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Jejudo is a Korean island popular for its blue waters, scenic mountain, and extreme sports. It has now become a tourist destination dear to Koreans as well as those all over the world. However, hidden behind Jejudo's delightful nature lies a tragedy against the background of modern and contemporary Korean history.

The Jeju April 3rd Incident was named after a rebellion that took place on April 3, 1948. The incident had actually been triggered on March 1, 1947 and later led to a series of armed clashes that, until September 21, 1954, involved the sacrifice of local residents in the process of suppression. Yet, this description hardly conveys the sorrow occurred from the tragedies over the course of eight years.

Above all else, one is bound to wonder what caused those armed clashes in the first place. It was on March 1, 1947, the day that marked twenty-eight years since the March 1st Korean Independence Movement was initiated. To commemorate the occasion, some residents of Jejudo who belonged to socialist groups held a rally. A policeman there happened to injure a child who stood by watching the rally. That angered some in the crowd enough to throw stones at the policeman, which was misunderstood as a full-blown attack on the police force and had them open fire on the crowd, resulting in twelve casualties. This incident reinforced the resentment local residents already had toward the police, administrative officials, and the U. S. military government in Korea. Such resentment ultimately fueled the outbreak of an armed uprising led by the Jejudo branch of the South Korean Workers' Party (Namjoseon nodongdang) on April 3, 1948, protesting against U. S. military rule and the establishment of a separate government in South Korea. An increased number of troops were dispatched by the government to forcefully repress the uprising, which led to a series of armed clashes that went on for eight years. What made armed clashes between the U.S. military government and the residents of Jejudo last for so long and what had been the root cause to the conflict between them?

Animosity Toward Imperial Japan Opposed U.S. Military Rule

After the U.S. military took over Okinawa near the end of World War II, Japan felt threatened that it might eventually lose all the rest of its territory, so it took Jejudo as the last stronghold in securing its mainland. Various military facilities were built all over the island and the island's residents had to suffer from severe human and material exploitation in the process. The sense of liberation Jejudo residents felt after the war must have therefore been as strong as the hatred they had against Imperial Japan. Nevertheless, the U.S. military government appointed Japanese and pro-Japanese collaborators as policemen and administrative officials and they constantly committed corruption. These all amounted to a rift that was probably deep enough to make the April 3rd Incident last for so long.

Many still remember the April 3rd Incident as an act of "red commies." How were Jejudo residents painted as red commies? The armed unit that clashed with the U.S. military government and right-wing groups at the time consisted of about 500 troops who were so-called "leftists." To suppress them, a police force of around 1,700 was dispatched. Innocent residents of Jejudo were brutally arrested through that process, so as a government attempt to cover up this mistake, Jejudo residents were rendered as red commies.

An exact tally is yet to be made on the number of casualties from the April 3rd Incident. There is only an estimation that it must have been between 30,000 and 80,000. Considering that the total population of Jejudo at the time had been 300,000, one can only imagine the scale and depth of the scars the horrible incident left behind.

Telling Stories Rather Than Displaying Relics

Tragedies must be remembered so as not to repeat them. The Jeju April 3 Peace Park is a place that aims to remember painful history in order to welcome a better future. It provides a space to gain an understanding of the April 3rd Incident and think about peace. The park's exhibition room houses few relics. Instead it focuses on telling stories. It explains how the distinct circumstances of being an island has affected the history of Jejudo and shows how the dreams of its residents were shattered as they went through Japan's colonial rule, liberation, and the U.S. military rule. By covering the background of the incident, how it led to armed clashes, how it proceeded, and the efforts the residents made in order try to move on, the stories plead for everyone to come together to be healed from their wounds.

Works of art are embedded in between the natural flow of the stories. Among the art works that portray depictions of history more vividly than relics is the "Burning Island," an animation created by Lee Ka-kyoung about an ordinary resident sacrificed through the April 3rd Incident. The "Island of Death" made by sculptor Go Gil-chun also reflects the tragedies local residents had to suffer from the incident.

For someone who studies history, it is embarrassing to admit that I am not very fond of museums. I usually find it boring to look around a space full of relics and formal explanations. However, the Jeju April 3 Peace Park tries to offer a story rather than an explanation. Some works of art on display gave me goose bumps, while others were heart-rending. Having went there without any prior knowledge about the April 3rd Incident, the park definitely conveyed the thought that the island should never again have to go through such a tragic series of events.

With the arrival of spring, Jejudo shall be showing off scenic sights full of flowers. While enjoying those sights, it would be worth taking a break at the April 3 Peace Park to discover the painful past hidden underneath such beauty and to remind ourselves that peace can be better dreamt of by being aware of both the beauty and the pain.