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Carole Reckinger

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Carole Reckinger

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  • Gangjeong, anti-naval base protest
    Jeju anti naval base protest .jpg
  • Gangjeong anti-naval base protest
    Jeju anti-naval base protest.jpg
  • At time construction takes place 24 hours a day....during these days, protesters are present outside the gate, blocking it every hour
    Nighttime protest.jpg
  • A protester trying to break through the police blockade
    Protester breaking through the polic...jpg
  • Protesters waiting for their turn to be removed from the entrance t the construction site
    Waiting for their turn to be removed...jpg
  • protesters getting ready to block the gate
    Protesters getting ready.jpg
  • Gangjeong protest.jpg
  • Gangjeong protest.jpg
  • Gangjeong protest.jpg
  • protester at gangjeong protest.jpg
  • Gangjeong protest.jpg
  • Gangjeong protest.jpg
  • 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 .
    Activists from all over Korea join t...jpg
  • police in riot gear
    police in riot gear.jpg
  • Gangjeong protester.jpg
  • Gangjeong protester.jpg
  • Emotions are running high.jpg
  • The construction site
    The construction site.jpg
  • After the hourly police raid
    After the police raid.jpg
  • The entrance to the 50 hectares construction site in the village of Gangjeong is located on a busy main road linking the capital of Jeju to the second biggest city, Seogwipo. On the side of the road, a colorful tent city has been erected with sleeping quarters, a computer tent, a small coffee place, and a lot of banners and artwork. Every hour, about 300 police stationed on a public parking 100 meters away march to the entrance gate. A protester keeping watch gives a signal using a gong and all the protesters (between 20 and 40 on normal days) take position in front of the gate and sit on chairs holding banners or sit on the floor with interlocked arms and feet. It usually takes the police about 20 minutes to clear the way and secure the entry and exit of the trucks.
    protesters being carried away.jpg
  • Construction trucks waiting for the police to clear the gate
    construction trucks waiting.jpg
  • Gangjeong protesters.jpg
  • A catholic priest comforting a protester after the police raid
    A priest comforting a protester afte...jpg
  • Every hour about 150- 300 police descend on the gate to clear the way for the construction trucks
    The hourly police invasion.jpg
  • Going to work is hard work for staff of the naval base construction site
    Going to work.jpg
  • From the time construction of the base was announced, activists, catholic priests and nuns, protestant pastors, law professors, teachers, artists, writers, housewives and students from all around South Korea have joined the villagers in their protest. In order to hinder and delay construction, protesters regularly block the entrance to the construction site with their bodies, chain themselves to anything available, go on hunger strikes, file lawsuits and press for a reconsideration of the project nationwide.
    During the daily catholic mass in fr...jpg
  • Gangjeong protester.jpg
  • Gangjeong activists.jpg
  • Following the police raid.jpg
  • Sung Sim Jang's (42 - with the shaved hair), from a village 40 minutes from Gangjeong, has taken a break from her work as a taxi driver to support the protest. She was on hunger strike for one month, even refusing to drink for over a week in November 2012.
    emotions running high after the poce...jpg
  • The core group of protesters, who are there every day, are activists originating from outside Gangjeong or other parts of South Korea. Many of the long-term activists just planned to visit for a few days and ended up staying. <br />
<br />
The fight against the naval base currently mobilizes more than 125 non-governmental organizations across South Korea (ecologists, pacifists, Christians, Buddhists and associations for human rights) and more than a hundred abroad . Although the Gangjeong anti-naval base movement has received attention by most established global media and receive support from global anti-base movements in Okinawa, Japan, Guam, Europe, and the US, the movement has received relatively little mainstream media attention in South Korea. "The protesters who have joined the fight from the mainland are frequently referred to as 'outside forces', communists, pro-North Korea agitators and 'professional' troublemakers in the mainstream media"  an activist explains.
    Most activists have bruised bodies.jpg
  • Most policemen and women are very young, some of them doing their compulsory military service. Since 2011, 128.402 police have already served in Gangjeong, with an average of 352 policemen and policewomen per day . The police are rotated every two to three weeks, undoubtedly because the work is hard but also to avoid sympathy for the protesters from developing. Some of the policemen look extremely embarrassed and are quick to point out that they are only doing their job.
    a catholic nun refusing to clear the...jpg
  • A policeman in civilian clothes harassing protesters with a camera
    An upset protester after the police ...jpg
  • Every hour construction trucks enter and exit the base.
    Gangjeong anti-naval nase protest tr...jpg
  • Between the raids.jpg
  • Every week, catholic priests and nuns from different dioceses visit Gangjeong to hold masses and to join in the blockade of the entrance gate. A catholic priest explains that he comes down to Jeju during his free days, as the struggle is one of social justice that concerns the whole nation . <br />
<br />
Father Joseph Oh, a catholic priest explains that in the beginning when the villagers were fighting alone against the navy base, the police was much more violent and used to hit people. According to him, the police have used less violence since activists from the mainland have joined in. "They know that the news will spread far beyond Gangjeong if they use excessive force" .
    Catholic priest dancing before the p...jpg
  • A Gangjeong woman reasoning with the...jpg
  • The island of Jeju is known for its unique nature and biodiversity and was visited by more than eight million tourists in 2012. It is part of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World and is the only place on Earth to receive all three UNESCO designations in natural sciences: UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (2002), UNESCO World Natural Heritage (2007) and UNESCO Geopark (2010) . The sea off Gangjeong in the south of the island is home to rare soft corals and is one of the most important habitats for the endangered indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin.
    Seogwipo.jpg
  • Catholic nuns from all over South Ko...jpg
  • The naval base project on the self-governing island of Jeju, about 80 kilometers from the mainland, was launched during the Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008) and has since been approved by two successive administrations. The official reasons for the naval base are to allow for better policing of the sea lanes and faster response to any acts of aggression by North Korea. The Seoul government emphasizes that the Jeju Civilian-Military Complex Port will lead to regional development, maximum compensation for residents and investment into various facilities. <br />
<br />
A majority of the 2,000 Gangjeong villagers, who live mainly from agriculture and fisheries, do not accept these arguments as valid. In a referendum held in 2007, 94 percent of the eligible voters opposed the naval base. They fear that its sheer size - once completed, the base will house 8,000 marines, up to 20 destroyers, several submarines and two 150,000-ton luxury cruise liners - will likely lead to the erasure of their community, 450 year history, culture and traditions. <br />
<br />
Along Gangjeong's coastline, where fresh spring water meets the sea, lies a 1.2 kilometer-long lava rock known as Gureombi, which is part of a world heritage site. Its many unique fresh water tidal pools provide habitats for a wealth of animal and plant life and the fresh-water springs underneath the rock provide 70% of the drinking water for the southern half of the Island. Gangjeong is known as the 'village of water' and the Gangjeong stream is what makes the farmland some of the most fertile on the island.
    Gangjeong Village coast.jpg
  • After the raid in fron of the gate.jpg
  • Protesters getting ready.jpg