제주평화연구원

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="149"] Sukin Jang
Researcher in the Department of International Relations, University of Seoul[/caption] During the Cold War, there were islands in East Asia that were the scenes of brutal ‘hot wars.’ Though the Cold War ended almost thirty years ago, the deep scars and painful memories of war and violence have left lasting legacies here. These are the so-called ‘Islands of the Cold War’ such as Okinawa, Jeju Island, Jinmen Island and Yeonpyeong Island. These islands show that, throughout the Cold War and into the post-Cold War era, discourses of war and peace at the regional and global level can be experienced completely differently at the local level. One of the most iconic embodiments of this is Jinmen Island, located between China and Taiwan. Contrary to regional and international political changes, Jinmen Island continues to carry the memories of the Cold War and the battles that took place there.   Jinmen Island was a ‘Hot War in the Cold War’ in which military conflict and confrontation continued from the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s to the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s and to US-China detente in the 1970s. Beginning with the October 1949 Battle of Guningtou (古寧頭) between the People's Liberation Army and the Nationalist Army, the Island was the site of intermittent battles until the Korean War in 1950-53. After the end of the Korean War, during which China’s attack on Taiwan had been temporarily suspended, a massive bombardment began again in 1958 followed by periodic, intense battles and skirmishes for 21 years until 1979, when the United States and China established diplomatic relations.   In the 1970s, there was a renewal of peace and reconciliation in Northeast Asia. The United States began to improve relations with China. With its reform and opening up policy, China began to play a positive role in promoting friendly foreign relations with neighbouring countries, including Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan created a peaceful atmosphere both at home and abroad by reducing military tensions with China and undergoing democratization. However, it seems that Jinmen Island's own Cold War has continued as a way to strengthen the memories of military confrontation and to emphasize Taiwan's existence and identity. In the 2000s, Jinmen Island began to restore peace to its daily life and move beyond the memory of war. People-to-people and market exchanges between China and Taiwan had been gradually developing since the 1980s but took off in earnest in the early 2000s. Jinmen Island, a military battlefield between China and Taiwan, became the starting point for bilateral reconciliation and cooperation.   The military facilities and fortifications on Jinmen Island that housed war materials were redeveloped as cultural and tourism resources that recalled the history and memories of past conflicts. The old and rusty shells left over from massive bombardments became local specialties that saved the economy. Millions of Chinese tourists have become the main customers of the tourism industry and the economy’s lifeline. In addition, the government and local enterprises made efforts to develop industries that utilize the Island’s natural ecology, geography and cultural heritage to revitalize the local economy and improve livelihoods. Through these efforts, Jinmen Island has been transformed into an 'Island of Peace' since the Cold War.   Jinmen Island, which has fostered peace in daily life out of the battlefields of the Cold War, symbolizes the transformation of cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan from hostility and confrontation to reconciliation and exchange. The island, previously at the forefront of military conflict, was able to further expand exchanges and cooperation as it became a link between China and Taiwan. The local interaction and ties between Jinmen (金門) and the city of Xiamen (廈門) across the sea in China have progressively expanded into the mainlands of both countries. Jinmen Island was once a vertical barrier between China and Taiwan as a symbol of the Cold War, but it has since become a horizontal bridge connecting the two. It might be said that Jinmen Island has succeeded in becoming an 'Island of Peace' from an 'Island of the Cold War'. It is now making peace a part of daily life while preserving the natural ecological environment and revitalizing local communities.   Jeju Island, the 'Island of World Peace', also needs to make a contribution to creating and promoting peace in Northeast Asia and at the global level, just like Jinmen Island. Jinmen Island shows how expanding exchanges and cooperation between China and Taiwan can be a virtuous cycle in which everyday peace is achieved at the local level. Jeju Island has been acknowledged as an island of peace both domestically and internationally. In order to make its image of peace more persuasive, Jeju Island should seek to play a leading role in building peace on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations as well as at the regional level.   There are lessons for Jeju Island and the Korean Peninsula in how Jinmen Island has changed from a 'Island of the Cold War' to an 'Island of Peace'. Jeju Island could similarly move from 'Cold War and Division' to 'Unification and Peace'. Jinmen Island also demonstrates the power and possibility of peace discourses that begin at the urban and local level.   First of all, Jinmen Island is a region where bilateral exchanges have begun with the active support of the local and central governments. It has become a beautiful and historic tourist resort that showcases unique local attractions and features, thus enhancing the image of 'peace'. In addition, by developing a tourism industry and local specialty products, it has evolved into a place that revitalizes the local industry and economy and provides high-quality social welfare services throughout the region.   However, Jinmen Island has not played a leading role in forming a peace discourse at the city and local levels by sharing the historical pain of war with other regions. It has focused on pursuing economic benefits through the development of tourism resources and industries that use the image of ‘war’, rather than explaining the history of the Cold War and the importance of ‘peace’ and ‘reconciliation’. It has also unfortunately been engaged in forming networks related to discourses on war and peace, not only within the regional level but also with outside parties.   The exchanges initiated at the local level have both positive and negative aspects. Communication and cooperation through low-level exchanges can potentially promote peace on some issues, but if it solely concentrated on the economic side, it is not easy to establish a basic foundation for the formation and expansion of a peace discourse. Essential to the notion of a peace discourse at the regional level are the clear limitations from systemic differences or political hostility. Despite the fact that exchanges and cooperation started from below could serve as a driving force to a peaceful atmosphere and proceed to a higher level, it is not easy to overcome closed perspectives at the national or global level. For instance, while a majority of exchanges and cooperation between Jinmen and Xiamen have focused on economic aspects, there has been little discussion between the two sides on raising awareness of war and peace, discussing the need for overcoming and healing historical wounds, and informing others about the importance of peace. It is difficult for two cities to go beyond the national identity of 'China' and 'Taiwan', respectively, in the process of building a discourse on peace.   It is time for Jeju Island to become an island of world peace by sharing with others the values learned from its own painful history and past isolation. To this end, Jeju Island should play an important role in forming a peace discourse at the national and global levels through a network of islands and regions that have experienced the lasting scars and legacies of war and violence in East Asia. In conclusion, the past and present experience of Jinmen Island, which has been a bridge for exchanges and cooperation, raises questions that can guide the present and future of Jeju Island. But the answer is one that Jeju Island will have to make on its own.