[INTERVIEW] Activists reveal Jeju's dark history

Poster of Jeju Dark Tours / Courtesy of Baek Ga-yoon

By Choi Ha-young

Baek Ga-yoon

Jeju Island is Korea's most popular tourist destination. However, Baek Ga-yoon and Kang Eun-joo, co-representatives of Jeju Dark Tours, say little is known about the island's dark history.

Jeju Dark Tours, a civic group, provides information about tragedies that took place among the island's well-known tourist attractions.

"Tourists love Hamdeok Beach, but they usually don't know the white beach is where numerous civilians were killed decades ago," Baek told The Korea Times. "Actually, Jeongbang Falls' great cliff was used to dispose of the bodies of the victims killed during the massacres and bodies are still buried under Jeju International Airport."

Between April 1947 and May 1954, a government-backed anti-communist suppression campaign killed about 10 percent of Jeju's population ― estimated at around 30,000 men, women and children ― an incident that came to be known as the Jeju massacre.

"I vividly remember the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, where 304 people lost their lives. Tragedies should be commemorated not to repeat them," Baek said.

Baek said there are around 800 historic sites that are related to the uprising, but they are not well-preserved and some of the places remain abandoned.

"As South Korean tourists would wonder about the history of their tourist destinations in foreign countries, foreigners flocking to Jeju would also be curious about its history. We are also planning to put the exact spots on online maps posted by Google, Naver and Daum, so tourists can easily visit these places."

When she worked for People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South Korea's largest civic group, Baek used to be in charge of international solidarity with foreign NGOs and U.N. bodies. She believes reflecting the dark history of the peninsula would help resolve ongoing tragedies in neighboring countries including Myanmar's Rohingya refugees.

"One day, I read an article titled ‘A soldier hurled my son down to his death.' I thought that story was about the Jeju massacres, but it was actually describing a Rohingya mother's narrative," Baek said.

"Many of the current issues are rooted in history while similar cruelties are taking place. For example, far-rightists in Korea openly use Northwest Youth Group, the anti-communist group that contributed to the killings in Jeju, since society has failed to reflect on the historical wrongdoing and eradicate the group."

She does not intend to disrupt tourists' precious relaxation by recalling bloody scenes. To satisfy diverse people from various nations, regions and generations, Baek is now drawing up tailored programs and travel routes. "While designing the programs, we are particularly taking children into account. Also we are creating programs to discover Jeju's environment, cultural assets and arts that are themed with the April 3 incident."

Visit facebook.com/jejudarktours for more information.

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