Peace and Music Camp to End the Korean War/ Sharing Solidarity with Tanegashima/ U.S. nuclear submarines and precarious peace/ Remembering the endangered species killed by forced move/ The construction of Gangjeong Naval Base Access Road/ The Navy’s illegally installed signboards and warning/ 3 days in Woljeong-ri, experiencing communal car/ Stop dumping nuclear-contaminated treated water into the ocean/ The Jeju governor should accept a referendum/ Space Industry and Space Alliance/ Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes/ Daejeong offshore wind power project rejected by residents/ Korean Democracy Heading Toward Totalitarianism/ Gangjeong activist ruled guilty/ April 3rd is a unification movement/ Watching Crossings in Gangjeong/ Jeju Anti-Discrimination March/ The hope of solidarity glistening in intersections/ PSI in Jeju proves Jeju is outpost for the US/ GEIA on the THAAD completed in a hasty manner/ To hold the US accountable for dropping atomic bombs/ The 24-Hour Peace Wave/ Opposition to Talisman Sabre/ Taiwan Marine Conservation Activists’ Jeju Solidarity Visit/ Sharing about Gangjeong soft corals in the US/ PNG opposition to Defense Cooperation Agreement/ Messages from Hawaii to Okinawa/ East Asia Peace Walk in Taiwan/ Remembering the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka/ Dance of the Stones, Stories of the Gangjeong Jikimi/ Thoughts about participating in ‘Something Peace’/ “From Armistice to Peace” etc.
Gangjeong Says, Stop the War!/ Get Out US warship DDG-115!/ Cruise matters: Jeju aches from over-tourism/ Jeju 2nd Airport and the Endangerment of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins/ The struggle against Jeju’s 2nd airport faces a new phase/ Abolish new airport projects across the country!/ Remembrance and connections at Alddreu/ How do we make peace with Alddreu?/ The Climate Peace March in Moseulpo/ We are Songaksan! We are Alddreu!/ Jeju Climate Peace March and Bijarim Road/ Jeju Youth Change the World/ Opposition to wildfire festival in the era of climate crisis/ Stop the oppression of Jeju activists!/ Condemning Korean government detention of anti-war Russian refugees at the border/ Women Cross DMZ visit and Crossings screenings/ Ethics for Enemies, What We Need/Women Conscientious Objectors’ Camp /Prevent Nuclear War in Korea/ War drills make democracy retrogressive/ Jeju and war drills in preparation for the redeployment of nuclear weapons/ THAAD integrates the U.S. MD system / US Space Forces Korea is a US outpost/ Vietnam Survivor Wins Case/ Peace visit to Okinawa: We have each other/ A newly constructed base on Ishigaki/ Strategic is not special/ Opposition to fire festival in the era of climate crisis/ 2023 Korea Peace Appeal/ Activists recovered their qualification as residents/ Place and Displace in Gangjeong Village/ Life in Gangjeong/ Lim Bora, Presente!/ 2023 Korea Peace Appeal etc.
The problem is inequality/ Cheerful Energy Brought by Sept. 24 Jeju Climate Justice March/ Scrap the Saemangeum New Airport / A year-round Jeju March for Climate and Peace begins/ Civilian-military complex port access road linear improvement construction/ Deceptive ‘Civilian-Government-Military mutually beneficial soccer tournament’/ Deceptive 2040 Jeju City Basic Plan Draft/ Repeal the National Security Law / Memories of Gureombi bring people together/ Only kindness and peace will save the world from hatred/ Woljeong overlaps with Gangjeong/ Alternative Habitats Indulging Development Desires/ Active ‘protection’ of MPAs is needed/ Strong Protest of Jeju Farmers/ Appearance of Sharks/ Dramatic Re-escalation of War Drills/ The Danger of Trilateral Alliance and Asian NATO/ Why Sailing Matters/ THAAD base normalization will never happen!/ South Korea aims to be world ’s #4 arms exporter/ The US Space Force goes to Korea/ Militarization rushes on in the Sakishima Islands/ The Guahan struggle against open burning and open detonation/ New bases for US use planned in the Philippines/ A new toxic leak in Hawaii/ Gangjeong Book Village Friends disbanded/ From Confrontation to Peacebuilding etc.
Gureombi’s Power Lives On/ International Messages Upon the 10th remembrance year of the blasting of Gureombi Rock/ Gangjeong Protectors’ Seminar Series/ Navy Base affects Soft Coral in the Gangjeong Sea/ “Spring Wind” Pilgrimage to Meet Another World/ No New Airport in Jeju, Gadeokdo or Saemangeum/ Construction for the military road comes into full swing/ The true nature of the navy base entry road straightening project/ I dreamed in prison/ Common issues for the improvement of the Jeju EIA system/ Resisting to the attempt to secure a supply line for THAAD/ For a People-led ‘Alddreu Grand Peace Park’/ Hosting International Visitors at the Alddreu Memorial/ Heading into “New Space” imperialism more and more/ Resisting to the attempt to secure a supply line for the THAAD/ Whales Will Save the World’s Climate—Unless the Military Destroys Them First (Excerpts)/ US Indo-Pacific Strategy to exacerbate regional tensions/ “Water is Life: Choosing Water Over War”/ Gangjeong has no expectations for Yoon/ Trial Updates etc.
The Jeju 2nd airport construction project nears the brink of falling/ Civilian-Government-Military Cooperation/ Gangjeong stream takes the island government and MND to court/ The 2nd airport still casting shadows after the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment was rejected/ Opposing Talisman Sabre for a Peaceful Pacific/ Cancer cases in village close to THAAD radar/ Countering the “China Threat”-At What Price? Etc.
Not a Deceptive Apology but Truth Investigation!/ Gureombi Remembrance Pilgrimage/ Despite the lawsuit, military road construction continues/ MOLIT and the Jeju Island Government should respect the result of the public opinion poll/ Resisting Militarization in Jeju and Northeast Asia/ Okinawa update/ Jeju Environmental Declaration/ Jeju Council’s approval of land sale for the Satellite Center/ Song and Ryu’s appeal to the Higher Court was dismissed/ “White Terror, ‘Red’ Island: A People’s Archive of the Jeju 4.3/ US Pressures South Korea to secure land route for THAAD base/ A Dangerous Global Alliance etc.
Gureombi Rock will be returned back to us without fail / Naval base entry road is destroying Gangjeong River / Gureombi Rock and Kim Jong-Hwan’s Operation/ Why Do I Fast?/ Udo and Hundertwasser/ From the trees of Guam and Hawaii/ Okinawa Opinion Statements/ More Coal-Fired Power Plants? /Lets’ save Ha-je Village and the Hackberry Tree/ Keep Space for Peace Week/ SCM and THAAD/ Jeju Navy Base should be watched/ A Sewol Ferry Survivors’ fast in front of the presidential house/ Nuclear Weapons Banned Formally/ Congratulations to Christine Ahn, recipient of the 2020 US Peace Prize etc.
A Deceptive Apology Without Truth Examination/ The Jeju Navy Base entry road project/ The importance of people’s opinions (Update on the Jeju 2nd airport)/ Troubled Seogwipo City Bypass, the 2nd airport connection road/ Denouncing RIMPAC and ROK-US War exercises/The withdrawal of the THAAD System is a key link for peace/ Taiwan and RIMPAC/ Okinawa Update/ On The 75th Anniversary Of the Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki/ Beirut Port Explosion, The trial for entering Gureombi Rock/ “We still live in Miryang and Gangjeong” exhibition, Korea Peace Appeal etc.
President Moon’s emphasis on maritime power and the navy chief’s visit home/ Black Lives Matter in Gangjeong/ THAAD product improvement amid COVID-19/ Can Island Governor Won who dreams to be South Korean President care for the lives of Korea and the Earth?/ Susan-ri, Visiting an Endangered Village/ Divest from Endless Wars: Cancel RIMPAC and End the Korean War etc.
While many people were full of positive expectation for peace in Korea as they witnessed the 3rd inter- Korean Summit meeting in Pyeongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 19th, there was a Korean village that could not join such festivities, feeling betrayed and abandoned.
It was Gangjeong village, the Life and Peace village of less than 2,000 population. A village in the south of Jeju, the World Peace Island, located in the south sea below the Korean peninsula. As the world cheered the removal of mines and armaments at joint security area in the Korean DMZ this October, more than 40 warships including 19 international warships from 13 countries were heading to the Jeju navy base located in the Gangjeong village. One of the warships was the U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. It was radiated during the rescue work on the of Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
We had the International Fleet Review in Jeju from Oct. 10-14. For us, it was the ‘ceremony to proclaim the Jeju military base.’ In his speech during the pass-in-review, on Oct. 11, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, welcoming all the warships, declared that ‘peace comes through national defense power,’ and the Jeju navy base would be ‘the stronghold for peace’, as if confirming the abusive title of the fleet review: “Jeju Where Peace Starts.”
Meanwhile, Cho Kyung-chul, a former mayor of village sat in front of the Jeju navy base in protest to the enforced fleet review by the Moon government. Policemen tried to remove him and others away from the gate while a female villager, Kim Mi-ryang climbed up to the top of base gate in protest. However, the most infuriating part on the day occurred after the pass-in- review when Moon made a show of apology for the enforcement of the Jeju navy base construction in a new luxurious community building, surrounded by media reporters who, many of them, wrote later as if the issue of Gangjeong was settled by President Moon’s apology to the villagers who were represented by current mayor, and vice-mayor, of the village.
The editorial cartoon of Hankyoreh news, Oct. 12, 2018
The truth is that the very ones such as Kang Dong- kyun, a former mayor, Fr. Mun Jeong-hyeon, and other protestors who have struggled against Jeju navy base project for last 11 years were forcefully stopped by the policemen on the street when they tried to protest to Moon face-to-face. In July, Moon’s Presidential House sent its delegates to the village five times, to persuade the villagers to support the fleet review. It was even suggested President Moon’s apology to Gangjeong would be conditioned on the village supporting fleet review. The villagers were annoyed by such a deceptive proposal. There had already been villagers’ official decision against the fleet review in March. However, the new representatives of current village association are unfortunately compromising to the navy. Many of them were inclined toward economic earnings from the fleet review. Finally, a village meeting was held again on July 29 to revisit the issue of the fleet review. The anti-base villagers’ committee boycotted the vote. By the result of suspicious vote, the village association annnounced its acceptance of fleet review. The Jeju Island [regional] Council whose 43 members had all signed the draft for a petition of opposition to the fleet review but cancelled to submit the petition at its main meeting, after its contact with a delegate from the Presidential House. As former mayor Cho would say, Moon brought the 10 year conflict between con and pro base villagers into a new 100 year conflict.
Anti-base villagers held a emergent press conference after their trial to meet President Moon for protest was blocked by the police. Oct. 11, 2018/ Photo by Hwang Soo-young
The U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan could enter the Jeju navy base only the day after the pass-in-review ceremony. It is told that our small but courageous kayak team splendidly delayed its entry to the base. The Ronald Reagan docked in the cruise terminal located in the west side of Jeju navy base whose other name is the ‘Beautiful Tourism Port for Civilian Military Complex’.
The Gangjeong kayak team ptotest to USS Ronald Reagan during the fleet review. Photo by Kaia Curry.
The Ronald Reagan stayed until Oct. 16th. With its 5,700 crew members and two accompanying U.S. guided missile cruisers’ 600 crew members, the numbers of U.S. soldiers totaled more than 60% of the 10,000 international soldiers who joined the fleet review. On Oct. 15 when there was protest in front of the cruise terminal, a villager was arrested and released the next day.
The lines of tour bus carrying U.S. sailors into the various parts of Jeju Island were endless. People stayed in front of base gate until 1:00 am for protest as those buses returned to gate. They were carried even in police and navy buses. Some sailors were drunk. Whether drunk or not, some of them mocked the protesters, throwing the remarks of sexual harassment, such as ‘I love you.’ Some of them were making gestures of hand kiss. However, the most remarkable word came out from the mouth of a U.S. sailor on the day: “You are the slave.”
On the day, we could realize: The fleet review this year which marks the 70th year of April 3rd uprising and massacre is nothing but declaration of U.S. Navy base on Jeju. For near a week, the UNESCO biosphere designated sea was suffering. There was the leaked oil from two international warships. Water was strangely coming out from the USS Ronald Reagan from which a massive numbers of garbage bags were carried out for disposal in Busan.
But above all, the fleet review was for the Moon government and navy to nail the Jeju navy base as the stronghold for the ‘ocean navy,’ which means the navy aims to extend its activity area ‘beyond Korea.’
Children play on the arms displayed inside the Jeju navy base during the fleet review/ Photo by Joyakgol.
Two remarkable bits of news came out during the National Assembly investigation on the government affairs. On Oct. 12, it was known that the navy almost decided to introduce Raytheon’s Standard missile (SM- 3), a key element of missile defense.
The other was navy’s plan to have two operational Commands of which the 2nd Operation Command aims to respond to ‘potential or nonmilitary threat.’ The 2nd Operation Command will be in line with the creation of task fleet Command which ‘would run Aegis-equipped destroyers and submarines.’ Together with aviation Command which will be created also, the task fleet command will compose the 2nd Operation Command. It will be likely that the activities of 2nd Operation Command and introduction of SM-3 would be much related to the Jeju navy base as it homeports the task force and submarine squadrons. It is the homeport of nine South Korean destroyers including three biggest Aegis destroyers in South Korea. And its location is close to China and South China Sea where military tension between U.S. and China is being rapidly escalated.
We became to know later that the reason that China declined to send its warship to the fleet review in Jeju was because one of South Korean destroyers, Munmu, the Great, happened to enter China’s claimed sea territory near the Paracel Islands on Sept. 16, allegedly for the reason of typhoon. The homeport of Munmu, the Great is the Jeju navy base.
On Oct. 26, Jeong Kyeong-doo, Minister of National Defense said that THAAD [ground-based missile defense system] will be officially deployed after the general environmental impact assessment. This brought fury to the people of Soseong-ri, Seongju on the mainland of Korea. They continue to demand the withdrawal of THAAD from their communities. Not only that, the sale of 64 PAC-3 missiles in South Korea has been approved. Cheong Wooksik of the Peace Network notes the U.S. move to integrate THAAD and PAC-3 systems through THAAD radar.
According to Tim Cahill, Lockheed Martin, vice president of air-and-missile defense, such interoperability ‘could open other doors to achieve an even more seamless tiered and layered missile defense capability.’ (Defense News, Oct. 10, 2018) Now with the plan of introduction of SM-3, the U.S.-led multilayer missile defense system in South Korea will be even more extended.
In the ROK-U.S. Security Consultative meeting on Oct. 31, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis ‘reaffirmed the continued U.S. commitment to provide extended deterrence to the ROK using the full range of military capabilities, including U.S. nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities’ which is denial of NK-U.S. Summit meeting in Singapore, June 12, this year. Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea also notes that the international fleet review in Jeju is a part of U.S. plan to make ROK-U.S. alliance for regional and comprehensive alliance.
In his pass-in review speech on Oct. 11, President Moon mentioned Columbus as a historic example who sailed to far away oceans. The originally planned date for pass-in-review was Oct. 12. Columbus stepped on America lands on Oct. 12, 1492. It is not known well he was the merchant of ‘slaves.’
—Sung-hee Choi lives in the Gangjeong village, Jeju Island, South Korea. She is a coordinator of village international team, as well as a Korean advisory board member for the Global Network. www.savejejunow.org
