A VIEW OF US. PART 3: KOREAN STORIES CONTINUED

Today is August 15th here in Japan. For those of you who remember your history, today is the 65th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the United States marking the end of World War II. I did not realize I planned to arrive in Okinawa on this exact date, but now find it somewhat appropriate. This date also marks 10 days since my arrival in Asia, so I figure it is time to finish my report on Korea. Towards the end of my interview with Mr. Kwon (readers of my last post will remember him as the long-time political prisoner and activist I went to a protest with) on the afternoon of August 5th; he mentioned that there are still activist groups facing prosecution for lending aid to the enemy under the National Security Law. My final interview that evening was with two individuals from the Pan Korean Alliance for Reunification who had just been released from prison but are still cleared of the charges of collaborating with the North Korean Government. Let’s begin where I left off in the previous blog, on the trail of the use of the National Security Law to prevent dissent and activism on behalf of a peaceful reunification with North Korea.

BonMinRyon’s Vision for a “Third Way”
The Pan Korean Alliance for Reunification (BonMinRyon) was founded in 1990 based upon the three principles for national reunification (independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity) that had been declared in a joint statement by both the North and South Korean governments in 1972. Sung-hee and I joined Choi Eun-a (staff member), Lee Kyung-won (secretary) and Kang In-ogg (editor) in the PKAR offices in downtown Seoul at approximately 7pm. We were all hungry so decided to have a short (one hour) interview in their offices before relocating to a restaurant for dinner. Ultimately, I wanted to talk to them about three things that perked my curiosity when I read about their organization. I wanted to hear about their recent arrest and imprisonment under the National Security Law, their opinions on the relationship between the South Korean government and South Korean people, and I wanted them to explain their vision for a reunified Korea.

According to Ms. Choi, the direct cause of their arrest can be traced back to the previous administrations that opened the way for cooperative alliances between North and South Korean activists. During the previous two administrations (Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun) their organization had been allowed regular travel to North Korea to meet with sister organizations in order to facilitate peaceful reunification. In 2008 South Korea elected Lee Myung-bak as president and the country has since taken a decidedly militant tone towards the north. President Lee’s administration began to claim that the PKAR was getting their orders from North Korea. The government essentially argued that since the PKAR agrees with the North Korean government that there should be a peace agreement between the two countries and a subsequent withdrawal of the US military from the peninsula, they must clearly be collaborating and helping the North. Ms. Choi and Mr. Lee are on release at this point based upon a motion by their attorneys arguing that the prosecution violated their constitutional rights; it will be another year before they find out how the court rules on the use of the evidence gathered by the prosecution via tapping the phones and surreptitiously reading emails of PKAR members. After they explain their current legal situation I decide to shift the conversation to some contemporary political issues.

My question: Does the current Cheonan incident make your job more difficult? (Cheonan is the name of the South Korean ship apparently sunk by a North Korean torpedo some months ago)

Mr. Lee: Many South Korean citizens are suspicious of the conclusions offered by the South Korean government’s investigation. If the people were really convinced this were an act of North Korean aggression they would be rushing out to stock up on noodles right now. Instead, they appear to be more afraid of the implications of the current joint military exercises involving the US and South Korean militaries—these actions are much more likely to increase the risk of war on the peninsula. The Cheonan incident also gives the South Korean government more excuses to suppress North Korea.

My question: To what degree does the general population of South Korea believe the accuracy of the government’s conclusions?

Mr. Lee: Not very much and the government even admits so. On July 7th the minister of National Defense testified to the National Assembly that she was afraid too many citizens doubted the government’s version of the incident. This is probably also because of an overarching lack of support among the people for the current version of the US/ROK military relationship. In the 2003 final report issued on the question of modernizing the military alliance in order to support the US military’s goal of strategic flexibility, the government admits the greatest threat to the stability of the alliance was a rising anti-American sentiment among the consciousness of the people of South Korea. The government also noted a weakening of hostility towards North Korea. For these reasons the US must oppose improved relations between North and South Korea since this will jeopardize the future goals of the alliance.

My question: In your statement of principles you state that “it is important that the two different political and socio-economic systems now existing on Korean soil be allowed to continue their way, competing and cooperating with each other, for an ultimate evolution into one.” Could you perhaps give some explanation or greater clarification as to how you see this taking place?

Ms. Choi: It’s called a “creative third way.” We need a new method. For example the German reunification would not be an example of a successful merging of two distinct systems. (Because basically just the West German approach was adopted throughout the country) We want a system where the two different approaches merge and co-exist with each other. Federated unification is really the idea.

Mr. Lee: We first need to acknowledge that both sides are human beings proud of their own national histories; only once we first acknowledge this can we move forwards towards peaceful unification. If we can’t do this, the only alternative is continued war.
Ms. Choi: The basis for ending the conflict has already been established by the Joint Statement of Principles. If you look at the statement, there is a key phrase where both governments acknowledge the importance of accepting our differences and using difference as a starting point. It also states that on this basis of two different Korean communities we must work from a unified federated system for unification.

As I said initially, we decided to keep this meeting short since the day had been long for all involved. We concluded the interview by discussing the role South Korea should play in helping to reduce tensions between the United States and North Korea. Both Ms. Choi and Mr. Lee agreed that a key first step towards peaceful reunification of the Korean people is an improved relationship between North Korea and the United States. They also argued that since the possession of nuclear weapons by North Korea is at the heart of this issue, the United States and North Korea must work in a bilateral way to resolve this conflict.

Ms. Choi explains: The essence of the issue is that this is a conflict between the US and the DPRK. Even though the South Korean government cannot intervene between the two; it can support a better relationship by emphasizing its own policy goal of peaceful reunification. Specifically, the ROK could encourage an honest effort towards inter-Korean dialogue. Such an approach towards dialogue with the North would also encourage a more positive relationship between North Korea and the United States. Kim Dae-jung’s sunshine policy (The “Sunshine Policy” refers to Kim’s systematic approach to “warm” relations between the North and the South) was a good example of how successful this approach could be. For example, after the June 15th statement the Vice Prime-Minister of North Korea was invited to visit the United States and Madeline Albright was invited to North Korea.

We concluded our interview and went down the street to eat some delicious (perhaps a bit too spicy for me) Korean food. Mr. Lee was kind enough to introduce me to the Korean liquor known as “Soju”, a very strong yet somewhat fruity flavored alcohol. Overall the first day of my trip was thoroughly exhausting but as I near the end of my journey that first day in South Korea continues to stand out as the single most educational and eye-opening day of my trip.

Two Little Girls and the White Cranes
The next morning Sung-hee meets me early once again as we have another busy day planned. This day (August 6th) we plan to visit villages that are being (or have already been) displaced by the South Korean government in order to make room for the expansion of US Military facilities in South Korea. Our first stop is the village of Ohyun-ri in the vicinity of Mugeonri in the Kyeonggi Province. The area of Mugeonri has been a key training ground for both the US and South Korean militaries since the 1970s. Over the course of three decades the training field has gradually expanded until in 2007 the South Korean government decided to completely remove all villagers in the area so that the United States can more fully train their forces at the battalion level consistent with the principle of strategic flexibility. Troops based in Guam, Okinawa and the US come here for training.

As we arrive to meet our guides for the day I am startled by the sound of bombs exploding in the distance. Of course I knew I was going to a training field, but I guess it took the actual sound of explosions for the full force of what it means to live next to a military training facility to hit me. Eventually the sound of explosions ends during the course of our tour, but I definitely found the sound unsettling, I could not even imagine how difficult it must be to live under these conditions on a continuing basis. Our guides Joo Byung-joo (village chairman) and Lee Jae-hoo (chairman of the committee against expansion of the training field) meet us at the bus stop and begin to take us on a tour of the area in Mr. Joo’s van. They begin by explaining that the original village is almost completely removed at this point, and the remaining villagers who have been holding out against relocation have recently learned that the will inevitably lose their battle against the expansion of the training field. The legal principle of imminent domain has been used by the National Defense Department to force the remaining 200 villagers and 100 households out of the area.

Mr Lee explains the first firing range we visit is currently for target practice by tanks and soldiers launching rocket-propelled grenades. They practice by shooting their munitions over the mountains to land and explode in the unoccupied jungle in the distance. This field housed a school where both our guides once played and learned, but there is no longer any school in the area for the few remaining children.
The only residents of the field are a dwindling flock of white cranes, an important national symbol to the Koreans. Our guides spend a lot of time talking about the threat posed to the cranes since the cranes’ habitat relies upon cultivation of rice fields. As rice fields are destroyed to make way for bases and training grounds the cranes lose their home.

Our visit concludes by a visit to an important memorial site. As some of you may already be aware, this is also the village where two little girls where killed in a traffic accident eight years ago involving two US Military armored vehicles. The vehicles where approaching each other driving in opposite directions and rather than stopping to let one or the other pass they tried to pass at the same time, taking up not only the entire roadway but also the sidewalk where two 15 year old girls were walking. The girls found themselves trapped with no avenue for escape since the area of road they were passing has a large retaining wall on their side of the street. Local activists claim the soldiers saw the girls and decided not to stop anyway. The soldiers were never tried in South Korean court and since they were on duty the US military court found no fault with the soldiers. The US military has since built a memorial at the site, but the local villagers apparently despise the memorial because they would rather have built their own memorial to honor these two lost souls. If one looks closely at the inscription explaining that the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Infantry division built the memorial, they’ll notice a vandal has attempted to scratch the division’s name off the monument.

A Plea to American High School Students from the Elders of Daechu-I
Imagine waking up one morning to the sound of helicopters filling the sky over your village. You exit your home to see soldiers rappelling down from the helicopters in what appears to you to be full combat gear. Next imagine that these soldiers then proceed to construct a large impenetrable fence around the rice paddies that had been your family’s primary means of support and way of life for generations and generations. Such is the sad story related to me during our meeting in the next village visited.

After leaving Mugeonri we traveled to the city of Pyeongtek, about an hour south of Seoul by train. There are two major US bases in the area, Osan Air Base and Anjeong-ri Base. Under the new ‘strategic flexibility’ principle, Osan is slated to be the primary base of the massive US presence in Korea. The site was originally a Japanese base from prior to World War II, and now the US has promised to build a base there to last 100 years.

We go to visit the newly constructed village of Nowar-I, but the village head is fighting to rename the village to the name of their community’s original village-Daechu-I. The “village” looks more like a recently build American tract development. Villagers that were once farmers have now become suburban “homeowners” with mortgages. Unfortunately, they have lost their primary means of support. Now each household is given one 6 month a year appointment to work in the city sanitation department cleaning roads.

We meet in the newly constructed home of village headman Shin Jong-wok. He is reticent to talk about the struggle that culminated in the entire village being forcibly evicted and relocated to an apartment complex three years ago before finally being relocated to its current location. Mr. Shin has invited three elders whom he says were instrumental in the struggle to speak with me. He says he invited many others, but most chose not to talk to me since the memory of their forcible eviction is still too painful. Sung-hee and I sit down with the elders; Mr. Song Jae-guk does the majority of the talking for the group.

Mr. Song: I just wanted to save our village. I’m not sure if the US military is here to protect us or not, but I am angry because they took our land. We were not properly compensated and the US and Republic of Korea militaries treated us like “small fries.” This is why we are still so angry. Our opinions were never considered in the negotiations. In fact, we were never consulted; instead we were just told we had to move and when we resisted we were forcibly relocated to a temporary space for three years before being brought to this final location. If the US government had taken the time to speak to us and listen to us we would not be so angry at being relocated. Another thing we are upset with the government over is that during the relocation process they easily could have let us stay in our village for the three years it took them to get this village ready. The US military decided they wanted our village and the decision was made without any discussion with us. I think they did not talk to us because they were afraid we would refuse to move. We also feel betrayed by our government because they were more worried about their relationship with the United States than being responsible to their own people. I don’t really have much else to say, but I do have a request for the American teenagers. The US is a powerful country, and we are not sure if the US military is here to protect their own interests or us. But, there should be respect shown to your alliance country. This respect must come from the heart, only then can there be no hostility. Please treat us as your brothers. Please treat the world as your brothers. There should be no difference between you and me. I think both countries should peacefully co-exist and am saddened it is not going so well.

Thus my second day of travel has been completed. Friday was not nearly as hectic and fast paced as the day before, but by the end of the day I’m once again exhausted and looking forward to returning to my hostel. The next morning will be a very early departure since we will be flying to Jeju Island at 7:30AM.



Jeju Island: The Uprising and Planned Naval Base.
The final leg of my journey in Korea took me to Jeju Island. Korean’s consider Jeju to be their own version of Hawaii; an island paradise most newlyweds visit on their honeymoon. From the descriptions of this gorgeous island one reads in travel brochures, they would never know the sad and tragic history hidden here, much less the South Korean and US Governments’ current plan for the island. I’ll begin the final portion of this blog entry with a brief history lesson.

“The Jeju April 3 Incident” refers to a series of events that lasted for 7 years spanning the US military government period, the founding of the Republic of Korea and the end of the Korean War. The casualties involved with this incident are exceeded only by the death toll of the Korean War itself. In 1945, after the liberation of Korea, public sentiment on Jeju Island was restless about the political direction of the US Military Government in Korea. The spark for the incident is often identified as an event on March 1, 1947. Six Jeju residents were shot dead by the National Police while demonstrating against rule by the American Military Government in Korea. The citizens of the island responded with a general strike that even involved local government officials. In response the US Military Government deployed the National Police and the Northwest Youth Organization (a right-wing political organization modeled after the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany). These two entities attempted to quell the uprising by unleashing torture and political terror upon the local population. Finally, members of the Jeju branch of the South Korean Labor Party initiated an uprising to protest the military repression and the announcement of an election to establish a separate South Korean government. The people of Jeju themselves responded by boycotting the elections en masse which led to the nullification of the May 10th general election results.

Despite the efforts of the Jeju Islanders to oppose the establishment of an independent South Korean Government, the Republic of Korea came into existence on August 15, 1948. Following the establishment of the ROK, the South Korean government intensified its military presence on the island with the support of the US Military. On November 17, 1948, the ROK declared martial law on Jeju Island. This led to intensive military operations designed to further suppress political resistance on Jeju. In a particularly shocking move, the newly created South Korean Military declared all areas further than 50km from the coast a “free fire zone.” They ultimately deployed a scorched earth policy burning down almost the entire island in order to drive out the remaining resistance on the island. If citizens of Jeju were found within the free fire zone, they would be killed and tortured regardless of age, gender or political affiliation. Accounts of how many people were killed are difficult to come by since the South Korean government suppressed all attempts to even talk about the Jeju April 3 incident until 1987. Official estimates of the death toll from this incident range anywhere from the early conservative ROK estimates of 15,000 to upwards of 60, 000 citizen deaths.

I relate this history to give context to the current plans to build a naval base on the island. With this decision, the political history of Jeju Island as a holdout against US Military rule and Korea and the decision to partition Korea has come full circle. The “red-island” (name given to Jeju by US military propaganda in 1947) will now become a key strategic location for the South Korean and American militaries to practice the principle of strategic flexibility.

A simple glance at this map demonstrates the ultimate strategic goal for building a military base on this island. I’ll give the reader a hint; it’s not for protection against North Korea. In Jeju Sung-hee and I join up with members of SPARK who have come to the island in order to see and hear first hand about the current plans for the military base. A group of Korean-Americans on a cultural exploration trip also joins in our expedition.

Local artist and activist Mr. Koh Kwoh-I was our driver and tour guide around the island that afternoon. Mr. Koh took us to three different sites in order to help us grasp the impact the proposed naval base would have on the local population. First we go to the reservoir the villagers rely upon for their drinking water. Jeju Island is singularly bereft of rivers, but they do have a few streams that actually start from underground aquifers. The reservoir we visit is the only site of clean and fresh drinking water for the villagers. Once the base is built, it is expected by the villagers they will lose access to the clean and healthy water provided by this natural resource. Next we visit the site on the coast that represents the northernmost limits of the proposed base. The beautiful volcanic rocks we stood on that day will have to be covered over with concrete in order to build the base. Finally, we visit a protest tent at the southernmost edge of the proposed site.

Mr. Koh explains his objections to the proposed base: The ROK government tells us this base is not intended for use by the US military, but given that they plan to have the base ready by 2014 I am suspicious of this claim. 2014 is also the date the US military has promised to remove troops from Okinawa by. Also, the Status of Forces Agreement (in military speak this is called a “SOFA”; essentially an agreement between the United States and South Korea which outlines the nature of US military presence in the country) says that the United States does not even need to ask South Korea’s permission to use bases owned and operated by the South Korean military. Therefore, it is inevitable that this base will become a US military base. Jeju Island should remain an “Island of Peace” (the Roh Moo-hyun government designated Jeju Isand and “International Island of Peace” in 2002 as part of an apology for the April 3 Incident) and serve as a site for peace and stability in North East Asia, but if a base is built here we will instead be in the eye of the storm. The closest naval port to Jeju is not Pyongyang in North Korea, but instead is Shanghai. The goal of the base is clearly to wage war against China, not to protect us from the North Koreans. Clearly, China would not look favorably upon the building of this naval base. If tensions in North East Asia are heightened the world will become destabilized and potentially cause World War III. The only people who benefit from such a situation is the Military Industrial Complex. I personally feel that is why our struggle here is so important; if we do not fight this base the safety of the world for the next 100 years will be jeopardized.

After Mr. Koh’s speech we leave the protest tent and head to the village cultural center for a shared meal. The agenda for the rest of the evening is a meeting with the Mayor of Geongjeong (the village where the base will be built). Mayor Kang Dong-kyun gives a speech explaining the history of the island’s struggle against the base and the current status of their fight. I’ve run out of space to completely reproduce his speech here, so instead I will end this post with his exhortation to us. If you’d like to read more from Mayor Kang, you can read another speech of his here.

Mayor Kang: In conclusion, I have one request for you. Tens of thousands of people have visited our village over the past few years but they always go home and forget about our struggle here. Please go home and talk to people about our story. Please remember our struggle as a small village trying simply to preserve our way of life.

Thus ends my journey in Korea. I am now writing from my hotel room in Okinawa and hope to have plenty more stories to tell about my time in Asia the next time I get a chance to post to the blog. Thanks for reading, and hopefully these stories have inspired you in the same way my encounters with the people in these stories have inspired me.