제주평화연구원

A Peace Built by Jeju Residents and the Island of World Peace

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="151"] Lee, Sang-bong
Chairperson of Autonomy Administration Committee, Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council[/caption] A general definition of peace is a condition or period in which there are no wars, disputes or conflicts. Thirteen years ago in 2005 Jeju Island was designated as the Island of World Peace in recognition of its role in hosting the summit meeting between the leaders of Northeast Asia and its heroic endeavor to overcome the tragic history of the Jeju April 3 Incident. A rightful name for this historical incident has yet to be determined, but the island’s residents are nursing and surmounting their painful past in the noble spirit of reconciliation and coexistence.   In particular, the island has laid a foundation for a platform to discuss issues of peace with neighboring Northeast Asian countries by launching in 2001 the Jeju Peace Forum, now called the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity. The Jeju Peace Institute and other related organizations have also faithfully performed their roles in promoting peace.   The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has endeavored to play a pivotal role in building peace on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia, but whether the island has been peaceful, true to the dictionary definition, over the past 13 years could be argued. This is because disputes are occurring one after another, starting with the conflict over the joint provincial government and private sector project to open a tourism-oriented port and continuing with the controversies over the proposed second airport on the island.   Conflicts entail social costs. Research suggests that an increase of trust in society by 1 percent leads to a rise of 0.6 percent in GDP per capita,  while a decrease of 10 percent brings the economic growth rate down by 0.8 percent.   However, the clash of values over the optimal strategy to development is inevitable in the course of exploring an alternative for an increase in the quality of life on the island. Paradoxically, conflicts can be functional, too. Conflicts, as incurred from social exchanges and interactions, may offer an opportunity for social cohesion.   Therefore the island’s efforts to resolve the prolonged conflicts of last 13 years may become a stepping stone toward a “better peace.” The Island of World Peace does not mean that peace on the island has been established, but that it is a community pursuing peace based on humanity and cooperation in spite of conflicts and disputes. The Jeju residents who eke out a living amid the conflicts are the real practitioners of peace. Some may claim that the island is far from peace, citing the reckless development projects and the disputes involved in them, but I would like to say that they are at the very forefront of the Island of World Peace, as they make efforts to solve those very conflicts. While the central and provincial governments may seek to initiate various kinds of policies and ventures under the theme of peace, I firmly believe that if those plans are to succeed it is because the Jeju residents made it possible by forming a strong foothold for those governmental initiatives.