On April 28th (Korea-time), the Korean Navy was found cruising around Gangjeong Village in a truck stowing soldiers with their hands firmly affixed to their rifles.
Passing by Gangjeong Elementary School, the drive shocked villagers and activists alike, who have adamantly requested for the Navy to stop treading the village grounds.
Mayor Cho and others stopped the truck and demanded to know if the weapons were loaded, and if this was a strategy to create an atmosphere of fear in the village. Silence from the soldiers ensued. The officer kept repeating the line that he would retreat.
This clear show of militarism comes at a very sensitive time vis-a-vis the lawsuit against the village measuring up to 3 million USD. To some activists, this drive represents an act of taking over the village through violence and force, just like the lawsuit is intended to do.
Please check out Gangjeong People on Facebook to see the entire coverage of this affair.
Image by Oum Mun-Hee/For more photos, see here. Villagers’ press conference in front of the Island government hall on March 30 to demand the navy to drop down the unjust suit on reimbursement against people.
The Navy’s damage claim against Gangjeong residents is a declaration of war against its own citizens
By Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun)
The ROK Navy is claiming a sum of 3.4 billion won [approximately 3 million US dollars] in damages against 116 individuals including residents and clergy and 5 organizations. The Navy is demanding this money in compensation for the losses incurred by the construction company due to a 14-month delay in construction in the naval base due to residents, etc. obstructing the work. We (Minbyun) found that this case is an unjustified declaration of war against the people.
If the state suffered property loss, would it be fair to take individual citizens to trial to claim reparations? In pursuing its objective, the state has the power to seek criminal punishment and to take many steps including administrative measures, fines, penalties, non-compliance charges, etc. and the imposition of various administrative monetary sanctions. If such a state were to suffer financial losses due to a delay in construction and were to claim compensation from individual citizens, this could be used as a weapon to block all those who are critical of any state policy in the future. In this kind of situation, who would be able to oppose state policy?
When ominous heavy equipment destroys the foundation of life with no hesitation, citizens have no other power but to use their own bodies to stand in front of it. Before carrying out so-called ‘state policy’, the state should listen carefully to its citizens’ voices. When the reckless development of the state and large construction companies threaten the right of citizens to a peaceful existence, the right of citizens to oppose this must be guaranteed as their natural and constitutional right since sovereignty rests with the people. To condemn this action as illegal is to delegitimize the foundation of democracy.
The insistence that the construction delay was caused by residents is groundless. There are multiple complex reasons for the delay in the construction schedule.The principal reasons include disputes and controversy over the legality of the work, suspension orders issued over illegal construction work, losses and damage to structures caused by the natural environment, the strong wind and waves of Gangjeong’s coastline, Typhoon Bolaven, Typhoon Neoguri, etc. It is sophistry and exaggeration to claim that the residents blocking construction vehicles from entering and leaving the base for only a few minutes at a time caused the delay.
The responsibility lies solely with the state for threatening citizens’ right to a peaceful existence and causing their pain by enforcing this wrongful government policy. There is no one else as responsible for this as the government. The state rather than the residents bears the responsibility. Without mentioning a word about their own responsibility, it is the height of irresponsibility for the state to shift the blame for the delays in the construction onto individual citizens. The state that should be protecting the basic rights of its citizens is instead declaring war against them.
The Navy read and copied an enormous amount of criminal case records in the prosecution office in order to prepare this civil case. Individual criminal case files contain very important personal information so they only can be provided to a third party based on legal grounds. For example, in cases where the parties have applied for a trial or where the need to conduct an investigation is recognized, it is possible through a decision of the court. Even before the Navy can properly file a lawsuit on legal grounds, it must reveal whether it copied individual criminal case records.
Minbyun defines this claim for reimbursement not as one simple trial but as a provisional seizure used to strangle workers. Like this, it has a historical connection to the suppression of labor. It has a dishonest intention to extend dangerous statism to the judiciary. Minbyun will organize a legal team to fight for the 121 people and will make efforts and take measures to inform the public both domestically and internationally about the unconstitutionality and illegality of this case. The state should stop threatening citizens with this case. It should get out from behind this case and get down on its knees in front of its citizens and apologize for causing them pain.
Take Action: Please call the South Korean embassy or consulate nearest you and complain about this outrageous action to destroy Gangjeong village. Here is the link to find the ROK consulate nearest you in the US. Do it today!
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To see the original Korean commentary by MINBYUN, see here. The translation above was done in collaboration by the members of the Gangjeong Village International team and posted here under the permission of the MINBYUN.
On 29th of March, the Korean Navy revealed that on the day before, it filed a complaint to Seoul Central District Court regarding the delay of the Jeju Naval Base construction, and demanded recompense.
This order was given to Gangjeong Village Association, 5 related organizations, and 120 individual personnel, all implicated in interrupting the base’s construction.
As a result, the date of infrastructural completion was delayed by 1 year and 2 months, while racking up an additional 23 million USD for the construction’s fee.
The Navy demanded the Gangjeong Villagers to take about 3 million dollars out of that 2 billion as their own burden. This order was based on the hefty loss of public tax revenue used to build the base as evidence. Using this logic, the Navy concluded the command as morally just and legally sound, and placed the activists with the legal blame that came with the supposed financial responsibility.
This obviously has stirred massive indignation among the villagers and ignited another conflict with state actors. Why using public revenue to fund the base’s construction in the first place is not a point of legal and moral concern or how demanding about 3 million USD to peace activists, mandarin farmers and fishermen is anything but rational and just are among the thousands of actual questions that are not raised.
But for now, how to address this massive financial burden is the primary question on everyone’s mind, and it’ll need another consolidated spirit to overcome one of the biggest obstacles yet that has descended upon the village.
“On Feb 26 Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-An visited the naval base opening ceremony. On his way in and out of the base the innocent passersby near the gate were captured by the large number of police and forcefully removed from the road without any notice. The police chief said it was for the safety measures, but the brutality of the operation was only the case of police abuse of power. It seemed that the new controversial anti-terror bill in South Korea had already been put in practice in Gangjeong”
The completion ceremony of Jeju’s naval base took place on February 26th, nearly 9 years after the confirmation of its construction by the state government. Since then, activists and local villagers have obstructed the progress of its development, facing policy brutality and harsh physical and financial discipline along the way. February 26th was no exception, as showcased by treatments of the activists that day in the video.
Not all was a display of primitivism, however. On the same day, the Gangjeong villagers held a memorial ritual right across from the base’s entrance. Under the totem pole, they vowed with the signal that they will protect the village from external forces.
In the middle of the ritual is of course, the village head Jo Kyung Chul (조경철), who recently gave a statement to Hankyoreh news that when he saw the completion of the base, he felt “prostrated, a sense of injustice through the continuous opposition,” while the villagers have retained lasting “disbelief and hostility in the government and the military.”
This division between the people and the government is as deep as the divide in Korean politics as a whole. Both divisions have prompted the opposition to obstruct the formation of a dangerous creation. For the latter, that is the anti-terrorism bill that has recently been introduced by the ruling Saenuri (conservative) party. This anti-terrorism bill has been promoted in reaction to the recent nuclear developments (or its rhetoric at least) from the North. If passed through, the legislative act will endow the National Intelligence Service (NIS) unprecedented power spy in detail the lives of South Koreans.
What monitoring its domestic populations has to do with prohibiting North Korean nuclear tests and development is a wonder of logic. Opposition party members have taken upon this improbable nexus to challenge the bill through filibuster. This method has not been utilized since 1969, which sheds light to how controversial this bill is. The historical revelation also demonstrates the link between the situation of Gangjeong and the general political makeup of South Korea: when a monumentally dangerous force is in creation, a deep divide will naturally result, and the opposition force will find every power necessary to challenge entities designed to harm the people.
From Dec. 9 to 27, two Catholic workers from the United States Martha Hennessy and Toni Flynn visited the village. While both joining daily activities of 100 bows and mass, Martha Hennessy, grand daughter to Dorothy Day, felt the need of further direct action. Here is her statement read on Dec. 23 when she stopped a military vehicle in front of the base construction gate. (For a photo and statement with Korean translation, see here). Please also see Martha’s interviews as a granddaughter of Dorothy Day with two Catholic media of Catholic Times (here) and Catholic News Now and Here (1, 2)
Photo by Gangjeong village/ Martha Hennessy, Granddaughter to Dorothy Day and New York Catholic Worker carries out direct action on Dec. 22. The Korean letters read, “No need of task flotilla in the Island of Peace.’
However, their visit was also filled with meetings with people and nature here. Here are some of the essays written by the two.
“Advent on Jeju – Dec 12, 2015 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe” Martha
& Toni’s 1st report from Jeju Island
Photo by Gangjeong villagePhoto by Gangjeong village
Day 4
Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island
The weather in Gangjeong Village is cold and windy with intermittent rain blowing over Jeju Island. In contrast the Catholic peace community is warm, welcoming and grateful to us for joining them throughout December. We are all deep into Advent.
Gureombi Rock- a sacred site- is demolished, the Naval Base is built, and the Peace Community has been defeated in their struggle to prevent the construction and opening of the base.
The once pristine southern area of the island is now heavily militarized. Yet this community of villagers and activists maintain a prayerful presence at the gate, day after day, as they have for several years. This is about witness. This is about faithfulness. Although not all who participate are Catholic, this is where theCatholic Church truly breaks open the Body of Christ. This is where the Eucharist is paired with the crucifixion of the world. And this is
where the belief of Redemption is embodied in the faith of the people.
Each morning we wake up and walk a short distance from St. Francis Peace Center to join others at the gate of the naval base. The police, dressed in bright yellow uniforms, are ever present. We begin the ritual of one hundred bows in the darkness, and finish with the
dawning of the day. The Korean chanting and prayers during the bows mingle with our own inner prayers for our ancestors, family, and community members.
The daily heart and soul of the peaceful resistance culminates at the 11:00 AM Mass across from the gate. During Mass we sit in plastic chairs with priests, villagers, and activists, blocking the entrance to the base. The action proceeds nonviolently throughout Mass in a choreographed ritual between police and peacemakers. At three different intervals, police warnings intermingle with the words of the Mass as we are lifted chair and all, and moved to the side. Each time we return to sit at the gate. The priest then walks across the street bringing us communion and as we receive it, the meaning of the body and blood of Christ comes alive within us. The priest and nuns then lead us in reciting the Rosary, the Hail Marys blending with the roar of concrete trucks rolling in and out of the base. The Mass and Rosary have become inseparable from the activity of the base and the peacemakers’ efforts in the face of militarization.
At the conclusion of events, we walk to the nearby community kitchen where we enjoy the company of Jesuit priests and brothers, Franciscan nuns, local activists, and internationals.
We are served delicious Korean food including kim chi, glass noodles, rice, seaweed, and seasonal greens. We are reminded of Dorothy Day’s emphasis on the goodness of sharing a meal in common. Our lunchtime at the kitchen also serves as a means of decompressing from the intensity of the ongoing daily resistance.
We are steeped in the joy of coming together with our South Korean brothers and sisters during this Advent season. In the midst of resistance love flows out. We are grateful to all who supported us in our efforts to come here and our prayers join with yours.
“4 Vignettes from Gangjeong Village” by Toni Flynn – Calif CW
Photo by Gangjeong village
There is a pattern to our days now. Martha goes every morning at 7 am for the Hundred Bows. The weather is more fierce and I have been struggling with a sinus infection and sore throat so I read the hundred prayers from my room. “While holding in my heart that truth gives freedom to life, makeup first bow.” And each meditation deepens with each bow. (see attached doc for English translation)
After Bows, breakfast of rice, steamed eggs, yogurt and tangerines with Fr. Mun and others. Every one fusses over me wanting to help me get well so I am provided with healing elixirs, teas and various concoctions along with medicine. Martha is full of energy! She participates in every event enthusiastically. I on the other hand pace myself and enjoy one-on- one conversations.
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The naval base is casting a huge shadow over this little village. Word is out that there will be more land used to construct housing for members of the military and their families. Some of the humble facilities set up by the peace activists will no doubt be torn down in the process, such as the community kitchen where all gather together after daily Mass to eat and converse.
Fr. Mun celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priesthood last night at the St. Francis Peace Center where he lives and where Martha and I are guests. So much food as we joined many of his friends to celebrate around a big round table. We dined on fish, snails (ok I passed on the snails), octopus (passed on that too!), seasoned rice, vegetables, and an array of other edible delights.
It was good to see the faithful women, Fr. Mun, the Jesuits and Diocesan priests find cause for celebration because they have all suffered and sacrificed so much over years of time in opposition to military presence.
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Mr. Oh lives in the village. He is, I believe, a Quaker. During every Mass at the entrance to the naval base, he performs a solitary funeral march, dressed in traditional pale yellow mourning clothes and a mourning hat that resembles a French baker’s hat. In silence, he slowly circles the area between the makeshift chapel on one side of the street and the entry to the base on the other side. Mr. Oh. He takes three steps, bows, places his hands on the ground, then his knees, then rises and repeats over and over again, around and around while Mass continues. His grief represents the grief of the community over the loss of their sacred rock, Gureombi; the loss of sea life; the loss of their peaceful existence. Mr. Oh’s beard is gray; his face is ancient, his eyes are piercing. One evening he sang songs and his voice was filled with sorrow, passion, strength. I would not be surprised if his songs were heard across the ocean.
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See attached photo: This is JeJu’s non-violent Joan of Arc. She is a faithful witness at the entrance to the naval base. Two weeks ago a cement mixer truck ran over her foot while she stood at the gate. She has been in the hospital ever since. We visited her there, kindness of Fr. Kim. Joan of Arc is a woman on fire with love of this Island and the villagers. She will soon return to the naval base gate to continue with prayerful yet persistent protest. God bless Joan of Arc and all the brave priests, nuns and activists! Martha and I are already transformed by joining with them during this Advent time.
Photo by Gangjeong village
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“Summary of JeJu’s struggle” by Toni Flynn
The future of Gangjeong Village looks grim as does the future of JeJu Island as a whole. On another side of the Island a second civilian airport will be built. Along with more environmental destruction there is suspicion that eventually this airport will include an Air Force presence. As for Gangjeong Village, activists believe that the newly opened naval base is turning an abstract danger into a definite one by offering practicality to the U.S. and thereby
posing a threat to China. Daily life of the villagers has forever changed. What once was a unified village of peace and pristine beauty is now a militarized area with some in the village approving and some opposing the naval base. There are two family operated convenience stores in the village on two sides of the same street. One shop approves of the naval base and the other supports the opposition to the base. Before the base, these shop owners good neighbors. Now they symbolize a split village. In time, the expansion of the base along with the influx of military people and their families will overwhelm and influence the village people, their schools, shops and their village culture. The base will house not only military staff but submarines, weaponries, and war ships. The peacemakers in Gangjeong ask “How do we avoid war by building and preparing for more war?” These activists say that the struggle in Gangjeong is not only important to the locals or to the larger Korean population, but it.is of significance to all peaceful movements and peace communities around the world. We must all persevere in imagining and implementing alternatives to state violence and wars. Here is a poem for the children of Gangjeong by the poet Shin Kyung- Rim: My dears, you must be so proud of your parents who are struggling to save your village. A
day must come when we will all remember the beauty of this long struggle.
“My visit with Fr Mun” by Toni Flynn
Photo by Gangjeong village
Martha prayed the Hundred Bows at the gate this morning (she does the Bows faithfully every day) and has gone to pick tangerines with the villagers. I stayed back at the Peace Center for a visit with Fr. Mun in his work shop. He is a remarkable man of many talents with a nature that is both passionate and peaceful. His workshop is his sanctuary. There he practices his accordion and smokes an occasional cigarette. Most of the time he carves wood, creating art that speaks of struggle and peace. At breakfast today, Fr. Mun told me and Martha “We have no guns. We resist militarism with open hands.” He added “I used to love walking around in Gangjeong Village viewing the.beauty. Now I hate walking around because of the sight of the naval base structures.” Fr. Mun, Martha and I agreed that the new St. Francis Center is a solid, tangible sign of hope in the midst of all the military buildings – it is four stories high and welcomes everyone. As I started to leave Fr. Moon’s work shop he gave me a gift – a dramatic
wood carving of the suffering Christ wearing a crown of thorns. Below the face of Christ are the words in Korean: Beginning now. Peace.
The destruction of Gureombi Rock is a challenge to the human
civilization and the creation of God” Bishop Peter Kang
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Photo by Gangjeong villagePhoto by Gangjeong village/ Toni and Martha in the April 3rd Peace Park
“Bishop Peter Kang -The Catholic Voice for Peace” by Martha Hennessy
Peter Kang, appointed bishop of Cheju in 2002, speaks fluent English with a gentle British accent. He studied in Japan and Rome and is known for his wisdom and compassion to both the people of Cheju, and those of downtown Seoul where he served for 25 years. He considered it God’s recompense to come to this place of fresh air and natural beauty after the noisy, smoggy city. He became aware of the tragic side of the history of the island when he moved here. As a well-educated Korean he knew little of how the island was used by United States Cold War military interests following the end of the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945.
These circumstances led to the slaughter of at least 30% of Cheju’s population from 1948 through 1953. Eighty-four villages were permanently destroyed. Bishop Kang expressed sadness and remorse over this history, that his government had committed such crimes. The majority of Koreans know very little about what really happened. A governmental cover-up has persisted for decades.
In 2000 an investigative study was finally allowed and the full report was completed in 2003. Bishop Kang and others traveled to Washington D.C. in April of this year to present the report to Congress but were invited to meet only with two congressional secretaries. South Korean/U.S. government interests had informed the Congress and biased them against meeting in person with the small contingent. Bishop Kang and the others have not heard from the U.S. Congress regarding the documentation of the slaughter of Cheju islanders.
The people of Korea are under significant pressure to not question the government and military in the interest of national security. Any dissenting voice is painted as “communist” and the military defense has free reign, with U.S. backing. This collaboration with the U.S. is considered essential to the existence of South Korea even as the threats of North Korea are now known to be inaccurate. An attempt was made by the South Korean president in 2002 to regain the right to direct military decisions during a time of war back into the hands of the Korean military. The current president, Park Geun-hye rolled back this effort and the U.S. continues to hold the highest level of control of any military decisions if war is declared.
Bishop Kang has expressed opposition to the building of the naval base on Cheju against the will of the people. It is imposing yet another layer of trauma on the people following the history of the massacres before and during the Korean War. He recently made five points during a homily given for the opening of St. Francis Peace Center in Gangjeong in September.
“Firstly, war is disaster. It cannot be a solution between nations. It is because such thing did not happen in the past and would not happen in the future, either.”
“Secondly, when a state power takes armed force, it can be justified and get citizens’ sympathy only by strict conditions. The mobilization of state power against the struggle in opposition to the Gangjeong naval base can never be of self-defense.”
“Thirdly, modern arms are weapons of massive mankind-killing. The increment of arms cannot be connected to peace.”
“Fourthly, we are dumping tremendous budgets into arms production. What if it is used for the nation’s progress, for the poor?”
“Lastly, why should there be a military base in Cheju, the far-most from the Korean truce line and tainted by the wounds of the April 3rd [1948] incident? Cheju is the Peace Island designated by the government. The relationship between any military base and the Peace Island is like water and oil.”
“With the construction of the naval base, the death of the April 3rd spirits has become meaningless…”
Bishop Kang cited both Catholic social teaching and the United Nations Charter to reinforce his position regarding the Korean/US naval base construction. The Jesuit provincial has permanently assigned two priests and a brother to continue carrying out daily Mass at the gate with the participation of Franciscan and Benedictine nuns, and others from the Catholic community. It is this Mass that allows the resistance to continue to block the military base for two hours every day, making the traffic wait going in and out of the entrance.
We will be holding Mass at the Chapel across from the gate on Christmas Eve, and again at the gate on Christmas Day. Bishop Kang will join in solidarity with the community stating: “the work has only just begun.”
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Bishop Kang for Truth TV – YouTube, Published on Oct 6, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0_cfYBz7fg
“I interviewed the bishop of Jeju Island, His Excellency Peter Kang on the last day of my stay on Jeju Island. Bishop Kang is an outspoken critic of militarism and arms buildup, and a strong advocate for the Church to be involved in issues of social justice and peace.” Regis
Tremblay
Catholic Priests unite despite navy and police insult. Bishop Kang U-Il says, “Peace is the result of justice and love.” Posted by Save Jeju Now, Nov. 13, 2012 http://savejejunow.org/catholic-priests-kang-u-il/
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Martha Hennessy
Toni Flynn
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Video clips from the daily Mass and Rosary at the Jeju Navy Base main gate
My heart is forever changed by what I saw, heard, and received at the naval base gate in Gangjeong village. The effects of jet lag linger and my mind holds on to the people who remain there, carrying on the struggle. The 100 bows begun in the dark, the Mass at the gate, the recital of the Rosary amidst roaring construction machines, the constant witness. The sound of knocking, grinding, giant jackhammers tearing away at the island still rings in my head. Our peacemaking efforts have taken on a tremendously stronger meaning when practiced in the context of what Father Bill from Tacoma called Eucharistic resistance.
There is always the urgent feeling that we are not doing enough. I would awaken at 5 in the morning; my soul feeling devoured by this scourge taking form near the St. Francis Peace Center. One morning after the 100 bows I crossed onto the concrete breakwater at the sea’s edge and had a bird’s eye view onto the front of the base. The massive wall dwarfed me, leaving me feeling puny and helpless in the face of this insistent, mindless drive towards destruction. Standing at the gates of Mordor my very being clamored for protection and safety. I also felt like throwing myself at it. The construction workers continued with their jobs, oblivious to the wailing of heaven and earth, grieving over this great sin. I trudged back to the Center for breakfast feeling empty, distraught. I can only begin to imagine the toll this has taken on all the people who have sustained their efforts of resistance over the long haul.
On my way home through Seoul, I was able to meet with a small group of representatives from labor unions, mothers for peace, and the Protestant community. Labor leader Han Sang-Gyun is now imprisoned and on hunger strike. Police oppression continues to grow in South Korea, along with civil unrest. The demonization and exaggerated threat of North Korea is used to justify the purchase of yet more military weaponry from the United States. I spoke of the crucified body of Christ as I saw it on the island of Jeju. We all struggle to link the many causes together that make up the picture of global oppression and violence. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Philip Berrigan spoke of the need for a general strike to shut down the economy of nations run amok. But we must have in hand a ready list of clear demands needed to reform the structures of sin. Together, how do we lay out a new world in which it is easier to be good?
Meanwhile I am back in Vermont, helping to care for small grandsons, and waiting for the ewes to give birth, no doubt holding off from the cold spell ahead. We must hold all of these things in our hearts.
Enjoying time with our hosts before our departure from St. Francis Peace Center in Gangjeong.
On October 23rd, Go Kwon Il, co-vice mayor of the Gangjeong village and co-vice chair of the Villagers’ Anti-Base Committee, traveled to Italy to receive the Sean Macbride Peace Prize awarded by the International Peace Bureau, one of the oldest foundations of peace. The award is dedicated to a “person or organization that has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and/or human rights.” And for 2015, the Bureau awarded people of Gangjeong Village the distinguished metal of peace along with people of Lampedusa, Italy. It is truly an honor for the villagers to receive this award, a beacon of confirmation that Gangjeong struggles are being supported in the international community. It also serves as a beacon of hope and support against the troubles that are to come once the base is finished.
(Images above are provided by Go Kwon-Il)
(Three images above are by the International Peace Bureau)
If you have casually walked around the Seogwipo city lately, you would have mostly likely seen the new flyers about the opening of a new night club called the “Aircraft Carrier.” And how could you not? It’s literally taped in the walls of every corner around the neighborhood. Like a parasite, it invades homes, restaurants, and clothing stores with its bright, oversized letters screaming about cheap ladies that you can get for “50% off.” Every time I see it, I feel like an organism has infiltrated deep inside me as well, sickening me at the moral core. If you see the advertisement, I feel like you would feel the same way.
The association of cheap ladies and the background photo of an aircraft carrier personally triggers the image of prostitution sites right in front of docked navy ships that will plague the Gangjeong Village. Angie Zelter argued that naval bases brings these types of changes. But to have a clear, physical manifestation of it in a tacky advertisement poster drags the mind from the rhetorical to the real – the visceral. And it feels truly nauseating deep-down.
But in a interesting way, the way these third-rate posters are attached everywhere around the area is symbolic and symptomatic of naval bases themselves. Naval bases spread, they swallow everything in their sight, and poison the area with their pathogens in a way that devastates communities internally. Because these effects are real, naval bases are always under negative public scrutiny. Self-conscious, they respond by constantly mailing flyers airbrushed with photos of smiling families followed by a frail logic to somehow justify their existence as moral and just institutions. These flyers (which have surfaced recently as well) share little difference with the advertisement photo above. Both rely on gimmicky methods and feel invasive in the same way.
On September 19th, there was a four day international peace camp held at Okinawa. This gathering succeeded the previous one held in Gangjeong of Jeju last year, and we anticipate the next one to be established in Taiwan.
These meetings are conducted with the overall intention of solidifying the triangular line of peace among the three mentioned islands (Taiwan, Jeju, Okinawa). This act seems urgent and timely, given the current global politics that has jeopardized marine life and imperiled communities nearby the Asian seas. To protect these fragile ecosystems, over 70 concerned individuals from the three islands have gathered in Okinawa to share stories about their respective struggles, learn about current military situation in Camp Schwab, and canoe in the Henoko sea. I believe that each 70 personnels have come out of the camp with wider knowledge over the matters in Okinawa and a deeper appreciation of the Asian waters that connects all us despite the geographical divide.
The below was reported on the night of Sept. 15-16.
We just got the news above tonight. The source is mainly from Inchun Mpark who has daily monitored navy’s illegal construction on the sea near for three years by now. It is told that an Aegis (of Republic of Korea) is to enter into the almost completed harbor of currently being built Jeju naval base, early morning of Sept. 16. The reason is told that it is for the aegis to test coming alongside the pier. If you remember, there stood on the Gureombi Rock in 2007 a sculpture of Aegis-shape relief-cut on a steel plate which watched over the Gangjeong Sea. It was a kind of warning for today eight years ago. The ROK-US-Japan trilateral military alliance cannot be built without missile defense. The appearance of aegis on the Gangjeong Sea, a part of missile defense system, means Gangjeng would stand in the center of such disastrous trilateral alliance. We say no!
No Aegis in the Gangjeong Sea!
No missile defense!
No ROK-US-Japan military alliance!
Jeju is not the toy of the US military!
Photo by Park Inchun/ A kind of preparatory military ship, Haenam, a day before the entry of the aegis on Sept. 16Photo by Park Inchun/ A kind of preparatory military ship, Haenam, a day before the entry of the aegis on Sept. 16
In this this July and August Special Edition:
Reflections on 2015 Gangjeong March (domestic and international/ writings and photos), Gangjeong as the co-recipients of the IPB award, U.S. Ships and Fighter Jets are are here, the 23rd Global Network conference in Kyoto, Connecting Bath and Jeju, Returning to Jeju, Taiwan anti-nuclear activist’s solidarity with Gangjeong, The Ghost of Yasukuni Cancelled by Jeju City, a miracle in relation to the Sewol Ferry incident, trial updates, anti-naval base struggle shown in numbers, Peace for the Sea international Sea Camp in Okinawa, 2015 , navy’s outrageous move, Captive dolphins return to Jeju Sea, Jeju’s soft coral suffering from damage, ‘Black Eagle’ Airshow invades village, international solidarity, and more!
