From Generation to Generation: “Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam” – Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School Jeju 4·3 Club

“Stream sparkling with peace”

runs towards reconciliation and peace

Written and photographed by Kim Eun-kyeong, teacher at Nohyeong Middle School (former teacher at Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School)

‘Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam,‘ Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School Jeju 4·3 Club

Next to Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School flows a small stream. Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School students are called “Seulgaramin” to represent in [a person or people] having seul [shortened from seulgi meaning wisdom] that is believed to flow in that garam [stream]. A few years ago, the school started a campaign to arouse teenagers’ empathy for peace, hoping to help promote the important values of Jeju 4·3 and peace. With the launch of the campaign, students formed a Jeju 4·3 club and named it “Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam.” [Pellong is a Jeju word translated to a “sparkling state” in English, while pyeonghwa refers to “peace” in standard Korean]. The name of the club signifies its members’ wish to realize a “stream sparkling with peace.”

Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam consists of the members of the school’s Student Council. Taking on the campaign, the club decided on the goal of diverting from holding a one-time event in April toward creating an atmosphere where students can empathize with the importance of peace and human rights through a steady encounter with the issues of Jeju 4·3.

Seulgaramin promote peace and human rights valued during the post-Jeju 4·3 efforts for reconciliation

First of all, Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam launched the April 3 Project with the Student Council Members under the theme of “Seulgaramin promoting peace and human rights valued in Jeju 4·3.” A simple survey was conducted for first-year students who have not taken classes on or related to Jeju 4·3. The respondents rarely answered that they knew nothing about Jeju 4·3. Almost all students had learned about Jeju 4·3 in elementary school. However, there were also not many students who answered that they were well aware of Jeju 4·3. In order to improve students’ understanding, Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam selected representative keywords of Jeju 4·3 and created “card news” [a Korean news format for social media that visualizes major issues at a glance using images and short sentences].

Next, the club held a slogan contest to create a memorial banner for Jeju 4·3. Students submitted various slogans with catchy phrases such as “Red flowers they shed turned to peace,” “Jeju 4·3, growing into a sprout of democracy and freedom,” and “Let’s hope for smiley Jeju 4·3!” After voting, “Fragrance of camellia flowers spread along the path of reconciliation and peace” was selected as the winner and made into a banner.

A staff member’s review of the campaign

“I remember that the Education and Arts Division of our club, which promoted the slogan contest, carefully prepared the event, from selecting the format of the contest to purchasing the prizes. It was a good opportunity to share students’ thoughts of Jeju 4·3 through short phrases. Some of the slogans were so impressive that I was instantly moved. There were also those that contained bright ideas that I had never thought of. Reading the submitted slogans, I could broaden my narrow perspective of Jeju 4·3. I could learn from other students regardless of their age.”

The winning slogan was also used to create the banner for the school’s “Gathering Everyone’s Camellia Flower,” where students designed a map of Jeju with camellia-shaped memos written with their impressions of a video clip on Jeju 4·3. Another event, titled “Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School Peace Font Contest,” adopted the slogan as well. To commemorate Hangeul Day, the school encouraged students to represent the slogan in artistic handwriting. Using the caligraphy work that won first prize, the school developed its unique Jeju 4·3 font.

 

++ Card news posted on the school’s social media account and in the school’s main lobby

 

Visiting the site of massacres at Jeongbang Waterfall and raising students’ awareness

It turned out that the club members showed more interest in Jeju 4·3 when they learned about their connectivity to the issue and perceived the shared content. Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School students often visit Jeongbang Waterfall and nearby Jaguri Park. However, the survey findings indicated that few students knew what happened at Jeongbang Waterfall at the time of Jeju 4·3 and what makes it an important historical site. Therefore, Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam carried out activities to recognize Jeongbang Waterfall as a closely located but little-known historical site.

Before visiting the waterfall, the club members conducted research on the history of the nearby area. Through that research, they learned that at the time of Jeju 4·3, there used to be a myeon [district] office, the 2nd Regiment 1st Battalion of the National Defense Guard, the Seogwipo Police Station, and a temporary detention camp around Jeongbang Waterfall. State-led counterinsurgency forces used these facilities as their base and killed more than 250 people at the waterfall, the biggest number of Jeju 4·3 victims in the Seogwipo region. After doing that research, the club members read an article which stated that the construction of a memorial site with a memorial stone was stopped by nearby residents and that a new location was selected. The students were very shocked and saddened to realize that the pain of Jeju 4·3 doesn’t just belong to the past but lingers in the present, as proven in the case of Jeongbang Waterfall.

After completing their preliminary study, the students visited the historical sites around Jeongbang Waterfall with Mr. Oh Soon-myeong, an honorary Jeju 4·3 teacher. The participants listened to the teacher’s personal story, the painful history of Jeongbang Waterfall, and his attitude toward Jeju 4·3, becoming more attached to the waterfall. They also learned in detail about the opposition to the creation of the memorial space, the efforts to establish the space, the process of changing the site, and the location that was finally selected. At the end of the field trip, they asked Mr. Oh what Jeongbang Waterfall meant to him and what message he wanted to convey to the students. The field trip taken accompanied by the knowledgeable teacher enabled a three-dimensional experience of the historical content and articles that used to exist only 2-dimensionally in their heads.

 

++ Application paper for the Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School Peace Font Contest

 

 

A student’s review of the field trip

++ Club members, accompanied by a Jeju 4·3 victim’s family member named Oh Soon-myeong, visit the site of massacres at Jeongbang Waterfall.

“The visit to Jeongbang Waterfall is the most memorable of all the club activities. Even that beautiful Seogwipo tourist attraction was also a site of painful history. The teacher described in detail how innocent residents had been killed at the bottom of the waterfall. Although I was struck with so many different feelings, I found it meaningful that I had time to learn about Jeju’s history, which I had known nothing about. I came to wish that those busily taking pictures of the pleasant waterfall will also learn a piece of Jeju history there, without just casually enjoying the scenery. It was unfortunate that not all Seogwipo Girls Middle School students could join us at the precious event. As a member of the school’s Student Council, I am looking forward to sharing the lessons learned from the trip with my schoolmates.”

 

A student’s review of the field trip released in Collection of Writings on Peace

“According to Mr. Oh Soon-myeong, efforts were made to create a memorial space at Jeongbang Waterfall for those Jeju 4·3 victims who were killed near the waterfall. However, the space has failed to be created because nearby residents and merchants expect it would be an unpleasant site and oppose it with concern for the possible decrease in housing prices and tourists. It is such an outrageous story to know. It is also regrettable that people still have an unfavorable perception of Jeju 4·3. Mr Oh took us to the site that was finally selected for the memorial space (the outdoor space of Seobok Exhibition Hall). He tried not to show his emotions on his face, but I could feel his sadness. The selected site was surrounded by Chinese-style buildings. At the site, we listened to his last comment for the day. He anticipated that we, as students of Jeju Island, would spread the significance of Jeju 4·3. As he made his plea, I made a resolution to promote Jeju 4·3 more widely as a student in Jeju Island. And then, when I looked around again, I could imagine a completely different memorial site which has no bright yellow walls in the Chinese style, but with camellia trees planted instead, and which is visited by many people who honor the victims. I wished that the day would come as soon as possible.”

After the field trip, the students discussed and planned various activities to convey to non-club members what they had felt and learned. First, they produced a video showing the painful history of Jeongbang Waterfall, the field trip to historical sites, the interview with Mr. Oh Soon-myeong, and a litter-pickup campaign around the waterfall.

Next, the students created an art design by combining the winner of the slogan contest with the image of Jeongbang Waterfall. Using the design, a postcard was produced with a QR code for the video of the field trip printed on it. Copies of the postcard were distributed at the school festival and will continue to be used for additional campaign activities.

 

++ Postcard backside design

++ Postcard cover design

++ Collection of Writings on Peace

 

Activities for all students

In order to inform all students of the importance of Jeju 4·3 and peace in a natural manner, the “Class Escape Room” was arranged against the backdrop of Yeongnam-dong, a “lost village” [a settlement of local households that were destroyed or burnt down during Jeju 4·3] in Seogwipo-si. The information related to Jeju 4·3 was not revealed in advance, while inducing the students to learn about it naturally during the game. After all stages were over, the participants were introduced to the detailed story of what happened in Yeongnam-dong during Jeju 4·3.

Students showed great interest in the game from the day the schedule was announced. Those who had been solving problems excitedly and busily became serious and even solemn as they gradually advanced towards the final stage, learning the background of the game. This learning activity was possible because it was planned by our club members, who are also students and understand other students’ minds best.

In collaboration with the School Library Club, a winter literary program was operated with the theme of “Jeju 4·3, Peace, Human rights, and Love.” The participants submitted their original literary works, which were later compiled to publish Collection of Writings on Peace, a literary collection unique to Seogwipo Girls’ Middle School. The program provided an opportunity for students to create their own poems and novels with the theme of “Jeju 4·3, Peace, Human Rights, and Love.”

 

Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam continues to flow

The club activities during the 2022 school year laid the foundation for promoting the importance of Jeju 4·3 through the invigoration of school campaigns. Instead of holding a month-long event in April, all students were able to remember it continuously throughout the year. Based on the increased interest thanks to the activities of the 2022 school year, I gained confidence to plan more diverse student activities in 2023, such as the “Jeju 4·3 Photo Zone” and the “Golden Bell Contest.” Pellong Pellong Pyeonghwa Garam will continue to flow, just as its name represents.

 

Students’ reviews at the end of the activities

“Through the activities related to Jeju 4·3, I was able to not only learn the historical facts but also closely empathize with the pain of the victims and their bereaved families who experienced Jeju 4·3. It was also a meaningful time to have a deeper understanding of people in other parts of the world where they suffer from many social problems and to think about humble efforts I might make to solve the problems.”

“The club activities attracted the attention of students who knew little about Jeju 4·3 to the historical event. A lot of students felt proud to participate in the campaign. The history of Jeju 4·3 must not be forgotten. We must remember the pain of Jeju. Students should take more interest in Jeju 4·3 and continue to help raise public awareness. The memory of Jeju 4·3 will live on.”

“Throughout the activities, I realized that a broadened sharing of the memory of Jeju 4·3 will help us move one step closer to achieving peace in the future. I was able to think about the precious lessons learned from Jeju 4·3. I hope more students will have a chance to think about Jeju 4·3.”

++ A map of Jeju designed with camellia-shaped memos with messages for reconciliation and peace.