About Jeju 4.3

Hi everyone! I Am Sohyun, and I'm thankful you’d like to find out more about Jeju 4.3. Lots of people haven’t heard of it before, and that’s one of the reasons we are creating A Jeju Story. But there is much more to share than will fit into a short animation, so I prepared some information to share with you about what happened with Jeju 4.3, how it impacted Korea and the rest of the world, and what we can do once we learn about it.

What Is Jeju 4.3?

Koreans write dates using dots, so 4.3 means April 3rd (1948). This was the date a sequence of events happened on Jeju Island, South Korea. I’ll explain what led up to it, but when it ended, 10% of Jeju’s population was killed by their own people. It wasn’t a civil war; it was a clash of ideas about Korea’s future. And until recently, much of the story was kept hidden. For most of my own life, I didn’t hear much about it, as it was not something discussed publicly. So even though it happened over 70 years ago, in some ways we are just beginning to learn more about what really happened.

What Led up to Jeju 4.3?

In the early 1900s, Korea was occupied by Japan, and that lasted until the end of World War II. The war ended in August 1945, and by September 1945 Japan ended its occupation of Korea. But as soon as they left, the USSR and the United States moved in and occupied Korea, with the USSR in the north and the US in the south. After several years, it became apparent that a unified government for all of Korea was not seeming to materialize, so the south decided to hold elections to appoint a government in what became The Republic of Korea, or South Korea, and the north formed their own ongoing government as well.

Not everyone thought it was a good idea to form two separate nations in Korea. They worried it might lead to North and South Korea remaining divided for a long time, which proved to be true; they remain divided still today. And, as you might imagine, after being occupied by Japan for 35 years, many Koreans wanted a chance for Korea to operate separately from the control of world powers. So there were mixed opinions on whether it was a good idea to form a separate government in the south and whether agreeing to do so in connection with the support of the US and the United Nations was in the best interests of Korea.

But the transitional South Korean government in place at the time felt it was important to move forward with electing an independent government. So they scheduled elections to take place in the South, which would officially establish South Korea as its own independent country, separate from North Korea.

Jeju Island officially rejected this plan to operate as a divided country and they boycotted the planned election, saying they could only support an election that involved all of Korea, not half of it. The US-led transitional government in the south felt this could threaten plans to create an independent government, so they sent armed enforcers to contain the growing tension and ensure the plan to install an independent government for South Korea would be carried out despite the boycott by Jeju Island.

Tensions started to build from March 1, 1947, and then came to a head on April 3, 1948, about a month before the scheduled elections, and the killing and conflict would continue for the next few years. When it ended, 10% of Jeju Island’s population, many of them civilians, died, including children. And while there were armed and violent individuals on all sides, many of those who ended up being killed were simple farmers or villagers who had no intention of starting an insurrection. And among those whose lives were sacrificed were some of my own family members several generations ago.

People who opposed the idea of having a separately-elected government in the south were labeled communists, or ‘Reddies’, whether or not they actually agreed with communism. It became popular, and still is today to some degree, to call anyone who wanted a unified Korea ‘communists’ or ‘lefties’ because opposing the idea of a separate South Korean government could be seen as a threatening idea. But many in Jeju Island who wanted a unified government were not ‘right’ or’ left’ idealists. Even though local community organizations in Jeju represented the whole range of political ideas, they were united in their desire to live a better life. To many, being labeled as a communist was not only inaccurate, it was a way to try to keep others from expressing their views about differences of opinion. These seemed like a threat to the emerging government in the south, and they were considered rebellious ideas that were against the best interests of the country.

This is, unfortunately, common throughout history. Label those you disagree with and try to dehumanize them. And then it is easier to believe you can treat them as less than human and to control, and even kill, them.

My Own Family’s Connection to 4.3

Members of my own family were killed in Jeju 4.3 for various reasons. My grandfather, then a 3-year-old child, became fatherless when his father was shot by South Korean police not far from their home. When I asked him how it happened, grandpa showed me a dirt road near his village, and as we drove down it, he said, “Those on the left side of the street were spared, and those on the right side of the street were shot.” This is one example of how often the killings were random. It was not that those on one side of the road were intentionally targeted because they were somehow more involved than those on the other side of the road.

My grandmother’s brother was killed by a Jeju armed forces group who were upset he would not join their cause. So, people on all sides of different ideologies killed each other during this time; it was not limited to a certain side or political cause. This fight over ideas led to so much death and disruption.

Only recently did the South Korean government begin to investigate and acknowledge publicly what really happened during Jeju 4.3. They apologized for the role of the government and acknowledged how covering up of the truth kept many victims' families in quiet suffering for so long when they really should have been receiving aid and support instead. They commissioned several large investigations and have continued to publish their findings. They commissioned the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park and memorial, sharing facts about what happened during Jeju 4.3, and these have been acknowledged by presidents of South Korea on both sides of the political spectrum.

International attention has begun to focus on Jeju 4.3, with representatives coming from all over the world to attend summits about it and to discuss how to avoid something like this from happening again.

Until the events of 4.3 began to be shared publicly, it was not discussed publicly because it could be seen as questioning the legitimacy of the South Korean government. It seems nearly every family in Jeju had been impacted by 4.3, yet it was not something that could be discussed openly until recent years. So sharing part of its story in A Jeju Story is part of a larger effort to learn about what happened and discover important lessons from it.

My Mission

In 2022, I visited the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park and was moved by what I learned and felt. I also spoke with my grandfather, who lost his father when he was 3 years old. This was the first time I had asked him about it and had heard it directly from him. This left me surprised that there was such a tragic event that happened and even involved my family, because prior to that time I only had happy memories about Jeju and with my grandparents.

Though what happened during 4.3 had a profound impact, he told me that he forgave what happened. I was greatly touched and was inspired by what he shared with me.

And this is how this animation’s concept began.

This story is my story, my family’s story.

And it is Korea’s story, as our country remains divided still today, much like our ancestors worried would happen if the north and south set up their own governments.

And it is also the world’s story because though Jeju 4.3 is unique in scale and how it was hidden, the dynamics that caused it are part of a pattern that has been happening for thousands of years and still happens today. Power, control, and dehumanization divide us into sides – our own version of north and south – and we become ghastly figures of smoke trying to ensure everyone knows our ‘side’ is right.

But it isn’t about sides. And it is not about ‘left’ or ‘right,’ conservative or liberal. It is about learning to disagree without ending up in violence, and it is about how to learn from the experiences of the past so we can have a freer and more peaceful life today and for our children.

And this is what I intend to accomplish by sharing ‘A Jeju Story.’

I hope you will join me in this journey!