제주평화연구원

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] KO Seong-joon
Professor Emeritus, Jeju National University Vice-chairman, Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation[/caption]

Following the fourth nuclear arms test in January this year, North Korea conducted a nuclear warhead test again on Sept. 9, the largest ever and similar to the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in spite of the sanctions imposed by international society and South Korea upon it. So far, the North succeeded in launching missiles carrying nuclear warheads, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It would not be unusual or even unexpected if North Korea announces its deployment of nuclear missiles at anytime. The inter-Korean relation is in due course for a war, as seen in the editorials and columns, entitled “Drastic Changes Needed to Respond to the North Korean Nuclear Arms,” “North Korean Nuclear Arms Aimed at Communizing the South,” “Bombing the North or Being Held Nuclear Hostages” and “Be Prepared for Contingencies.”

Amid this grim situation, the North Korean border area with China has reportedly suffered unprecedented damage from flooding. Civic groups and some in the opposition proposed “humanitarian aid to the North,” and the leader of the third party in the National Assembly called for “rice and mandarin orange donations” in his speech to the Assembly. The humanitarian aid to the North, however, requires a national consensus, as the floor leader of the ruling party pointed out, an official request of the North for it and a confirmation by local and international organizations, including from the Korean Red Cross, to verify actual distribution of the aid to the North Korean people. Amid the security crisis on the Korean peninsula, the voices for humanitarian aid to the North Korean people somehow helped in easing the tension, but it remains to be seen when the aid can be resumed. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province became the first local government of the South that extended aid to the North by sending in January, 1999, tangerines to the North Korean people who were suffering from the worst famine imaginable. After the occasion, the Jeju province has been leading the local governments’ exchanges with the North, looking forward to more active exchanges for national unification. Vitamin C Diplomacy The mandarin orange aid project for the North was the first inter-Korean exchange initiated by a local government of the South and a representative win-win case for the two Koreas. It started with the proposal of religious groups in 1998 when Jeju farmers were struggling to address the problem of overproduction of mandarin oranges that year. It was designed not only to help hunger-stricken North Korean people, but also to help stabilize the price of mandarin oranges. The humanitarian project continued for 12 years from December, 1998, until February, 2012, but was suspended by the “May 24 measures (sanction)” in 2010 when the North sank the South Korean battleship, Cheonan. Before the suspension of the aid in 2010, Jeju islanders delivered 48,328 tons of tangerines and 18,100 tons of carrots to the North. The mandarin orange delivery to North Korea was the only and first case of the aid pursued jointly by a local government of the South and its residents. It was also a model case that realized aid based on the principle of national consensus. It made a precedent for contributing to the co-prosperity of two Koreas by opting for an aid item benefitting both the South and North. Unlike the North aid projects promoted by NGOs and the central government, the tangerine delivery was the first project spearheaded jointly by a local government, Jeju province, and a private organization (the Jeju Center for Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation that was led by the Jeju islanders). It was benchmarked by other local governments. Mandarin orange is a fruit that cannot be produced in the North and is difficult to preserve. As it has to be consumed in a short time, it was distributed to far more people than other aid items. As a result, some in the North would put the fruit on their ancestral rite tables. Mandarin oranges with vitamin C were more than a winter fruit for those in the North. Some defectors from North Korea testified that they used the tangerine peel tea as cold medicine for their children. Mandarin oranges from Jeju Island are remembered by the North Korean people as something more than a mere donation and as a symbol of the hopes for national unification. The project could be maintained for 10 years, even when it was difficult to get government approval amid the volatile inter-Korean relations, thanks to the cooperation of the provincial government of Jeju Island with the central government in Seoul. The central government was well aware of the North Korean authorities’ amicable posture towards the southernmost island and evaluated the humanitarian project that the island pursued even with its tight budget highly. The Visit of the Jeju Delegates to North Korea for Massive Human Exchanges The mandarin orange aid project for the North has developed into massive personal exchanges between the two Koreas. As a token of gratitude for the continued aid by the Jeju province, the North invited the delegation of Jeju islanders for four times from 2002 till 2007, with a total of 835 islanders visiting the North. The first visit by the 253 delegates to the North on May 10 – 15, 2002, was the first made by a local government since the national division. It is deemed to have opened a new chapter in the inter-Korean exchange with the unconditional material aid, which led to the human exchange. Though the visit was made under the tight control of the North, it directly and indirectly helped the North Korea people to know about the islanders’ love of peace. The islanders, on their part, could confirm the superiority of the South Korean system with their experience of the realities of North Korea during the visit and renewed their determination towards national unification. As the Jeju governor, the chairman of the provincial assembly, the chairman of the Jeju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other leading figures of the island joined the visit on every occasion, it laid a firm basis for trust-building and further development of inter-Korean ties. The human exchange was the result of the trust and closer ties built for 10 years by the tangerine aid. Favorite Venue of the Inter-Korean Talks As the mandarin orange aid project continued every year, Jeju Island emerged as a symbol of the national unification efforts in the name of “from Mt. Halla to Mt. Paektu.” It drew attention as a venue of the inter-Korean talks after the inter-Korean ministerial talks and defense ministers’ talks were held in the autumn of 2000, following the June 15 summit of the two Koreas on the island in the same year. Jeju Island remained the favorite place for diverse inter-Korean talks, including the 17th inter-Korean ministerial talks in 2005 and the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Committee meeting in 2006. Expansion of the Assistance and Cooperation Projects The campaign to send mandarin oranges to the North diversified humanitarian aid items. Carrots, one of the representative agricultural products of Jeju Island, have been sent to the North five times, with winter clothes for North Korean children, grass seeds, medical supplies and flood relief goods being delivered to the North as well. The humanitarian aid contributed to improving the living conditions of the North Korea people and expanding human exchanges between the South and North. In January, 2009, Jeju province started to provide the North with construction materials to build a Jeju black pig farm in Pyongyang as part of a development cooperation project, but it was halted due to the “May 24 measures” in 2010. The mandarin orange and carrot donation project was originally designed to aid children, pregnant women and the socially disadvantaged people of the North, but it was difficult to confirm if the donations were delivered to them. The confirmation of delivery remains a precondition for resuming the humanitarian aid for the North Korean people. When the Jeju delegation visited the North, they proposed that the North join the Jeju Peace Forum, the World Korean Business Convention and the general assembly of the United Cities and Local Government in Jeju Island. They also discussed the ecological inter-Korean cooperation about the issues involving Paektu and Halla Mountains, but regrettably failed to reach an agreement. In retrospect, the mandarin orange aid project for the North was the first case of a local government of the South breaking the deadlock of inter-Korean relations. It also left a good impression about Jeju Island in the minds of the North Korean people, to the extent that they would choose Jeju Island as the “place they would like to visit the most in the South.” It has been six years since the mandarin orange aid was suspended after the May 24 measures. Given the current situations in the South and North, it is difficult to expect any improvement of the inter-Korean relations. Incumbent Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong is making more strenuous efforts to engage in inter-Korean exchange projects than any other local governments or his predecessors. I look forward to active human and material exchanges for peace and national unification through the “Jeju-North Korea channel,” opened by the tangerine aid.