Jeju Island: Aug 30-Sept 5, 2024

A mere three days after arriving in Seoul, I jetted off once again to Jeju Island off the southwestern coast of Korea. My fellow volunteers and I went to attend the Inter-Island Solidarity 2024 Peace for the Sea Camp: Aug 30-Sept 2. This camp began in 2014 as a gathering of island residents around the East China Sea to build solidarity and raise awareness around their respective island's issues, including militarism. Here, we met friends from Okinawa, Taiwan, Philippines, and Hawaii in addition to China, Korea, and greater Japan.

Here we are on the anniversary of the fencing off of Gureombi Rock upon which this naval base was built.

The camp took place in Gangjeong Village, where the naval base was built in spite of overwhelming opposition from the residents.

Gangjeong Stream — I was told it takes 10 years for the water to filter through the mountains to reach this stream

Here I am giving a speech about the unsustainability and illogic of capitalism during the daily "human chain" demonstration.

During the original protests against the naval base, activists would link arms and create a human chain around Gureombi rock in order to halt construction. That led the military to erect a fence around the site. Now the human chain demonstration involves a few brief speeches at the roundabout (like mine), followed by a march down to the naval base entrance, where we utter collective shouts of protest, and a couple of dances to conclude the demonstration. Below is a song and dance that is traditionally performed at protests and demonstrations in Korea.

During the camp, one of the organizations we learned about was Hotpink Dolphins, which advocates for Jeju's endemic Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.

Pictured above is a closeup of one dolphin's mouth tumor caused by polluted ocean waters. 😣

After the camp, we visited different sites and museums to learn more about the 4-3 Incident, in which 30,000 Jeju residents (10% of population) were killed in the name of "eliminating the communist threat" between March 1947 and September 1954. The blank tablet in the bottom left photo represents the han (grief, anguish, injustice) that accumulated in the people's hearts while, for decades, they were forbidden to speak of the event. In the middle bottom photo is a stuffed animal left by a child on the burial site of another child who died during 4-3. Our guide told us that when he asked the child why they were leaving their precious stuffed animal behind, the child responded,

"This child should also have a toy to play with in heaven."

Here we are hiking up Seongsan Ilchulbong 성산일출봉 on a very humid morning.

Post-hike Jeju tangerine-flavored slushies to cool off 🍊

Abalone kalguksoo (noodle soup) 🦪

Trying Jeju's famous black pork (best pork I've had in my entire life).

Pictured above is one of several tangerines, one of Jeju's primary cultivars, that has split open due to the excessive and prolonged summer heat. In the far-right photo, a plant has begun to grow much higher in the mountains than in the past, again due to the warming climate. In the center, a statue designed by the same designer of the Comfort Women statue represents the Vietnamese victims of Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Beach next to the haenyeo (women sea divers) museum

This was a heavy trip, but I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about the history of the island and experience firsthand how deep the love for the land and for one another runs in the hearts of the people.