On Jan. 1, the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park was packed with New Year visitors.

That first morning of the year of the white rat (one of the 12-year zodiac animal deities), which marks the 72nd anniversary of Jeju 4·3, important figures in Jeju visited the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park to perform a ritual ceremony to pay tribute to those who died during Jeju 4·3 and to remind themselves of the spirit of peace.

About 100 Jeju government officials and council members participated in the ceremony, including Won Hee-ryong, governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province; Kim Tae-suk, chairperson of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council; Lee Seok-moon, superintendent of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education; Koh Hee-beom, mayor of Jeju City; and Song Seung-moon, president of the Association for the Bereaved Families of the 4‧3 Victims.

They offered the deceased flowers and incense with guidance from the chairperson of the Jeju 4·3 peace park, and then mourners offered incense and a silent prayer.

After the ritual ceremony, the heads of the organizations wrote messages emphasizing the spirit of peace and reconciliation in the visitors log located within the Memorial Tablets Enshrinement Room where the names of known victims from Jeju 4.3 are enshrined.

“Help us to sublimate the wounds of ideological conflict into reconciliation and integration,” Won wrote in the log.

“Only Jeju,peaceandhumanrights,”Kimwrote.

“I will strengthen the education for 4·3 with the spirits on the first day of New Year,” Lee wrote.

Meanwhile, it was noted that the commander of the 9th Marine Brigade in Jeju made his first visit to the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park.

Brig. Gen. Jin Kyu-sang, commander of the 9th Marine Brigade, accompanied by Col. Park Hee-bo, Chief of Staff and other staff members, joined the ceremony in front of the Memorial Service Altar in the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park.

They finished offering incense with the guidance of Yang, Song and director of 4·3 Research Institute Heo Young-sun, and wrote in the visitor log: “I will command the unit without forgetting the pain of 4·3.”

They looked around the headstone monument engraved with the names of the deceased and the exhibition rooms of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Hall.

numerous parties and organizations such as the Democratic Party’s Jeju Chapter (Chairperson Oh Young-hoon), the Liberty Korea Party’s Jeju Chapter (Chairperson Han Chul-yong), Righteous Future Party’s Jeju Chapter (Chairperson Jang Seong-cheol), Party for Democracy and Peace’s Jeju Chapter (Chairperson Yang Yoon-young), Korea Foundation (Chairperson Lee Geun) and Jeju Headquarter of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Chairperson Byun Dae-geun) paid a visit.

Ms. Chun-ja Kim donated her own photos describing Jeju 4·3 and dedication of a church.

Ms. Kim Chun-ja donated her Jeju 4.3 photos, passing on her painful memories

An 80-year-old lady and member of the bereaved families of Jeju 4·3 donated photos from the tragic incident and made a monetary contribution.

Kim Chun-ja, a bereaved family member of Jeju 4·3, recently paid a visit to the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation (Chairperson Yang Jo-hoon) and donated six pictures she had owned for the past 70 years. She also donated 1 million Korean won to the foundation.

Born in the village of Geo-ro, Hwabuk, Jeju, Ms. Kim was only 9 years old when her father, her uncle, and her youngest aunt were shot to death, while an uncle–a twin–was taken to a prison on the mainland of Korea.

Ms. Kim’s father and her aunt, who was a middle-school student, were caught in a mass killing of 70 residents in Gwedongsan, Dodu, on Feb. 20, 1949. The tragedy continued as one of the twin uncles, who was a brilliant student at the school of agriculture, was found dead near Gosan Dongsan, while the other twin ended up being a prisoner in Incheon.

Ms. Kim’s grandfather, Kim Gwang-soo, who lost four of his children, took up the role of father to his 9-year-old granddaughter. Until death, he cherished the pictures of his sons and daughter, sometimes shedding tears.

The 6 pictures, keepsakes of Kim Gwang-soo, were donated to the Jeju 4‧3 Peace Foundation. The pictures depict the graduation ceremony at the Jeju Public Agricultural Middle School, the graduation ceremony at Hwabuk Primary School, and some memorial scenes at the dedication ceremony at Hammyeong-ri (formerly Bonggae-ri) Church in Jeju.

Among the pictures, that of the dedication ceremony at Hammyeong-ri Church, taken on Sept. 14, 1949, is valuable as historic material. The ceremony was joined by executive staff of the police, local personages, and residents. Also, the name Hammyeong itself contains a painful story.

During the reconstruction of the village in 1949, the commander of the 2^nd Regiment, Ham Byeong-sun, and his operation staff, Kim Myeong, who devastated the village of Bonggae in February 1949, changed the name of the village to Hammyeong, which is a combination of their names. Later on, the name of the village, “Bonggae” was reclaimed by the local residents, who would not tolerate the humiliation.

Ms. Kim said as she handed over the pictures, “I always feel consoled and comforted whenever I see the ancestral tablets enshrined at the Jeju 4‧3 Peace Memorial Park. I feel more attached to the memorial building and the park after the donation.”

She also donated 1 million Korean won and added, “I am making a small contribution just to add one more tree to the park where the souls of the victims of Jeju 4‧3 can be laid to rest in peace.”

The 3^rd Jeju Youth Art Festival was held by Jeju Special Self-governing Provincial Office of Education and Jeju 4‧3 Peace Foundation

5,000 Jeju teenagers showed peace-themed artwork / 3^rd Jeju Youth Art Festival held by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education and the Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation

Commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the 3·1 (March First) Independence Movement and the 71^st anniversary of Jeju 4·3, nearly 5,000 teenagers on Jeju gathered to unveil their artworks on the theme of peace.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education (Superintendent Lee Seok-moon), and the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation (Chairperson Yang Jo-hoon) held the 3^rd Jeju Youth Art Festival at the Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Park from Oct. 11 to 12.

The event, under the direction of the Jeju Society for Art Education Studies, was themed “Peace, drawn once more.” Side events included an art exhibition, an art experience booth wall painting contest for all middle and high-school students on Jeju and a tour of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Memorial Park.

At the art exhibition, 5,079 students from Jeju set up pinwheels prepared in their school art education classes in an exhibit called “Wind of Peace.”

The opening ceremony of the festival featured a dance performance entitled “Peace depicted by dancing,” presented by some 240 students and members of the Jeju Dance Art Center (Director Kim Mi-sook).

On the second day of the festival, a wall painting contest for all middle and high-school students with the theme “Peace, a new future” was held. One hundred fifty-seven participants created messages for peace in their drawings and presentations commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the 3·1 Independence Movement and the 71^st anniversary of Jeju 4·3.