Carole Reckinger

Jeju anti-naval base protest
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Activists from all over South Korea join the protest

Every day, residents from other towns and villages on the island of Jeju come to give their physical and emotional support or bring food and clothes. Jeju's history is one of a constant struggle against external forces and the islanders are proud of their resistance to oppression and exploitation. The last time Jeju hosted a military base in 1948, 30,000 people were killed, 40,000 houses burnt down and 90,000 people made homeless (with a population of 300,000 at the time), as the government sought to quell an uprising led by a small group of alleged communist insurgents . Only in 2003 did President Roh Moo-Hyun officially apologize, calling the massacre, known as the April 3rd incident, a "violation of human rights by the state." He declared Jeju the "Island of World Peace" but only four years later finalized plans for the naval base on Jeju. "We feel that the April 3rd tragedy is being played out again by the construction of the Navy base in our village" a Gangjeong resident worries .

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Activists from all over Korea join the protest.jpg
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Carole Reckinger
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Every day, residents from other towns and villages on the island of Jeju come to give their physical and emotional support or bring food and clothes. Jeju's history is one of a constant struggle against external forces and the islanders are proud of their resistance to oppression and exploitation. The last time Jeju hosted a military base in 1948, 30,000 people were killed, 40,000 houses burnt down and 90,000 people made homeless (with a population of 300,000 at the time), as the government sought to quell an uprising led by a small group of alleged communist insurgents . Only in 2003 did President Roh Moo-Hyun officially apologize, calling the massacre, known as the April 3rd incident, a "violation of human rights by the state." He declared Jeju the "Island of World Peace" but only four years later finalized plans for the naval base on Jeju. "We feel that the April 3rd tragedy is being played out again by the construction of the Navy base in our village" a Gangjeong resident worries .