Jeju 4.3 Incident

Jeju had become a heavily fortified island under Japanese rule at the end of World War II. The Japanese had expected a potential Allied landing in Jeju and had built up many strong defenses. However, the war suddenly ended with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This left Korea, and Jeju, in a disorganized state as the government dissolved with no one left to step into the void.

With the war over it became necessary to form a new government. Plans began immediately in Seoul to form a new government, and the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAGMIK) also arrived quickly. However, it took time for this to happen in Jeju and so the people who lived there had to come up with their own solution. They established a 'peoples committee' which was made up of elders and well-respected individuals from each region.

To commemorate and match the tone of the original '3-1 jeol' (삼일절 or March 1st Movement), the South Korean Labor Party Jeju branch decided to arrange a large protest and parade in Jeju City. The idea was to reject any attempts at foreign interference in the country's affairs and to push for a free and unified country. During the parade a boy was injured by a police horse angering the crowd. The marched towards the police station and the police opened fire on the crowd killing 6 and injuring 8. This incident is widely regarded as the the beginning of the April 3 Incident.

On March 1, 1947 a protest and parade was held at Buk Elementary School in Jeju City to protest the situation in Jeju and South Korea - namely the potential perpetual split of the country. During the parade a young boy was injured by a police horse leading to another incident where several people were shot by the police. The Jeju chapter of the South Korean Labor Party met to discuss a response to this incident on March 5 and decided that a general strike around the island was the best response.

Torture by the police had been a semi-regular occurrence around Korea and Jeju, but it had not attracted many protests or fierce denunciations. However, it became a much bigger issue after the 3.1 shooting incident and then when the news broke that a young man named Kim Yongcheol had died while in custody at the Jocheon Police Box.

The Yang Eunha torture case occurred in the shadow of another case in Jocheon village where a young man was beaten to death while in police custody. The two cases - in such a short time period - further enraged the Jeju people who were disgusted with the police's brutality.

It has been a difficult year in Jeju following protests due to the March 1 Incident at Gwandeokjeong Square. The police and right wing groups are causing panic and terror all around the island. A raid on the Jocheon Chapter of the South Korean Labor Party on January 22, 1948 forced the Jeju Chapter to re-think their plans and pushed the outbreak of the fighting to a faster pace.

In an attempt to end the fighting, USAMGIK ordered Kim Ikryeol (commander of the 9th regiment) to meet with the armed resistance and negotiate a peace treaty. He would meet with Kim Dalsam the two attempted to end the fighting on Jeju. Tragically, the deal would fall apart in a matter of days.

A peace agreement has been reached between leader of the armed resistance group, Kim Dalsam, and commander of the 9th Regiment, Kim Ikryeol. The agreement was reached on April 28, 1948. In the agreement both sides agree to stop fighting within three days, but an incident in Ora-ri derails it.

The 5.10 General Election was one of the main reasons given by the armed resistance group to explain their decision to take up arms when the Jeju 4.3 Incident began. Stopping the election was one of their biggest priorities and they worked very hard to try and stop it from happening in Jeju.

It is shortly after the negotiated peace deal between Korea Constabulary 9th Regiment Lt. Colonel Kim Ikryeol and leader of the armed resistance group Kim Dalsam has fallen apart due to an incident in Ora-ri. USAMGIK decided to replace Kim Ikryeol with a man named Park Jingyeong who was highly controversial, but well thought of. Suddenly news comes that Park Jingyeong has been assassinated in the barracks.

The fighting between the armed resistance group and government has been going on for a bit. The government is in the middle of a massive suppression campaign attempting to capture or kill anyone connected to the armed resistance movement.

The Jeju 4.3 Incident is reaching it's peak with the army and police making aggressive and ruthless checks on villages and villagers. The incident at Yuksiuyeong is one of many examples of this type of incident that happened during 4.3.

Protesting the grain production policy earned Mudeungiwat a close watch and several visits by the police. Eventually once the mid-mountain range evacuation order came down, many of the villagers there were executed for failing to comply with the order.

During the Jeju April 3 Incident a right wing militant group known as the Seobuk Young Men's Association was given special status to serve as a sort of auxiliary police force in Jeju. They were particularly active in the areas of Gujwa and Seongsan.

Due to the forced evacuation of all the villages in the mid-mountain range, many villages were lost forever after people left and were not allowed back in for many years. Additionally the taboo nature of the Jeju 4.3 Incident and the many people who were killed in the area discouraged many from returning or trying to start something new. Youngnam-dong is just one example of many like it.

Suppression forces discovered a small cave called Dotul cave where people from Seonheul-ri were hiding. After torturing the people they found at Dotul cave, the suppression forces learned of another cave called Moksimul cave where other people were hiding.

Euigwi-ri was a quiet town in Namwon-myeon that had been largely unaffected by the events of the Jeju 4.3 Incident. This rapidly changed when the mid-mountain range evacuation order came down and the armed resistance launched an attack on Seogwipo.

Pyoseon has a large sandy beach area that is popular in the summer due to its wide and expansive nature when the tide flows out. However, during the Jeju 4.3 Incident, nearby the beach was an area called 'hanmosal' where hundreds of locals were killed.

In December 1991, researchers from the Jeju 4.3 Research Center discovered Darangshi cave (다랑쉬굴) while searching for villages that had been destroyed during the April 3 Incident. While similar incidents occurred many times during the 4.3 Incident this one became incredibly important for the effect it had in Korea and knowledge about the 4.3 Incident within the general population.

It is November 1948. A very cold winter is beginning to blow through Jeju and the "Scorched Earth" (초토화) suppression is fully underway. In Ganjang-ri, Andeok-myeon the suppression forces gather all the people in the village and execute 10 of them by firing squad. They then burn down the village in Ganjang-ri. The remaining villagers flee into the nearby mountains and caves fearing what may happen if they remain in the village.

The Japanese army had left a significant amount of dynamite in Seongsan when they left following independence. Residents of Seongsan had used the dynamite left to catch fish and the like. During the height of the 4.3 Incident, each local village had a 'Minbodan' formed (see below: actors) and they had received permission of the 9th Regiment of the South Korean Army to possess dynamite as a means of self-defense against attacks from the armed resistance group.

On November 5, 1948 members of the armed resistance group attacked the Jungmun district office (중문면사무소), Jungmun Middle School academy (중문중학원), and the grain warehouse (양곡창고), setting them on fire. In response, the army went through the villages around Jungmun and arrested and executed those they thought were responsible or connected to the attacks.

Billemotgul (Billemot cave, 빌레못굴) is a smallish cave that is located in Halla Mountain's mid-mountain region in the Aewol area. People from the Aewol area took shelter there after a series of attacks by police and suppression forces throughout 1948. A total of 29 people were killed at Billemotgul.

On their way back to their headquarters in Hamdeok, soldiers from the 2nd regiment were ambushed by the armed resistance just west of Bukchon Elementary School resulting in the death of two soldiers. This prompted a revenge attack from the soldiers against the local villagers in what turned into one of the biggest single massacres in the whole 4.3 Incident.

Lee Deokgu was a middle school teacher who would become a prominent member of the armed resistance. Initially leading the unit in Jocheon and serving as Kim Dalsam's second-in-command. He would become the commander of the armed resistance after Kim Dalsam defected to North Korea. Lee Deokgu would be killed by the police on June 7, 1949, effectively ending the resistance in Jeju.

The North Korean army has pushed down to the Nakdong River. The South Korean government begins to make plans to flee to Jeju Island to set up a government-in-exile if Busan falls. However, they remember the events of the Jeju 4.3 Incident and move to 'ensure the safety' of the island before their potential arrival.