Jeju Island and the massacres that took place in 1948-9 are a
largely forgotten precursor to the Korean War which broke out the following year.
Forgotten not only in the West even many in South Korea know little about these
events. They were suppressed by the government for decades.
In 1948 the United States was seeking to consolidate control
in South Korea and it was an election year. Even while the CIA was working to
throw the Italian elections on the other side of Eurasia, they were also
working through proxies in the newly formed Republic of Korea (ROK).
As I've written about before, the Korean War's commencement
in June of 1950 is a little misleading. There was plenty going on in the years
prior to Pyongyang's invasion of the South. This is not to remove culpability
from the regime of Kim Il-Sung but as usual the story is a little more
complicated.
What happened on Jeju was a communist witch hunt much like
what happened in Indonesia in the mid-1960's, though that particular US-backed
and orchestrated operation was on a far vaster scale. Vaster in terms of
overall numbers (in the hundreds of thousands) but for Jeju by the time it was
over... 10% of their population had been eradicated.
And like the events in Indonesia the killing on Jeju turned
into a frenzy and thousands were slaughtered, many of which had little or
nothing to do with communism.
And for the survivors, apart from the grief, they were
virtually blacklisted by Korean society... again, whether or not they had
anything to do with communist insurgencies or not.
The story was completely suppressed until the late 1980's
when South Korea began to break free of US domination... and yet not control
and influence. An easing in press restrictions allowed the story to get out and
even today it's a point of contention.
There are still some voices that try to insist the US wasn't
involved and it must be admitted that US soldiers were not directly involved in the killings. The US has a long record of
working with and through proxies, providing logistical support, weapons, air
and technological back-up and of course diplomatic cover. This is true in the
case of Jeju. The US urged it on and did what it could to help facilitate the
massacre and yet kept just enough distance to maintain a thin veneer of
plausible deniability.
The uprising broke out under US military governance and then
shortly thereafter Syngman Rhee was all but installed as president during the
summer of 1948. He subsequently launched a massive campaign of Right-wing authoritarian
repression. While Rhee had long campaigned for Korean independence from Japan,
he openly worked with collaborators, those who had worked for the Japanese during
their 1910-45 rule of the Korean peninsula. Communists and leftists were
rounded up and there were also political assassinations. Altogether about
100,000 people died during this period including the events that took place on
Jeju. South Korea was a police state under control of proxy dictator.
Considering that South Korea was (at this time) effectively a
satellite of the United States, and that Washington had created, established
and managed its military and intelligence services, then one should hardly be
surprised that many consider that a great deal of the blame and culpability
belongs with Washington.
When the Korean War broke out many incarcerated leftists and
others placed on 'lists' and part of 're-education' programmes were massacred.
To this day no one is sure how many were killed. There were certainly several
hundred thousand people listed and enrolled and it would seem many if not most
of them were killed. The US at the very least knew about the killings and there
are many reports of direct US and even UK collaboration.
By the conclusion of the Korean War over two million people
were dead in both North and South, though the North certainly got the worst of
it. You could make the case that no nation in history has been so annihilated...
as North Korea was by 1953.
The US continued to support authoritarian rule which culminated
in the Park Chung-hee dictatorship in the 1970's. He was assassinated in 1979
by the head of the South Korean CIA (KCIA) an event still a source of debate
and speculation.
By 1987 the people of South Korea had reached their breaking
point and there were massive public demonstrations leading to the election of
Roh Tae-woo. The following years were ones of struggle as South Korea attempted
to chart its own course and begin the process of reconciliation with North
Korea. Washington has pretty consistently opposed these moves and while their
grip on Seoul is not as firm as it once was, the US still effectively controls
South Korea's foreign policy, military and intelligence services. The North
Korean regime is generally reviled but it's not too difficult to understand why
many South Koreans are not fans of the United States. The US ranks high in
polls and in part this may be due to the fact that a new generation has arisen
that has not known of America's fairly brutal control of their country from
1945-87.
As far as peace prospects between the North and South, there
are some in Seoul that believe the American presence is indispensible and
non-negotiable. Others believe it is the American presence that is preventing the
conflict from being resolved and peace from taking place. The removal of
American military presence could open the door to peace with Pyongyang with the
backing of Beijing. Moon Jae-in, the current president of South Korea is taking
bold steps and Washington is watching very closely. Some support his actions,
others don't, many are simply relieved that something is being done to take the
pressure off. Moon, like Roh Tae-woo is acting independently and yet he knows
that in the end he can't accomplish anything unless the Americans sign off on
it.
In a similar way, Kim Jong-un is limited by the approval or
disapproval of Beijing. Unlike his predecessors he seems more willing to pursue
an independent course and has at times frustrated and baffled Beijing but his
recent (and first official) trip to China just before these meetings indicates
that even Kim felt compelled to 'consult' with Beijing before proceeding.
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