A dancer in traditional South Korean clothing performs during a ceremony for the victims in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on September 22.
12:30 JST, October 13, 2024
TSUSHIMA, Nagasaki – A ceremony commemorating the victims of the government crackdown in Jeju, South Korea, took place on September 22 on Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, where the bodies of many of the victims washed ashore.
In March 1948, Jeju islanders went on strike to protest the South Korean government’s decision to hold a general election without North Korea. On April 3, 1948, youths armed with rifles and other weapons attacked a police station and carried out other attacks. The government viewed the attacks as part of a communist-instigated uprising and carried out a brutal crackdown that reportedly resulted in the deaths of approximately 30,000 of the island’s 300,000 residents, including children and the elderly.
The bodies of the victims of the crackdown washed up one after another on the shores of the northwestern part of Tsushima Island, which is close to the Korean Peninsula, and the islanders cremated and buried them.
Yukiharu Eto, 67, built a memorial tower on the coast in 2007, following the wishes of his father, who took part in the funerals.
About 110 people from Japan and South Korea took part in the September 22 ceremony, offering prayers for the victims. A person in traditional South Korean clothing danced to the rhythm of drums and bells.
Ko Chun-ja, 83, who lives in Osaka, saw the incident as a child and lost her grandmother and two uncles in the crackdown. “I would like to express my gratitude to those who organized the ceremony,” she said.
