Succession of the spirit of the Jeju 4•3 uprising! ‘Workers’ Peace Cultural festival,’ March 30, 2013.
It has been more than a decade that the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions visited the Island for the remembrance of 4•3 every year. It was this year, too. And it has been years that the organization visited the Gangjeong village to express their support and solidarity to the people there in opposition to the Jeju naval base construction. The workers are aware that Gangjeong is the very site of the 2nd 4•3.
The KCTU states in its press release. You can see its longer Korean script, here:
‘The Jeju 4.3 uprising is the Jeju Island people’s resistance and uprising that occurred by the starting point of police firing incident on March 1, 1947 under the division and U.S. Army Military Government ruling after the liberation of Korea. Since the armed group of the Jeju branch of the Workers Party of South Korea rose up on April 3rd, 1948, numerous people were sacrificed in the Jeju Island during the process of armed conflicts between the armed group and subjugation army and of the latter’s subjugation process, until the restriction areas in the Halla Mt. were totally opened on Sept. 21, 1954.
This year when the Cease Fire Agreement of the cold war and confrontation system hits 60th anniversary, and today when war crisis is higher than ever in the Korean peninsula, along with the above, we are to gather the workers’ resolution to succeed the spirit of the Jeju 4•3 people’s uprising and to realize complete peace and homeland unification.
No war! Starting from the Jeju Island, we are to fully fill 2013 with the outcry of the workers in every place of nation from the Halla Mt. to Baekdu Mt, based on our powerful will and resolution for peace and unification.’
Stop the oppression on the unions!
Abolish the structured lay-off on the irregular workers!
Total revocation of the Jeju naval base project!
Image source: Sisa Jeju, March 31/ In his solidarity speech, Mayor Kang Dong-Kyun stated that even though 65 years have passed since the occurrence of the Jeju 4•3, state violence is continuing and the Jeju naval base project, so called a national security policy, is being enforced without people’s support.
The program was:
Succeession of the spirit of the Jeju 4•3 uprising! Peace Pilgrim
_ Date/ time: 10:30 am to 6 pm, March 30, Sat., 2013
_Venue: Jeju areas (Pilgrim on the remains of the Jeju 4•3 uprising)
Succession of the spirit of the Jeju 4•3 uprising! Workers’ Peace Cultural festival
_ Date/ time: 8 pm to 9 pm, March 30, Sat., 2013
_Venue: Entrance of the Gangjeong Village (Village scoccer field)
Succession of the spirit of the Jeju 4•3 uprising! Nationwide Workers’ rally
_Date/ time: At 2pm, March 31, Sun
_Venue: In front of the Jeju City Hall (march to Gwandeokjeong)
Workers’ Peace Cultural festival in the Gangjeong village(made by Peace Nomad)
The event was composed of people’s speeches, songs, and dances. One of the songs in the video is titled
“A Sleepless Island in the South,” (lyric and composition by Ahn Chi-Hwan), which is the song on the tragedy of 4•3
The people in Gangjeong raised some struggle funds by selling books to the workers. The book, titled, “Peace blossoming in Tears,” published last year, is on the 17 villagers’ life stories written by 17 writers. It is a great book that helps people understand the life and struggle of the villagers.
