“Jeju Peace Island for Koreas” initiates both Six Party Talks Culture Peace Education (connected program of Jeju Peace Island Forum for Jeju 4.3 Peace in March of 2019) and Tourism Welfare (collaborated program of Global Aging Network Korea 2019 and Jeju Peace Exploration 2019) at the Grass Roots Level in Jeju Island with American, Japanese, American, Russian, French, Australian, and Korean. The goal is to promote peace building and post-conflict healing in Korea and other countries through peace education and tourism welfare as one component of peace building, privileging non-violence and enabling a space and a process through which the values and interests of the Korean peoples might be negotiated (
www.jejuworldpeaceacademy.com).
The following are excerpts from the final report of the Jeju Forum 2018.
Chair/ Moderator
KO Chang Hoon Professor Emeritus, Jeju National University
Presenter
KANG Woo Il Bishop, Jeju Catholic
LAI Jeh-Hang Professor, National Central University, Taiwan
Douglas A. YATES Professor, American Graduate School in Paris
Sachio NAKATO Professor, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
CHENG Cheng-chen Professor, National Central University, Taiwan
Anton KOSLOV Journalist/Professor, American Graduate School in Paris
Michael B. RAMBAROSE CEO, Whitney Center
Discussant
Christine STOPKA Board Member, East Rock Institute, USA
LEE Kyung-Won Professor, Jeju National University
IM Ae-Duck Adjunct Professor, Jeju National University
Charles M. SMITH CPA, CohnReznick Director
KOH Kwon-Il Peace Activist, Gang Peace Village
WI Sung-Gon Congressman, Korea National Assembly
KANG Sun Seok Director of Jeju Geology Institute
OH Seong Hak Teacher, Jeju Halla Middle School
WON Hyung Joon Director, Lindendaum Orchestra
HAN Geum-Soon Teacher, Jeju Nam-nyeong High School
PARK Young-Hye Professor, Sookmyung Women’s University
● KANG Woo Il Jeju and peace education: Jeju is designated as the “Island of World Peace,” but it is vulnerable to social conflicts. Permanent peace education programs need to be in place to resolve such conflicts and pave the way for all residents of Jeju to come together as one. More than 40 participants from seven countries around the world are to attend the 2018 Jeju World Peace Academy, an internationally esteemed peace education program organized by Jeju National University. I propose that we share the culture of peace by learning about the Jeju 4.3 Incident, the Gangjeong peace movement and other peace initiatives at the Academy. Let us help citizens and teachers join hands to make sure the Academy serves as a graduate school of peace studies on Jeju.
● LAI Jeh-Hang The Meaning of the Inscription of Taiwan’s 2.28 Incident on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register: It is hard to talk about Taiwan’s decades-long conflicts without mentioning, among others, a tragedy that took place in 1947. It happened after a new government took office in Taiwan after Japanese colonial rule ended. It was a conflict between corrupt government officials and residents, and a confrontation between Taiwanese and mainlanders. Estimations vary, but casualties are reported to have totaled 1,500-2,000 people. I heard Jeju experienced a similar tragedy, the Jeju 4.3 Incident. I would say all these took place in the process of a power shift. We studied and taught the tragedies to remember the victims, who did not die in vain. With these efforts, we had the Taiwanese government pay compensation to the victims of the 2.28 Incident, while designating February 28 as a national Memorial Day to share the suffering of the victims and their families.
● Douglas YATES Jeju’s Strategy to Promote the Island of Peace: In Paris, I do research on the untold stories of the 4.3 Incident. I am not just studying about them. I am teaching about what we should do to build peace. Korea is planning to submit the documents on the Jeju 4.3 Incident to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to inscribe them on the Memory of the World Register at the annual session to be held at this time next year. They stand a fair chance of being listed as such because, earlier in 2011, the archives for the May 18th Gwangju Uprising were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The register, an archive of records of historical significance, is distributed across the world. South Korea needs to make sure the Jeju 4.3 Incident is listed on the Memory of the World Register for global society’s research on peace. It is important to lay a foundation for peace studies on the global level by promoting inter-disciplinary research and education on peace studies.
● Sachio NAKATO Jeju’s Six-plus-One-Party Talks Strategy: Japan is also providing a lot of peace education programs, with most of them available in the prefectures of Okinawa, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peace is usually taught from early ages in these regions. That is because peace education is something that can achieve its goal by going through the process of building consensus among different generations. The U.S. troops are stationed in Okinawa, and Okinawans often complain about the inconvenience the Americans have caused. I held a lecture in Japan the other day on the “Security Treaty Between the U.S. and Japan” and the “Australia, New Zealand, U.S. Security Treaty.” It was a lecture given from the American perspective. A female college student, a native of Okinawa, pointed out that the mere absence of war between world powers does not mean peace for Japan. She was against the world powers’ version of peace. That tells us that the way Asia views peace is different from the way major powers do. We should take into consideration that the perceptions about peace on Jeju, and in Okinawa and Taiwan are different. If we really want to pursue true peace, we need solidarity and a new peace concept, independent of the perspective of power politics, to protect human rights from state violence and to share each other’s pain. The Six-plus-One-Party Talks that Jeju has put forward sounds like a fresh idea to me. The Osaka Prefecture can host the talks in 2020 in cooperation with Ritsumeikan University.
● WON Hyung Joon Talks about Music for Peace on the Korean Peninsula: I have engaged in music performance and talk shows on the theme of peace since 2009. Music is a language of communication. Young musicians are talking about peace, and playing music for peace in harmony. Those many harmonies bond young people of different races and nationalities together. I want to deliver a peace message through music to the world. I am trying to heal the scars of the Jeju 4.3 Incident through the language of music.
● CHENG Cheng-chen Taiwan’s 2.28 Incident and peace in Taiwan: In Taiwan, we had pretty much discussions about what we should teach about the tragic 2.28 Incident. I believe they did too on Jeju about the 4.3 Incident. What should you teach about the tragic incident? Jeju has gone through the same pain as Taiwan has. You have the 4.3 Incident. Taiwan’s 2.28 Incident is a tragic history, in which innocent civilians were suppressed by soldiers and policemen. Learning lessons from such a painful history, we have taught ourselves, shared the suffering, and done research to discover the truth to make sure such things are not repeated again. Although Jeju is called the Island of World Peace today, it has the same painful history as Taiwan. The scars from the tragic history of Jeju, I hope, will be healed through well-organized education programs for reconciliation and cooperation. Also, I hope the sad history of Jeju will be inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
● Anton KOSLOV Six-Party Talks and the Role of Russia: Relations between South Korea and Russia – members of the Six-Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula – have a special history. Russia has a great interest in promoting permanent peace in Central and Northeast Asia. Russia is making more efforts to find its own role than any other member of the Six-Party Talks. Russia has maintained a balance in the talks. I do not believe denuclearization of North Korea will be completed within a decade. And yet, I am very interested to know how quickly they will improve relations and how soon they will achieve complete denuclearization, the kind of peace all members of the Six-Party Talks desire. The recent summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump has brought many changes. Russia supports the latest developments and will continue to contribute to peace on the Korean peninsula. I think it would be a good idea if Russia hosts the Six-plus-One-Party Talks in the Far East city of Vladivostok in late 2020 or 2021.
● Michael RAMBAROSE Global Ageing Network Korea 2019: South Korea is becoming a super-aged society, too. Healthcare of elderly people is looming as a challenging issue. Many studies are being carried out in the U.S. as part of efforts to reform the care programs for the elderly. Through these programs, elderly citizens in 30 countries across six continents are receiving healthcare services. The worldwide population aged 60 and older is projected to reach about 1 billion by 2020. Studies are being conducted to improve the healthcare system for the elderly and help them feel that they belong to the community. I would recommend that Jeju National University, the Korea Tourism College and the Whitney Center host the Global Ageing Network Korea next March on Jeju, which has a reputation as the island of longevity and peace, and ultimately the “Global Ageing Conference,” in 2021.
● Charles SMITH & IM Ae-Duck & PARK Young-Hye & BOO Eun He Jeju Talks about Combining the Kim Mandeok Culture and Global Ageing Network Korea 2019: We agree on the idea of South Korea building peace through cultural education. We believe that the philanthropic culture of Kim Mandeok, coupled with Jeju’s commitment to women’s rights and world peace, will help in bringing peace to Northeast Asia. The Global Ageing Network Korea 2019 slated for next March will be a landmark event, if it is combined with the philanthropic culture of Kim Mandeok on the global stage. We would like to assist in international exchanges between Jeju National University, the East Rock Institute and Yale University.
● Christine STOPKA Convergence of Oriental and Western Cultures: I was ten years old when I left Korea for New York. I experienced a wide range of cultural diversity there. I learned about cultural differences as I interacted with people. I also had a chance to teach about peace. As we talk about peace with each other, we sometimes find ourselves standing on the opposite side of the fence on certain issues. Going through these processes, people get to understand each other better and share each other’s stories. There are differences between Eastern and Western cultures. However, the East and West share the same practice of making efforts to understand one another and talk about peace. Jeju culture, represented by “bulteok” (a rest place for Jeju haenyeo) and jeongnang (the front gate of a traditional Jeju house) in Seongeup Historic Village, was impressive. If the Global Ageing Network Korea 2019 is held to discuss the unique culture of Jeju, I will do my best to support it.
● KOH Kwon-Il Policy Shift toward Promoting Gangjeong as the Port of Peace: As inter-Korean relations have improved, I suggest that Gangjeong Port be converted back into a civilian-military complex, as planned before, to start a cruise tour service. In a related move, Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pledged to establish an international graduate school of environmental studies at Gangjeong Village in cooperation with Jeju National University, a plan I support. I hope the school will be set up in Gangjeong or Seogwipo.
● KANG Sun Seok Asian Standards for Use and Preservation of UNESCO Global Geoparks and World Natural Heritages in Connection with the Establishment of the ASIAPARC Federation: There are some problematic issues with the management of the World Natural Heritages of Jeju such as the extreme commercialism and bureaucratic interference since 2012. To address these problems, I think, we should consider introducing an independent organization modeled after the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe. We need to completely re-examine the way Jeju heritages are managed. Among recent issues are the controversies about an access road to Sanbang Mountain and the installation of a pedestrian bridge over Yongmeori Beach.
● HAN Geum-Soon “Cherry Tree & Peace Culture Festival” of Jeju National University and American University: According to a U.S. Congressional document, an American senator announced in a speech on March 29, 1943 that the cherry trees planted around the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. were found to have not originated from Japan, but from South Korea’s Jeju Island. Decades later, on April 20 this year, students and faculty members of Jeju National University visited Washington D.C. to attend the Jeju 4.3 Reconciliation Conference. After the conference, they stopped by Capitol Hill to see the flowering cherry trees from Jeju, and American University, which has a stone grandpa (Dolhareubang) from Jeju. During the visit, they proposed the two universities hold a cherry tree-themed culture festival on Jeju, which deserves support from the island.
Policy Implications
● Peace education serves as global infrastructure for building peace and easing tension through civic initiatives. Let us promote the Jeju World Peace Academy of Jeju National University as an international education program that might be joined by Japan, the US, Switzerland, Hong Kong, France, Australia and other countries. If Jeju succeeds in launching the Six-plus-One-Party Talks in March next year within the framework of the World Peace Academy, it will upgrade the civic diplomacy of Jeju and its global profile.
● Jeju is the island of longevity. Jeju is also a place of tragic history, the Jeju 4.3 Incident. Most of the victims of the incident are very old now. That means they are fading into history without having their trauma treated. The Global Ageing Network Korea 2019 might provide us with an opportunity to heal their pain, move toward peace and solidify the cultural identity of Jeju. If the Global Ageing Network Korea 2019 is held jointly with the Six-plus-One-Party Talks in March next year, we might introduce the Jeju bulteok culture and jeongnang tourism network to North Korea.
● It is expected that it will take up to ten years to have a documentary heritage of the Jeju 4.3 Incident listed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. Jeju Special Self-governing Province also unveiled its roadmap for the project. We propose that Jeju National University conduct a joint research with Taiwan universities and the American University of Paris, as well as seek cooperation with other relevant institutions.
● As the management of Jeju’s World Natural Heritages and Geoparks of UNESCO remains in disarray, there should be a measure to address this issue by establishing an international graduate school of environmental studies in Seogwipo or the ASIAPARC Federation.
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