[Jeju Update] A Novelist Writes about “Gangjeong,” to Keep it from the Naval Base; Four Reporters Cry for Media Justice; and the Right wings Move

1. 'Do You Know Gangjeong?' by Hyun Ki-Young

* Go Yu Gi, the chief of Secretary of the Jeju Solidarity for Participatory Self-Government & Environmental Preservation sent today the writing by the renowned Korean novelist, Hyun Ki-Young who wrote, “Do You Know Gangjeong?”, as part of the relay column by the Authors’ council, on March 13. Below is arbitrary translation of just bits of his writing. The photo was with the article forwarded in email.

Image source: as mentioned above 'Life & Peace village, Gangjeong'
Villagers and visitors hung up their small nameplates on the basalt top
to express their will to keep Gangjeong village from the naval base.

‘Do you know Gangjeong?’
by Novelist Hyun Ki-Young
[Relay column of the Authors’ council on March 13, 2010 ]

“Do you know Gangjeong? Even though there is not a place whose landscape is beautiful in the volcano island, Jeju, it is the village called Il-Gangjeong (meaning 'Gangjeong, the best') that has most excellent landscape and is good to live. Have you been there where numerous strange cliff, clean streams, small beautiful ponds formed in the places at which the clean waters meet the sea, and where the beautiful creatures resembled the handsome landscape get along well one another?”

[...]

* Image source: Boreum Doraegi (in the Catholic People's Power cafe site)

Boreum Doraegi is the villager who makes the blog against the naval base. He says even though
the place in the photo above is part of the area for the planned naval base, because of the reason that,
the entrance pathway to the site shown in the photo, has not been known to many people, it is not well known site. But in his writing with many beautiful photos of the site, he is proud of the landscape of beautiful rocks
and small ponds where the water formed by lava meet the sea. For more photos, see HERE.

The Jeju Island is the land that has experienced the 4.3, the biggest tragedy in the [Korean] modern history, 60 years ago. Because the accident happened during the conflicts between the two big ideologies and from the United States’ global strategy, the Jeju Island has enough qualification to cry for anti- war and peace, toward world. So the Jeju Island, laying out the program called, ‘Island of Peace,’ wants that every country including the powerful countries gather and discuss peace there. How on earth, the large size naval base, the symbol of war, can enter that ‘Island of Peace’. The peace cannot be accomplished by war. Peace is accomplished by peace. Peace must be created by rational thoughts and efforts not by war.

The Gangjeong villagers who have struggled for more than three years are now in extreme tiredness and despair. The Ministry of the National Defense Department who has aimed this time, is preparing to attack them like the military operation. Yes, the Gangjeong is not only for Gangjeong villagers. It is ours, for all of us. No, the land is not for the current. The land is not for the current that is only the blink moment among the permanent time in the future. Since we are only the blink existence in that time, the land is not ours but for the descendents who would endlessly come after us.

[...]
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2. Four Jeju Reporters Cry for Media Justice

Image source: Kim Kyung-Duk, Seogwipo newspaper ‘Condolence for the Jemin Ilbo, Condolence for the Corrupt Relationship between Government Power and Media’,
the black banner behind the reporters says.

According to the March 16 article, Seogwipo newspaper (report by Kim Kyung-Duk), four reporters of the Jemin Ilbo, which is one of the daily newspapers of the Jeju Island had the press interview in which they announced their group resignation from their frustration of the corrupt relationship between the government & capitalism power and media.

The four reporters claimed that since the president of the company has been changed in 2008, the social criticism has been dull. They took the example of the issues such as those of the returning call of the Island Governor and Jeju naval base construction.

They announced that they would come back to the field within May with the purpose of the foundation of the local daily newspaper that aims for justice.

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3. The Right Wings Move as well.

* Image source: Woo Seung-Ho, Sisa Jeju

Otherwise, on the same day, the organizations who are in favor of the naval base had the press interview that Woo Keun-Min, the powerful candidate from the opposition party for the Island governor election on June 2, should not say that he would review the naval base construction plan from the beginning, the Sisa Jeju say.

At 11am, on March 16, Those organizations claimed in the press interview that was held in the Island people’s room in the Island Assembly, saying that, “It is the situation that setting-up of the Jeju naval base construction is coming soon, after much controversy. The discussion on con & pro on the naval base construction and on the rationality of location is not the agenda to be discussed in the coming local election on June 2."

For reference, Woo Keun-Min is the former Island governor who has recently been welcomed by the Democratic Party despite the progressive’s strong opposition against him because of his sexual harassment case while he was in charge of the governor. But currently, he is considered the most powerful candidate in the public poll and has recently (March 4) announced that he would review the whole naval base plan from the beginning and urged the Ministry of Defense Department that it should postpone all the naval base construction schedule after the June 2 election. The progressives in Jeju are criticizing the Democratic party and him because, beside his infamous sexual harassment career, his saying of review of the naval base plan is ultimately considered that he would change only location even though he is saying that he would lay out the persuasive procedures and measures for the Gangjeong villagers and Island people.

There are two progressive candidates for the governor election but their power is still weak.

Just In: The prompt news of Jeju media reports that the Democratic Party review committee on the candidates in local election made the decision that the party would not make Woo as the Democratic Party’s official candidate for Jeju election because of controversy on his sexual harassment when he was the Island governor. It is heard that the infuriated Woo would defect the Party, upon the news.