Jeju island’s original name was actually Tamna, and about eight thousand B.C. the first people inhabited it. At first, Jeju island was its own state, but later on, around the 5th century Jeju island combined with mainland Korea and ended up becoming a trading post between Japan and Korea. However, during the twelfth century, a group of rebels called the Sambyeolcho overthrew the government on the island and took control. However, once again in the fourteenth century, mainland Korea regained control over Jeju island. Korea used Jeju island as a prison that held criminals and political prisoners. Many of these political prisoners were intellectuals or of the higher class. Thus, they contributed heavily to Korea’s intellectual and cultural development. During this time Jeju island’s culture began to flourish. Many new folk traditions such as music, dance, and shamanism began to form. However, once again Jeju island yet again was taken control by another country. From 1910 to 1945 Japan annexed or took control of Korea. During this time Japan would use Jeju island as a military base. At the time Japan was trying to suppress Korean culture and even get rid of it and integrate the country into the Japanese empire. However, the people of Jeju island heavily resisted Japan. Many factors allowed the people of Jeju island to put up a tough fight. Some of these include a long history of dealing with outside forces trying to take control of them, knowing the physical environment better than the Japanese, and being geographically isolated from mainland Korea. Despite all their efforts the people of Jeju island could not regain control until 1945 when Japan lost World War 2 and was forced to free Korea. However, there was still more conflict to come. In 1945, Korea slowly separated into two different states. One in the north and the other in the south. The north was in control of the Soviets and the south was in control of the Americans. On Jeju island communist rebels coordinated attacks on government facilities all over the island. South Korea responded to this attack with mass arrests, extrajudicial killings, and forced deportation of suspected rebels and their families to concentration camps. There were estimated thirty-thousand deaths in the aftermath of the events.
Many of these deaths included civilians. Despite all Jeju island’s terrible history, today the Island is doing well and is a very popular location for Koreans to visit, attracting millions of tourists each year. The people of Jeju island have a culture and language that is very different from the culture of South Korea. In fact, the language spoken on Jeju island is so distinct that many consider it its own language rather than a dialect of Korean. Even my own dad who is a Korean-born citizen said he needed a translator when he visited Jeju island. Today Jeju island is most famous for its volcano landscape, distinct culture, heritage sites which pay homage to Jeju’s long history, and its beautiful beaches some of which actually have black sand because it's a volcanic island. Jeju island is basically Korea’s version of Hawaii.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-tragic-history-of-south-korea-s-jeju-island/4509004.html
https://ijto.or.kr/english/?cid=27
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jeju-do
Comments
I totally agree with your statement, "Jeju Island is basically Korea's version of Hawaii." It was a very nice and warm place when I visited with my family. I know the basic history of Dokdo, which is another island of South Korea, but could never imagine that Jeju Island had this history and background.
Often times people do not realize the dark and painful history that might have taken place. I think one of those places is Jeju island in South Korea. Currently, it is a very hot tourist area where people would go to spend time with their family or just go on a vacation. But actually learning about what happened on those island is very terrifying and shocking.