Alfredo Bolduc on Apr 13, 2023
Image by Army Vet via Flickr
This a brief overview of the struggle to prevent the construction of a massive naval base in the tiny village of Gangjeong, on Jeju Island, S. Korea. In order to understand why the villagers have been opposing the construction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for five years and risking bodily harm and imprisonment, one must understand the broader context.
Beginning on April 3rd, 1948 the U.S. Military Government in Korea approved the massacre of as many as 80,000 Jeju Islanders who were resisting the occupation by the U.S. Army and the viscous, dictatorial regime of Syngman Rhee. They were labeled “communists,” when in fact they were fighting for self-determination, freedom, and human rights.
The people opposing the construction of this massive base that will accommodate America’s global military expansion are the survivors and descendants of that horrific massacre and once again find themselves in the cross hairs of another war between the United States and China.
***
From the archives:
Bruce Gagnon: The Deadly Connection: Endless War and the Ecological, Economic Crisis
The Threat of Warships on an ‘Island of World Peace’ by Noam Chomsky
Ann Wright: Gaza Freedom Flotilla and Save Jeju Island, interviewed by Cindy Sheehan
The People vs. The Machine by Cindy Sheehan + Gloria Steinem leads the fight to save Jeju Island
Yang sprung from jail by growing pressure on South Korean government by Bruce Gagnon
Dandelion Salad 
Pingback: Will Griffin: Jeju: Island of Resistance – Dandelion Salad
Pingback: Abby Martin: The Rise of History’s Biggest Empire | Dandelion Salad
Makes me cry with frustration and increasing anger at the arrogance, conceit, presumption and stupidities of “de facto” not de jure power.
In order to preserve peace nature must be destroyed. What? Where is the evidence for that?!
Idiots, imbeciles! They will drown in the foul effluent of their own lunatic excesses.
Without vision ~ people perish.
(Please assure me that Jeju natives do NOT torture cats and dogs like some Koreans.)
I’m no “catholic,” but to hell with this cult of obsessively manipulative imperialistic US weapons’ fetish-mongers & corporate crony bank-buddy perverts.
The cruelty and ignorance of this maniac project is simply beyond belief.
Genocidal ECOCIDAL bastards! Brave new world indeed…
Apologies Lo.
Such a pretty place, I was there in 2000 last. I hope this is prevented.
The construction is going on right now 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, unfortunately.
Are there still beaches? Such a shame…
I would think that there are still beaches as it’s an island and the construction doesn’t go all the way around it. But yes, the damage is occurring now. The protests are ongoing as well. Watch the video; it goes into the history of the island at the beginning, talks about the environmental destruction in the middle of the video, then ends with the protests.