US Nuclear Aircraft Carrier, Japanese Imperial Rising Sun Flag in Jeju naval base?/ Bringing 100 year conflict to the villagers/ Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea Camp & Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace, 2018/ Interconnections between Korea and Yemen/ Okinawa Carries On Onaga’s Legacy/ RIMPAC, New PTA Commander and Hawai’i County Council War Crimes Inquiry/ USA is coming back to Taiwan/ Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding/ Following the shadow of Seodal Oreum/ Seongju is still at war with THAAD missile deployment/ Blue House directly involved with human rights violations/ Arms sales and President Moon’s Peace through Strength /2018 Asia Peace Education Workshop/ Story of Bijarim/No Space Force: Keep Space for Peace and more
Resolute Opposition to International Fleet Review! / Do we still need THAAD and Jeju navy base?/ Visiting Oxford and Croughton AFB, UK/Henoko Base Resistance Photo Exhibition/ Yemen, We Welcome You/ The ‘Trial Deal’ Exposed/ 20 Year Struggle Against Gunsan US Base/ US Forces Korea Open New Headquarters in Pyeongtaek/ Won Re-elected Jeju Governor/ Green Party Campaign at Local Election/ Stop RIMPAC/ Re-opening of Peace Center/ Hot Pink Dolphins Center in Construction/ Friendship Recital/ 2018 Jeju Peace Tour etc.
A Symposium for the Denuclearization of Jeju/ Kim Kwan-jin, THAAD, & Lockheed Martin/ Father Mun Chose Prison/ The 6th Year Anniversary of Gureombi Rock Blast/ / 37 Days’ Fast Against Corporation Welfare/ Peace Award to Okinawa/ The Epitaph Covered Under Mural Painting of Lotuses/ Rohingya Refugees Demand Human Rights / Nuclear Cruise Missiles and Zumwalt/ Former President Lee Myung-Bak Jailed Amid Corruption Scandal / Cruise Terminal Construction/ Moseulpo Radar Base / Trial Updates / “No Jeju 2nd Airport” Poetry Night/ etc.
In this December 2017/January 2018 Issue Edition :
Withdrawal of Navy Lawsuit, Start of New Year; Rejecting Militarism on the 80th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre; Martha Hennessy’s St. Francis Peace Center Visit; Naval Blockade & Nuclear Posture Review; Nuchi Du Takara (All Life is a Treasure); International Solidarity (Solidarity with Ahed); ‘Sirens normalize the potential for war’; Round 3 of Jeju 2nd Airport Contention; Trial Updates ; “Night & Day” Recital; Peace School Updates; More on The Memory of the 25th Hour; etc
In this issue, there are many issues that we could not include due to limited space. All they are precious to share. Please check out some links among those:
The view from the Japanese fighter plane hangar. (Photo: Song Dong-hyo)
At 3 PM on December 13, 2017, People Making Jeju to be a Demilitarized Peace Island and Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea co-hosted the fourth annual Nanjing Massacre 80th Anniversary Memorial at Alddreu Airfield, in Daejeong, Jeju, remembering and facing the tragedy of war, pledging to eliminate the factors that make war possible, aspiring together for peace in Northeast Asia, and honoring the souls of the victims.
Opening song (Photo: SH)
Salpuri dance (Photo: Joyakgol)
80 years ago, Japanese fighter planes bombed the city of Nanjing in preparation for their invasion in which 300,000 (mostly Chinese civilians) were killed over the course of 6 weeks. The planes used Alddreu Airfield in Jeju, which was built by the forced labor of over 70,000 local people. Remembering this past, 50 people gathered on December 13 at Alddreu Airfield and declared that Jeju must not be used for making war and causing so much suffering again. With no navy base and no second airport we must make Jeju a real peace island.
Solidarity Message (Photo: SH)On the other side of Halla Mountain from here the government wants to build a new airport and air force base at Seongsan (Photo: SH)
During the ceremony there was music and dance, poems, a solidarity message sent from Okinawa, short speeches from Daejeong Women Farmers’ Association, from the Seongsan struggle against the second Jeju airport/air force base and from Gangjeong, a presentation of thirty flowers to honor the victims, and a memorial statement.
Offering flowers (Photo: Song Dong-hyo)
Memorial Statement:
We remember December 13, 1937, eighty years ago today. The massacre, rape, murder and looting by the Japanese in Nanjing. There was no humanity in that place. For 300,000 lives that cannot be summed up in one figure, we offer a silent prayer for their deaths. We remember this tragedy.
First of all, Jeju was used as a springboard for the massacre. Japan mobilized over 70,000 Jeju residents to build the 198 hectare (490 acre) airfield. Alddreu Airfield was a stronghold for Japan to cross the sea to bomb cities such as Nanjing and Shanghai. With a total of 36 airstrikes, 600 flights and 300 tons of bombs departing from Jeju, countless Nanjing civilians were wounded and killed.
Now, 80 years later US warships and nuclear submarines are frequenting the navy base in Gangjeong. The problem has arisen of air force plans to use the Jeju second airport. Not only is “Island of Peace Jeju” a facetious title, but one cannot help but suspect that the island is an outpost of the US against China. Is Jeju, and is the Korean peninsula, then and now just a place of strategic military importance for powerful countries?
There is surely no peace that came through war. So that there will be no more Nanjing Massacres, we remember that bloody history and how Jeju was mobilized in that day. Jeju must become a demilitarized peace island for the peace of East Asia and the whole world. We must preserve our right to live peacefully.
People Making Jeju a Demilitarized Peace Island, Inter-Island Solidarity for Peace of the Sea
There were about 50 participants total in the memorial ceremony. (Photo: Song Dong-hyo)
Steady Onslaught of Foreign Warships at the ‘Island of Peace’/Trump is not welcome!/ Please Sign The 4·3 Petition/ Maine Peace Walk for Conversation & Community/The Real Name of ‘Seoul ADEX 2017’ is ‘Murder Weapon Exhibition’/ Remembering Yang Yonbg-chan/ Visits from Okinawa and Japan/ The base’s illegal monitoring and human rights violation/ The SCM and the Jeju navy base/ The Hunger of Kim Kyung-bae: 42 day fast against the 2nd airport/Trial Updates/ A Long Journey to Peace – Two Grandpas’ Story/ Keep Space for Peace Week in Soseong-ri and Gangjeong/Peace Education Update/ Tabling in Seogwipo/ Queer Festival etc.
In this August/September 2017 Edition (Specially 8 page):
2017 Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace/ Ishigaki peace camp 2017/ The18 hours’ resistance against THAAD / IPAN calls for THAAD OUT OF KOREA/ Why Iwakuni? / The Colonization of Guam/ Miyako Mothers for a Peaceful Future/ Ishigaki Elders Call for No More War/ Henoko Blue/ Report on the solidarity trip to Korea/ Alliance for Arms Deal/ The Strategic meaning of the Jeju Naval Base and THAAD/ Update on the navy lawsuit/ Dugong Lawsuit Revived in US Courts/ Unilateral Government Information Meeting on the 2nd Jeju Airport Dissipated by the People/ USNS Henson surveyed the Jeju waters/ Sept. 2, the sixth year remembering the Gureomi fence/ Keep Space for Peace week/ May Rest Cho Young- sam and more.
2017 Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace
July 31st (Mon.) ~ August 5th (Sat.)
Also join us for the Festival on the Eve of the Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace
July 30th (Sun.) 6 p.m. (Gangjeong Village Community Hall 강정마을 의례회관)
Peace, Forward Together! Peace Is the Way, and We Are Peace. As we pray together for peace in Jeju and peace for all of us., we will march together in Jeju again this year. All participants will start from Gangjeong Village at the beginning and meet at Jeju City at the March’s conclusion. In between, the participants will divide up into two processions, which will each walk around one side of Jeju Island’s perimeter – one group along the eastern half and another group along the western half. In addition to Gangjeong, the whole of Jeju has been suffering from the remilitarization of the island, including communities that have been struggling against the construction of a second airport. This year we have changed the event’s name to the “Jeju Grand March for Life and Peace” because we are marching to protect peace in all of Jeju.
☮ Participation Fee
Partial – Participation per day: Adult 20,000 KRW, Youth 10,000 KRW (Participation fee is waived for preschoolers)
Full – Participation in the entire March: Adult 90,000 KRW, Youth 50,000 KRW.
Official T-shirts may be purchased separately – 10,000 won.
6- 9 PM: Pre-March Festival (Outside the Gangjeong ceremonial hall)
Monday, July 31
7- 8 AM: Grand March on-site registration and departure (in front of the navy base)
8- 8:30 AM: Grand March Departure Ceremony (in front of the navy base)
8:30 AM: Departure of the East March and the West March
Saturday, August 5
6- 9 PM: Life and Peace Festival (Tapdong Oceanfront Stage, Jeju City)
☮ March Course
Date
West Course
East Course
Monday, July 31
Gangjeong-Jungmun-Andeok (18 km)
Gangjeong-Seogwipo-Namwon (24 km)
Tuesday, August 1
Andeok-Daejeong-Hangyeong (21 km)
Namwon-Pyoseon-Shinsan (22 km) +Festival
Wednesday, August 2
Hangyeong-Geumneung-Hallim (16 km)
Shinsan-Onpyeong-Seongsan (14 km)
Thursday, August 3
Hallim-Gwakji-Aewol (10 km) +Festival
Seongsan-Sehwa-Gujwa (18 km)
Friday, August 4
Aewol-Hagwi-Halla Sports Center (19 km)
Gujwa-Hamdeok-Jocheon (13 km)
Saturday, August 5
Halla Sports Center- Meet the East course in Jeju City- Tapdong Oceanfront Stage (15 km)
Jocheon- Meet the West course in Jeju City-Tapdong Oceanfront Stage (17 km)
☮ Housing and Meals
During the March, housing and meals are included. Participants sleep on the floor on thin foam mats in gymnasiums along the course of the march, but alternative dormitory style housing in Gangjeong is available for international participants. Participants should prepare their own pillows/sheets/sleeping bags as needed. Most of the gymnasiums also have places that participants can pitch their own tents. If you have your own tent, sleeping bag, etc. you can sleep more comfortably. Please bring your own toiletries (tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, towel, etc). You might want to bring a raincoat/ poncho just in case. It would also be useful to prepare bug spray and itch cream.
On Sunday the 30th before the march and on Saturday the 5th after the march, participants can sleep in Gangjeong ceremonial hall or the peace center, etc. but these places might be very full so participants are encouraged to consider finding separate housing on those days. (International participants can stay the village hall dormitory at this time). If you plan to return to Gangjeong from Jeju City on the night of the 5th, please let the preparation team know so we can prepare.
☮ The baggage truck
During the march, a truck follows us carrying our baggage. Participants can but their bags in the truck in the morning, and find them again in the evening at the gymnasium where we sleep. Then you don’t need to have a heavy bag while you walk.
No to the 1st US Warship after 10 Years of Struggle /The United States should not pressure THAAD deployment!/ Resisting THAAD in the United States/ Vietnam Pieta and Fr. Bix statues placed in Gangjeong/ The Navy’s damage lawsuit and the new President Moon/ A Murderous History of Korea by Bruce Cumings / Gangjeong Peace Travel Team / Making a Demilitarized Island with No Air Base / Remembering the Sewol ferry tragedy and Gwangju uprising/ Jeju march 2017 ad. etc.
Remember Gureombi: Neither Zumwalt Nor THAAD/Unilateral Enforcement of the Jeju Air Force Base/ The 4·3 Massacre and the USA/ A Future of Hawaii and Today of Jeju/ Zumwalt 12 Trial Update/ Peace school with Kyoko Okumoto/ Lecture on Women’s Voices in Militarism/ Demilitarized Peace Island a Work in Progress/ No More Dolphin Imports from Japan/ Navy’s strategic lawsuit against participation /The navy secretly works to restore soft corals/ Park Out, People In/ The GN 25th annual conference ad.
Corrected: Regarding an article on ‘Zumwalt 12 Trial Update,’ in page 2, the USS Zumwalt is a 4 ‘billion’ USD, not 4 ‘million’ USD. Please see the renewed version in the ‘Download the PDF,’ above.
In this August/ September 2018 Edition :
In this April/ May 2017 Edition: