passed, and only a few working-level officials of those days are left. Yet, the truths of the excavation of Darangshigul Cave and its truth are still buried.

What is even more unfortunate is that as compared to ‘Special Room: Replica of Darangshigul Cave’, on public display in the permanent exhibition hall of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall, the actual site was left without further public action having been taken for the past 30 years, while the rights to the property of Darangshigul Cave in Pyeongdae-ri, Gujwa-eup, have not been secured.

[April 1, 1992 A ‘joint investigation team’ composed of relevant experts and journalists is holding a ritual before entering Darangshigul Cave]

 [Video of the inside of Darangshigul Cave played in a separate room]

 [Section 2 of “Darangshi 30” (top)]

There are still unrecovered remains of the victims from the excavation that were rushed through for cremation in 1992 and scattered historic items left at the site, just as they were from the time of Jeju 4·3 in 1949. However, the reality is that formal excavation has not been conducted yet. Recently, the 4·3 Peace Foundation has administered a state-funded remains excavation project, but the site was outside the scope of the project.

In 2022, marking the 30th anniversary of the excavation of Darangshigul Cave, it is necessary to reflect again on the excavation. The discovery of the remains in 1992 stands at the heart of the chronology of the truth-finding movement. In addition, it was a hasty and crippled process due to the interference with the excavation by the police and administrative authorities of Jeju, who were under the umbrella of the central government when national security was considered as a priority. The decision that was made against the wishes of Jeju residents and bereaved families was reached. It is necessary to thoroughly examine this incident and to properly establish a page in the history of the truth-finding movement by highlighting the dark history of Jeju society of those days again.

This exhibition serves to draw an outline of the truth of Darangshigul Cave although the full picture has not been revealed yet. In addition, it was designed to raise social interest in the excavation that was concealed, just like crevasses in a glacier, since it was pushed to the margins of the truth-finding movement history and 30 years have passed.

However, this exhibition was organized with many limitations. The exhibition is only the primer for uncovering the historical truth of the incident on its full scale. It can only serve in that role since the exhibition was planned prior to a full-scale excavation and before an in-depth investigation of those involved was conducted, or at least before an official report has been published.

Nevertheless, I think this exhibition is meaningful in its own way. It provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the circumstances of the incident that was described as follows; “What is considered as nonsense nowadays happened in those days. In the name of the authorities and in the name of the administration, placation and manipulation were attempted.” Also, although the incident bears great historical significance, land purchase has not yet been attempted; however, there is progress in recent land purchase efforts. And, it has contributed to calling for social responsibility regarding the excavation.

Compensation and reparation for 4·3 is being discussed and its execution is getting closer. Finally, we are aware that we have reached an era where we have to attend to each and every issue we have missed in the past. It is <Darangshi 30> that exhibits the effort to tackle one of these built-up issues.

Special Article

Correcting inaccurate family relations: A key to exonerating Jeju 4·3 victims and bereaved families

Heo Ho-joon

Senior correspondent with The Hankyoreh

 

Jeju 4·3 twisted the family relationships of many of the survivors and the deceased, dismantling the traditional family relations. If either of a couple had not registered their marriage and lost their lives during Jeju 4·3, their children were often adopted as sons or daughters into a family of the deceased husband’s brothers or more distant relatives. Therefore, there occurred some occasions where a child became a nephew, niece, brother, or sister of his or her father who fell victim to the turbulence of Jeju 4·3. Some were even sent as foster sons or daughters to families who were complete strangers and had nothing to do with their roots. There are also those who have forgotten their surnames and have lived their entire lives under others’ names because all their family members were killed during Jeju 4·3. The dismantled family relations in Jeju society are another result of Jeju 4·3.

Last year, the National Assembly passed the revised motion on the Special Act on Discovering the Truth of Jeju 4·3 and Restoring Honor to the Victims (hereinafter called “the Jeju 4·3 Special Act”). Under the revised law, the government is now accepting applications for the payment of compensation for Jeju 4·3 victims, starting from June of this year. The eligibility for compensation concerning exonerating the Jeju 4·3 victims is determined in accordance with the current Civil Act. For this reason, Jeju 4·3 victims’ children are bound to lose their eligibility to receive compensation if they are registered under the Civil Act as the children of the victims’ parents or cousins, and not as the victims’ own children. Concerns have been raised over the possible suffering or conflict that these “non-recognized” bereaved family members may experience due to frustration and a sense of loss. The discordant family relations issue is another shadow of Jeju 4·3 and still has a massive impact on the lives of victims’ family members.

[3,994 headstones are engraved with the names of the missing Jeju 4·3 victims within the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park]

Eligibility to claim compensation payment under the revised Jeju 4·3 Special Act

Article 16 of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act details the payment of compensation. Section (1) of the same article stipulates that “the State shall pay compensation for damage accrued to those who are determined as victims, comprehensively taking into account the victims’ lost daily gains calculated based on the statistical data from around the time of the incident, the long-term deferment in compensation payment, and the consolation for the victims’ mental suffering”. It is also stated in Article 16 (3) that “in the case where the victim subject to compensation payment is identified as dead or missing, the Civil Act effective at the time of the decision to pay compensation shall apply mutatis mutandis for eligibility to receive compensation”. Additionally, the article specifies the scope of the inheritors, stipulating that the term “spouse” of a victim shall include the victim’s de facto spouse who is “determined as a bereaved family member (excluding those who got remarried or are in a de facto marriage with others)”. If an unmarried and childless victim’s collateral blood relatives within the fourth degree who are determined as bereaved family members died, the collateral blood relatives within the fifth degree (i.e. the lineal descendants of the victims’ collateral blood relatives within the fourth degree) can inherit the compensation in place of their parents who are “determined as bereaved family members”, so long as they perform the ancestral rites and manage the graves of the victim or victims, such as cutting the grass.

As such, the revised Jeju 4·3 Special Act stipulates that those “determined as a victim’s bereaved family member” are subject to compensation payment. In other words, a victim’s child who is not recognized as the victim’s inheritor under the Civil Act is ineligible to receive compensation.

Bereaved family members wish to “be recognized as the children of their fathers”

The Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims conducted a survey from August to November last year, in collaboration with the Jeju 4·3 Research Institute, on the Jeju 4·3 victims with incorrect family relations registers. The survey found 78 cases where a victim’s family relations register, or genealogy, is in discord with the actual family relations. Without correcting these family relations, even a victim’s biological child will be excluded from the claimants for compensation. I have met with 10 of the unregistered children of victims for in-depth coverage. These “non-recognized bereaved family members” wanted to be “recognized as the children” of their fathers, call the victims “father”, and be “identified as the rightful heir or heiress”. These bereaved family members testified that they have lived all their lives full of tears, missing their fathers and wishing to see even the souls of their loved ones in their dreams. During the period immediately after Korea’s liberation from Japan, it was not unusual for couples to fail to have their marriage or children be registered on time, while the administrative authorities also managed the registered records more loosely than today. A respondent to my interview named A (aged 96) survived a narrow escape with her two-year-old daughter B at the scene where her husband and his relatives were slaughtered for being “family members of runaways” during Jeju 4·3. A, whose marriage was unregistered at the time, was five months pregnant. A younger brother of her dead husband listed her daughter B and B’s baby sister, who was born five months after the massacre, on his family relations register on the same day for birth registration. This indicates that B and her sister are ineligible to claim compensation because they are not legally the Jeju 4·3 victim’s children. Another respondent C was three years old when her father was wrongfully convicted in a court-marshal and ordered to serve a jail term. Subsequently, she lived as a foster daughter of a family without having her birth registered until she needed a family relations register for marriage and was listed on the genealogy of her father’s elder brother at the age of 23. This means that C had lived an undocumented life. When a retrial was requested for victims of a wrongful verdict of conviction by courts-marshal, C was unable to join them because of her ineligibility for the lawsuit. Another victim’s daughter named D, who is registered in her uncle’s family relations register, provided her blood sample for the recognition of the father-daughter relationship when relocating her father’s grave, but eventually failed to extract DNA from the deceased victim. She is willing to get genetic testing again to be recognized as her father’s daughter. There are also cases where genetic testing itself was impossible, as an increasing number of bereaved families cremate their loved ones and enshrine their ashes in charnel houses during grave relocation. A victim’s family member named E was listed on the family relations register of her great grandfather after her father was killed during Jeju 4·3, and has since lived as her father’s cousin within the sixth degree. Another victim’s family member named F who is over 80 years of age this year has performed the ancestral rite for his father’s younger brother since he got married in his mid-20s. Although his uncle is recognized as a Jeju 4·3 victim, he is a legally-ineligible heir because he is registered as his uncle’s stepson only in his family’s genealogy book, not in the official family relations register.

[Notes written by victims’ family members who expect to correct their legal family relations that were incorrectly registered during the unstable period of Jeju 4·3.]

Provincial procedure to accept applications to correct incorrect family relations

Perceiving the existence of many Jeju 4·3 victims’ “incorrect family relations”, the Jeju provincial government began accepting applications to correct the discordance. The move is to prevent the cases where Jeju 4·3 victims’ children are unable or ineligible to apply for compensation payment due to incorrect family relations and wherein victims’ collateral relatives within the fourth degree make such applications and receive compensation. Earlier on April 29 of this year, the central Jeju 4·3 Committee decided that in the case of victims with de facto children, the relevant de facto children may apply for compensation payment upon correcting their discordant family relations or during the final term of the application period in 2025. To this end, the provincial government will accept claims to correct family relations until August of this year. The eligible claimants include those who are aware of the incorrect family relations of any Jeju 4·3 victims. The written claims along with any material proof will be accepted by the Jeju provincial government, Jeju City and Seogwipo City governments, and eup-, myeon-, and dong-level Community Service Centers.

Bereaved families demand “development and correction of family relations register in a broad sense”

Article 12 of the Jeju 4·3 (Development of the Family Relations Register) states, “If a victim’s Family Relations Register does not exist or is different from the facts due to damage accrued from Jeju 4·3, the victim’s Family Relations Register may be developed or corrected in accordance with the procedures set forth in the relevant Supreme Court Regulation.” Eligible claimants must be “those victims of Jeju 4·3 who are not listed or who are incorrectly listed on their Family Relations Registers due to damage from Jeju 4·3 (Article 2 of Supreme Court Regulations No. 3061, June 30, 2022, Partial Amendment)”. The Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims emphasized that the eligible claimants specified in Article 13 of the Enforcement Decree of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act should be “those who are recognized as victims of Jeju 4·3 and their bereaved family members” instead of “those who are recognized as victims of Jeju 4·3”. The association also demands that Article 2 of Supreme Court Regulation No. 3061 be corrected from the Jeju 4·3 victims to the victims’ interested persons, such as their lineal ascendants, lineal descendants, and de facto children, so that the currently limited eligibility will more broadly include the victims’ substantive family members. The association points out that the subsequent improvement in the statutes should expand the related private guarantors to include relatives by the current Civil Act. “It is the sole responsibility of the state to seek and strive for every possible means to take necessary actions, be it the revision of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act or other laws and regulations or the enactment of an additional law,” the association added.

[Floral tributes from victims’ families are placed in front of the memorial tablets enshrined in the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park.]

Solutions advisable for Yoon administration

During the presidential election, then-candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s camp pledged to “completely resolve Jeju 4·3”. The payment of compensation for Jeju 4·3 victims, which was launched by the Moon Jae-in administration, is one of the most critical tasks on the path toward exonerating the victims. Early in May, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security commissioned the Korea Institute of Criminology with a study of the status of family relations concerning Jeju 4·3 and measures for its improvement. Through the commissioned research service, the national government will identify the current state of incorrect family relations of Jeju 4·3 victims and examine the related laws and institutions to come up with substantive relief measures. After the case investigation and the statutory review, improvement measures based on the research findings will be developed to ease the burden of litigation for bereaved families and minimize the expected side effects. The researchers will hold an interim reporting session in July of 2022 to reveal the content and submit the final results to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security by November 2022.

The national government needs to fulfill the intention of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act. There should be no cases where victims’ children are classified as “non-recognized family members” and thus ineligible to receive compensation due to inaccurate family relations issues. The origin of the issues is connected to state violence during Jeju 4·3. Most of the “non-recognized family members” interviewed regarding the coverage paid little attention to the payment of compensation but wanted to be recognized as the daughters and sons of their fathers by correcting family relations. For those who bear the burden of incorrect and twisted family relations, Jeju 4·3 remains an ongoing event.

In this regard, the Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims made the aforementioned claims after long consideration of different stories told by victims’ family members. This is why the commissioned researchers should actively review their claims. State authorities should take the responsibility for correcting the incorrect family relations of Jeju 4·3 victims. Correcting the discordance would help relieve the pent-up anger and sorrow the victims’ families have experienced. Therefore, resolving the issue of incorrect family relations leads to the exoneration of Jeju 4·3 victims and their family members. Restoring the normal family relationship between the victims of state violence and their children is also a task concerning the resolution of Jeju 4·3-related issues. Only when it is corrected can we move one step closer to the “complete resolution of Jeju 4·3” as was pledged by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

[Special Report] The 74^th Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of Jeju 4·3

‘Recognizing Sumbisori of 4·3 as a breath of history’

[On-the-ground] The 74^th Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of Jeju 4·3 held on April 3, 2022

 

Article by Jeju 4·3 Peace Park Editing Office

Photographs by Jeju Provincial Office

Photographs by Kim Ki-sang and Kim Yeong-mo (4·3 Peace Park Memorial Project Team)

 

[The 74^th Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of Jeju 4·3 is held.]

In the early morning of April 3, a man named Han Choon-bo, who was two years old at the time Jeju 4·3 and is now old and indisposed, visited his father’s grave marker in the Tombstone Park for the Missing of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park.

“Born on Feb. 15, 1921, and missing since disappearing in the Yeongnam region on Sept. 21, 1951”

His great-granddaughter clearly read out the epitaph, while the elderly man, feeling a gush of emotions at hearing his father’s name “Han Yoo-saeng,” burst into tears.

“Father, I am old now. Will I be able to visit you one mor time this year and again next year? What should I do if I want to see you?”

[President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol delivers his memorial address.]

As if clutching at straws, Han provided a blood sample in order to help identify his father through DNA testing. He says he knows better than anyone else the joy that victims’ families felt at the Reporting Session on the Exhumed Remains Identified as Jeju 4·3 Victims in February 2022. While desperately waiting for good news, the sorrow the man feels only deepens with every day as he knows he is running out of time and may not be alive when they do finally identify his father’s remains.

The situation is much the same for the family members of Jeju 4·3 victims, who had gathered in the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park’s Memorial Tablets Enshrinement Hall and in front of the park’s Headstone Monument Engraved with the Names of the Deceased that day. Throughout the ancestral rites, the bereaved families conjured up the memories of their loved ones while praying for the repose of their souls.

The 74^th Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of Jeju 4·3, hosted by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, was solemnly held on April 3, 2022, at the Memorial Service Square of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park.

On behalf of the national government, Prime Ministry Kim Boo-kyum attended the memorial ceremony, along with Justice Minister Park Beom-gye. Other public officials in the audience included Ko Kyu-chang, Vice Minister of Public Administration and Security, Jung Geun-sik, Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Jung Geun-sik, and Song Doo-hwan, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council of Korea. The ceremony was also attended by key political figures, such as Park Ji-hyun, co-chair of the emergency steering committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Yeo Yeong-gug, leader of the Justice Party. The event was notable as Yoon Suk-yeol became the first President-elect to attend.

At 10 a.m., a siren sounded for one minute throughout the Jeju province, requesting a silent tribute to be paid to the Jeju 4·3 victims.

Actor Jung Tae-woo and KBS Jeju announcer Park A-reum emceed the ceremony, which was conducted under the slogan of “Recognizing Sumbisori of 4·3 as a breath of history”. The event proceeded with the screening of an opening video, a floral tribute and incense burning, the pledge of allegiance and ceremonial salute to the national flag, a silent tribute paid to the victims, memorial remarks by distinguished guests, introduction of a victim’s family, and memorial performances.

President Moon Jae-in expresses his honor for having been with the people connected to Jeju 4·3 for five years during his tenure

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol vows to work to fully restore the reputations of the victims and bereaved families

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol in his memorial address said, “We remember the painful history of Jeju 4·3 and each and every one of the innocent people whose lives were taken.” He then added, “It is sobering to contemplate the history of Jeju and the people of Jeju who have relied on their longing to endure the grief of losing their loved ones, without being allowed to say a single word about the injustice they had faced.”

“I want to express my sincere condolences for the victims. I also extend a word of consolation to their bereaved loved ones, who suffered as they built Jeju into an ‘island of peace’,” Yoon said.

He also stated, “Healing the pain and tending to the scars of Jeju 4·3 is our duty, as those who remember, and it is the duty of the Republic of Korea, as we seek to move into a future of reconciliation and harmony. I will work to fully restore the reputations of the victims and bereaved families of Jeju 4·3.”

“The government will take responsibility for easing the pain of the survivors and the pain of the bereaved family members and the hard times they have lived through,” he said.

President Moon Jae-in did not attend the ceremony his year, but instead sent a message. Moon attended the memorial ceremony three times during his term, in 2018, 2020, and 2021.

Moon wrote in his memorial message that spring blossomed again on the island of Jeju without fail this year, expressing his consolation and respect to the families of the Jeju 4·3 victims and the people of Jeju who rose above their grief. He also promised that efforts will be made to carry out as planned additional investigation into the truth of Jeju 4·3 and the provision of proper compensation to the victims. He said, “I solemnly hope the souls in the Darangshi Cave will be comforted by the special Darangshi Cave exhibition.” Concluding his message, he added that it was a great pleasure to be with the people related to Jeju 4·3 for five years. “I will never forget the spring in Jeju in memory of the victims,” he said.

[The participants pay silent tribute.]

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, ‘Efforts will be made to smoothly process the 8^th additional reporting of victims and bereaved families.’

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum consoled the victims and bereaved families by saying, “I pray for the repose of all the victims and express my most sincere condolences and gratitude to the surviving victims and victims’ families who have been witnesses to history so that Jeju 4·3 will not be forgotten.”

“During the 7^th Additional Reporting Period for Victims and Bereaved Families in the first half of last year, 44 people were newly recognized as victims, along with the additional recognition of 4,054 bereaved family members,” he said, adding, “I will deliver the contents of the project to the next administration for the smooth implementation of the 8^th round of the project, which is to start in January next year.”

He also highlighted that compensation for the Jeju 4·3 victims has become available under the revised Jeju 4·3 Special Act. “Although the provision of compensation should not be the end of support for the victims and their families, the government will have to fulfill its responsibilities until they are sufficiently compensated for the lives and years lost by state violence,” he said.

Oh Im-jong, chairman of the Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims, said in his speech that he appreciates it that President Moon adopted the resolution of Jeju 4·3 as a national agenda, attended the memorial ceremony three times, and worked to have the revised bill on the Jeju 4·3 Special Act be passed at the National Assembly. The representative of the victims’ families also expressed his gratitude to President-elect Yoon for keeping his promise to attend the 74^th memorial ceremony. Koo Man-seob, the Acting Governor of Jeju, vowed that the provincial government will take the lead in comforting the souls of the victims and healing the pain of their bereaved loved ones.

‘I believe the souls of my family members are here with me.’

This year’s event introduced the story of Kang Choon-hee (77, Samdo 2-dong, Jeju City), a first-generation family member whose grandfather, father, and brother were recognized as Jeju 4·3 victims. Her story was adopted into a one-man drama and performed by actress Park Jung-ja in front of the Memorial Service Altar of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park, moving the victims’ families in attendance to tears.

“I lost all my family due to Jeju 4·3. My father, whose face I don’t remember, was taken somewhere by the counterinsurgency forces and has since not been heard of. My grandfather died due to severe torture while being transferred to Mokpo prison. My mother was taken to the brewery factory used as a detention facility. My one-year-old brother who knew nothing about what was going on was beaten, along with our mother, for loudly crying for food. He was unable to walk due to the aftereffects and died at the age of three. (…) A few days ago, I heard some really good news. It was news that my brother Won-hee was finally recognized as a Jeju 4·3 victim and my grandfather was exonerated in the retrial. I believe their souls are here with me today.”

“My little brother, I can now greet you in the Memorial Tables Enshrinement Hall. You should now feel no more pain or hunger, but be comfortable there.”

“Grandpa, you are no longer a sinner. You are now exonerated because you have been acquitted. All that is left is to find my missing father. Thank you. I am really grateful.”

 

The audience comforted the elderly lady with applause after listening to her story that detailed how she has lived with resentment all her life. Following the one-man play, a memorial song by a Jeju-born singer named Yang Ji-eun resonated throughout the park. With the closing of the official ceremony, victims’ families and other participants prayed for the rest of the souls of the deceased by offering floral tributes and burning incense at the Memorial Service Altar.

[A victim’s family visits the Tombstone for the Missing. The elderly lady’s children and granddaughter dare not console her grief.]

 

May the wind of change to meet the wishes of victims’ families

This year’s memorial ceremony was carried out with 299 people attending in accordance with the nation’s social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Jeju provincial government ran an online memorial hall on its website for those who were unable to attend the on-site memorial ceremony. It was notable that a metaverse was used for the first time to enable a virtual experience of the Jeju 4·3 Memorial Park. The system was established to allow individual online characters’ visit to the park’s Memorial Tablets Enshrinement Hall and the Tombstone Park for the Missing to offer a floral tribute and write in the guestbook.

The host agencies and divisions made every effort to successfully carry out the ceremony in terms of public relations, traffic management, and public safety. However, many of those bereaved families who were unable to attend the event expressed great frustration as they had to watch the event from outside the fence surrounding the event venue. Some of them were also seen protesting against the on-site officials for restricting their access to the ceremony to prevent the COVID-19 spread since 2020.

Meanwhile, political figures including President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and the representatives of the ruling and opposition parties expressed their determination to work to resolve Jeju 4·3 in the new government. On top of that, good news continues in line with the passing of the revised Jeju 4·3 Special Act, concerning the payment of compensation to the victims and the acquittal of innocent convicts in the ex-officio or special retrials. The memorial ceremony is over this year, but the wind of change for the resolution of Jeju 4·3 is expected to meet the wishes of victims’ families who have been heartbroken all their lives.

 

[Student representative Seo Ji-hye reads her letter (top). Novelist Hyun Ki-young (top right) also addresses members of various groups in attendance (middle).]

The Jeju 4·3 People’s Committee (President Chung Yeon-soon) organized the 74^th Memorial Ceremony in Seoul for the Victims of Jeju 4·3 in the Seodaemun Prison History Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on April 3, 2022.

The ceremony was attended by Bu Cheong-ha, Chairperson of the Seoul Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 as well as Unification Minister Lee In-young, Reps. Song Young-gil and Park Joo-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Moon Seok-jin, head of the Seodaemun-gu Office. Other various organizations and institutes also participated in the event, including the members of the Association of the Bereaved Families of Post-Korean War Civilian Massacres Victims, Seoul Association of the Bereaved Families of Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, and Seoul Youth and Juvenile Association, as well as students of Magok Middle School. Unification Minister Lee said in his memorial speech that Jeju 4·3 is a history of just resistance and of victimization by state violence. “Last year, the Jeju 4·3 Special Act was revised and brought a new energy of peace despite the misery,” he said. Saying that the true significance of Jeju 4·3 will be recognized when its values are revived through peaceful national unification. “I ask for your company and solidarity until the day the nation is peacefully reunited,” he said.

Baek Gyeong-jin, permanent board member of the Jeju 4·3 People’s Committee, said his committee has endeavored to nationally and publicly promote Jeju 4·3 since the 70^th anniversary of the tragic event. He expressed the association’s commitment by saying, “We will continue to widely spread the spirits reflected in Jeju 4·3, taking the support we received during this memorial ceremony as momentum.”

On the same day, the Jejudo Association of Seoul (Chairperson Heo Neung-pil) also held a memorial ceremony in the association’s conference room. The event was attended by some 70 people, including Kang Han-il, honorary chairperson of the Jejudo Association of Seoul, Heo Sang-su, chairperson of the Seoul Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims, and members of the Seoul Association of the Bereaved Families of Jeju 4·3 Victims.

Memorial Address by President Moon Jae-in — “I will always remember the spring heralded on Jeju”

 

On the 74^th anniversary of Jeju 4·3, spring has blossomed faithfully on the island of Jeju.

Although the pain was deep, the people of Jeju have tried to forgive those who are to blame and to sublime their suffering to the values of peace and human rights, even as they still carry the memories of their suffering.

Once again, I express my condolences and offer my respect to the victims of Jeju 4·3 who bloomed as canola flowers, and to their bereaved family members who rose above their grief, as well as to the people of Jeju Island.

Recently, the first ex officio trial and special trial was held for those convicted by unlawful court rulings during Jeju 4·3. The retrial was made possible as a result of the general amendment of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act. The prosecutor requested the acquittal of the entirety of the defendants, while the presiding judge read out a special ruling which expressed that the panel of judges sympathized with the suffering caused due to Jeju 4·3. The 73 defendants who had been convicted under false accusations were finally exonerated, and their family members responded with applause to the court ruling. It was a moment when wounds healed and spring bloomed on Jeju Island. It took a long time.

Because the Jeju 4·3 Special Act was legislated during the Kim Dae-jung administration, and because the Jeju 4·3 Incident Investigation Report was released and an official presidential apology was made during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, my administration was finally able to promote the general amendment of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act and the payment of compensation for the victims. Above all, however, it was the earnest hearts of Jeju residents that served as the driving force in revealing the truth. The hearts of those forgiving people who deeply embraced the military and police created the spring we enjoy today. Through the amendment of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act, we have come one step closer to the complete revelation of the truth of Jeju 4·3 and the restoration of honor of the victims. In 2018, the exhumation project wherein the remains of 11 victims were discovered was resumed eight years after it was suspended, while an ensuing investigation on the truth of Jeju 4·3 was launched in March of this year. Starting from the second half of the year, compensation will be made for the Jeju 4·3 victims.

It is my solemn hope that the souls of those who were found in Darangshigul Cave, incinerated and scattered without even a funeral 30 years ago will be comforted by the special Darangshigul Cave exhibit. “May the deceased close their eyes and the living take each other by the hand.” I still have a vivid memory of the epitaph, which I read in 2020 at Yeongmowon in Hagwi-ri, Jeju City. I have never seen such intense consolation and reconciliation. I believe that the incomplete tasks will be completed through the tolerance and solidarity of the living. I expect the efforts to continue be made as planned in the next administration. It was a great honor to stand for the people involved with the Jeju 4·3 efforts for five years. I will never forget the spring on Jeju in memory of the victims.