Background - The Red Hunt, 1948

The Jeju Anti-Guerilla Campaign
The Red Hunt 1948 - 1950

Detailed History

[The Background of the Red Hunt]

After Independence

On August 15th, 1945, Korean became independent. Jeju after independence was very enthusiastic and nationalistic, and was full of new hope. At the independence of Korea, many Korean people who had stayed in Japan returned. Those people had high nationalism and social consciousness due to their difficult years overseas, and many of them had received a high level of education. The strong sense of nationalism established the Council of Jeju People, and active self-governing took place in every town.

The Council administered the affairs of Jeju with the unique cooperation of an island, without conflicts between the right and the left, and thus received absolute support from the Jeju people. The fervor for education was also very high, so that 10 junior high-schools and 44 elementary schools were established in just two years. This spread of modern education was of course beneficial, but also became one of the reasons that Jeju had a more leftist color than other areas in mainland. The educators, teachers in middle school and high school and village teachers, were mostly so called 'learnt people', people who had received high level education overseas. Many of them were infused with leftist ideals, and sought to pass on their thoughts. Although a large part of the population of Jeju still remained uneducated and ignorant of any ideology, such education did affect the Island to be somewhat leftist.

As shown in self-governing and educating activities, Jeju Island just after independence awaited with hopes a world much different from the times of Japanese rule, a new world for the people.

But as time passed, the new world the Jeju people expected faded from their views. The American military administration maintained the Japanese collaborators in police and administration, and demanded delivery of rice in high amounts, so that resentment against the military administration rose. Also, the repatriation of sixty-thousand people brought unemployment and lack of necessities, and a poor harvest put the people's lives in difficulty. Furthermore, an epidemic of cholera killed almost 300 people. Especially, acts of extortion done under various excuses by former Japanese collaborators in the police continued, infuriating the Jeju people.

The Protest of March 1st and the Shooting Incident

In such an aggravating situation, thousands of Jeju people gathered throughout Jeju to commemorate the 1919 (Samil) Independence Movement. Many of these people moved to Kwanduk Pavilion and held a demonstration criticizing the governance of the American military and demanding the establishment of a democracy. By afternoon, people started to disperse. Then, a little boy who was watching the demonstration was accidentally run over by a mounted policeman. But the policeman is said to have just glanced down at the boy and went on as if nothing had happened.

Outraged, the crowd began to throw stones at the police, and the police opened fire at them. As a consequence, six people were killed and eight were severly injured. The witnesses said that the police overreacted in firing at the people. As the news spread, the whole Jeju Island was swept in a rage.

The shooting incident on March 1st brought tremendous anger. Independence has been even more impressive on Jeju than in other areas. Near the end of the Japanese rule era, the cornered Japanese arranged Jeju to be the last place for their struggle and shifted an army of seventy-thousand and a large quantity of weapons to Jeju. The plan then was to fight to the last in Jeju, using the natural advantages of Mt.Hanra, and furthermore, to use the 200 hundred-thousand Jeju people as reinforcements. Had the World War II ended only a month later, Jeju could have been swept by the war, and then would have been devastated. In such a threatening situation, independence was a bliss for the Jeju people.

Having been rescued from near death, the Jeju people held high hopes for the new government, and also high was the dissapointment and anger when the government failed them, particularly by the shooting incident of March 1st. The whole Island started to protest fiercely against the shooting in March 1st. On March 10th, a full-scale strike by both the people and the local government took place. All shops, schools, public offices, and even the police participated in the strike. Governor Park Kyung-hoon submitted a protest letter of resignation, and all local newspapers raised funds for the victims of the shooting incident and vehemently supported the strike.

It was probably then when the America military government came to regard the Jeju people as a 'rebellious mob, possibly of left-wing element.' As the situation became serious because of the strike, the government dispatched an inquiry commission. The commission reported that the strike took place because Namro-dang

[Unfinished History: Compensation and Restoration of Dignity Movement]

The Red Hunt of April 3rd, despite the size of the incident and the large number of its victims, is not very well known even in Korea. Only a number of people interested in history and the people of Jeju are acquainted with the Hunt.

To the surviving victims of Red Hunt of April 3rd, who saw members of their family die right in front of their eyes, this ignorance about the Hunt hurts them even more. There are deep scars in the hearts of Jeju people, and they are not being cured because not many people acknowledge and appease them. The reason that the Red Hunt was not exposed well in history lies in the hushing up the matter by the past governments rather than in people's lack of concern. Recognizing the injustice of the Red Hunt meant acknowledging the blunder of the government, which leads to liability matters. Also, the hostility with the North had given the South Korean government a nedd to tell its people that 'Reds, and people even suspected of being Reds are bad.' Acknowledging the injustice of the Hunt was a risk, and in contradiction to its anti-communist stance. Thus, rather facing these intricate and sensitive problems, the government had chosen to bury the whole incident as something like 'a revolt by Red mobsters.'

For a half a century after the Red Hunt, the victims did not dare to speak out about their mortification. People whose family members had been executed during the Hunt had to live with the false disgrace of being a 'relative of a Red', being pointed as 'child of a Red', 'father of a Red'. Also, they were constantly watched and were subjected to social restrictions because of the involvement system. They were shunned by society and had to live with all kinds of unfair treatment. Since anti-communism after the Korean War was extreme, the oppression against communists and supposed communists were also extreme. This state continued for several decades. Also during the military dictatorship of the 60, 70s when freedom of speech was not given wholly, victims of the Hunt were constantly under oppression. It was only in the late 80s when democracy was established that they could finally breathe a little easier.

The compensation movement by the bereaved families really began in the 90s. And the interest of the Korean government in investigating about the Red Hunt took shape when Kim Dae Jung government took office.

Still, the movement faced many obstacles, especially the opposition of the bereaved families of the soldiers and policemen who had also lost their lives in the Hunt. For the families of dispatched soldiers and policemen, the compensation and restoring the dignity of the victims meant making the death of the soldiers and policemen meaningless. Although soldiers and policemen did kill many innocent people, they were following orders, perhaps believing that they were doing what is right for their country, and died for that cause. Thus, it is understandable that the bereaved families of the dispatched soldiers and policemen vehemently oppose the compensation movement. Yet, after much conflict and problems, the movement managed to proceed.

1999 December, '4.3 (4.3 refers to April 3rd) Special Legislation' passed through Congress and it stated that the government investigate into the Red Hunt and restore the reputation of the innocent victims. Thus a project group to draw up a report on the truth of the Red Hunt has been formed. On Jan. 11st, 2000, former president Kim Dae-Jung invited bereaved families and representatives of NGOs insisting on truth to the ceremony of signing the '4.3 Special Legislation.' President Noh Mu Hyun already said, "If, as a result of the investigation currently in progress, it turns out that the government had made a blunder, the government will sincerely apologize to the spirits of the victims and the Jeju people."

The investigation and compensation for the Red Hunt must be done as soon as possible. As the victims and the witness are quite aged now, the compensation and the report on truth must be done quickly, when the victims and witnesses are still alive.

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