[Jeju Update] Prayer for Life and Peace in the Metboori

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* Thanks for the coverage on the Life and Peace Felloship's peace pilgrimage:

Organizing Notes: ANOTHER PEACE PILGRIMAGE, March 2, 2011

브루스 개그논의 조직 노트: 또다른 평화 순례, 2011년 3월 2일(클릭)

Ten Thousand Things:
In Solidarity with the Gangjeong Villagers of Jeju Island and the Peace Pilgrims for Life, Peace, & Community in the Korean Peninsula,

'1천개의 것 블로그: 제주도 강정 주민들과 생명 평화 결사와의 연대, 2011년 3월 2일(클릭)
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* Photo credit: Jane Jin Kaisen and Gus Sondin-Kung

The Life and Peace Fellowship organization (led by a Buddhist monk Dobub) who planned to make 100 days’ life and peace pilgrim throughout whole Korea made its first start in the Jeju Island, paying a launch ceremony at the April 3rd Peace Park on March 1 then moving to the Gangjeong village, the planned Jeju naval base area where the villagers have struggled against the base plan near four years, on the same day. The members of the Life and Peace Fellowship organization staying their first night in the village, staged 100 bows and prayer with some villagers in front of the stone altar, early next morning. The village’s archaic altar could not be used for their own annual ceremony for three years because the makeshift naval field office building had made their entry to here difficult since 2008. The villagers and members of the Life and Peace Fellowship thought it was important to have a ceremony here again to revitalize the energy of the village. See the videos at the bottom of this blog.








One grateful thing to the organization to the Life and Peace Fellowship is that they decided to stay 1oo days in the Gangjeong village instead 100days’ peace pilgrim throughout Korea. Meeting with the villagers on March 1, they realized how urgent the villagers needed people to help them and how important of the struggle in Gangjeong village therefore they changed their plan to stay in the village. The plan for peace walk in the Jeju Island in the first week will not be changed. But each evening, they will come back to the village, breathing with the villagers and sharing the villagers’ suffering with them.


The navy has set up the signs around Feb. 25, which demands the Olle tourists to detour from the Joongduk coast, the planned naval base area. It is told that the navy would build the fence around the planed naval base area sooner or later and it would bring tension between the villagers and navy.

Otherwise, the workers who had been in protest vigil in front of the Jeju Island government Hall and whose tent was forcefully removed on Feb. 21 met their 100days vigil on March 2, 2011. Despite cold and windy weather, the workers have been keeping their struggle in the same spot without tent.


* Image source: Headline Jeju, March 2, 2011
Workers' tent was forcefully removed by the Jeju city officers and police on Feb. 21, 2011

* Image source: Headline Jeju, March 2, 2011

'Workers who met their 100th day tent vigil on March 2, 2011'

Otherwise, Jane Jin Kaisen who is making a documentary on the Jeju with her husband Gus Sondin-Kung thankfully sent some photos on March 2. The photos of construction in the naval field office is from her. You can see their website here.

Construction inside the naval field office on March 2, 2011

* Photo thanks to Jane Jin Kaisen on March 3, 2011

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Videos on the prayer in the Metboori, March 2, 2011