Comments on: Roh Apologizes for 1948 Cheju Massacre http://www.rjkoehler.com/2003/11/01/roh-apologizes-for-1948-cheju-massacre/ Korea... in Blog Format Tue, 6 Jan 2009 22:04:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: The Marmot http://www.rjkoehler.com/2003/11/01/roh-apologizes-for-1948-cheju-massacre/comment-page-1/#comment-536 The Marmot Thu, 06 Nov 2003 23:36:47 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=247#comment-536 Usually, I'm with you both you and the WSJ, but not here. I have yet to see any reliable evidence that the Cheju Incident was the work of North Korean operatives (although if you've got any, I'd be more than grateful to see it), but plenty of evidence to suggest that the uprising was wholely the product of local conditions. In fact, last time I checked, not one Northerner was ever caught or killed - in fact, the only Northerns involved in that incident appear to be those that made up Rhee's right-wing goon squads. Look, I don't have a problem with the South Korean government putting down a domestic revolt, and indeed, the Cheju Uprising should have been put down, but the way in which that operation was carried out was a disgrace that left a lot of bitter feelings after it was done. And for that, apologies were a long time in coming. PING: TITLE: Eyes On Korea: 2003-11-11 BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET NOV 11/03 TOPICS INCL: North Korea, North Korea, and MORE North Korea, fecklessness at the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the debate on sending South Korean troops to Iraq, unionists turn downtown Seoul into a "sea of fire," moon pies (yes, moon... Usually, I’m with you both you and the WSJ, but not here. I have yet to see any reliable evidence that the Cheju Incident was the work of North Korean operatives (although if you’ve got any, I’d be more than grateful to see it), but plenty of evidence to suggest that the uprising was wholely the product of local conditions. In fact, last time I checked, not one Northerner was ever caught or killed - in fact, the only Northerns involved in that incident appear to be those that made up Rhee’s right-wing goon squads. Look, I don’t have a problem with the South Korean government putting down a domestic revolt, and indeed, the Cheju Uprising should have been put down, but the way in which that operation was carried out was a disgrace that left a lot of bitter feelings after it was done. And for that, apologies were a long time in coming.

PING:
TITLE: Eyes On Korea: 2003-11-11
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
NOV 11/03 TOPICS INCL: North Korea, North Korea, and MORE North Korea, fecklessness at the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the debate on sending South Korean troops to Iraq, unionists turn downtown Seoul into a “sea of fire,” moon pies (yes, moon…

]]> By: Zhang Fei http://www.rjkoehler.com/2003/11/01/roh-apologizes-for-1948-cheju-massacre/comment-page-1/#comment-535 Zhang Fei Thu, 06 Nov 2003 17:17:35 +0000 http://rjkoehler.com/?p=247#comment-535 Here's a little more background on Cheju from today's Wall Street Journal (from an article by Donald Kirk): President Roh, during his talk and in a meeting with Jeju residents, issued a formal "apology" for the "excessive use of force" that led to the killing in 1948 of more than 14,000 people, according to the official count. The Jeju governor, Woo Keun-min, acting as host, made much of the gesture, praising Mr. Roh for having "apologized to the people who had been victimized and sacrificed." Soldiers and police, at the behest of Syngman Rhee, the president who steered the South Korean government through the Korean War and continued to rule until his overthrow in 1960, were blamed for the onslaught in which local residents say as many as 80,000 people died. Astonishingly, Mr. Roh said not a word about the North Korean spies who infiltrated Jeju Island, setting up bases in the dense jungle and caves surrounding Mount Halla, pillaging farms and homes for food and funds and killing those who opposed them. There was no hint of Kim Il Sung's plan for taking over Jeju as part of a strategy of squeezing South Korea from below while his main force troops invaded from above. Nor was there any mention of Jeju in the context of a much larger struggle, the Korean War that began two years later, tearing the country apart for the next three years at a cost of at least two million lives. Here’s a little more background on Cheju from today’s Wall Street Journal (from an article by Donald Kirk):

President Roh, during his talk and in a meeting with Jeju residents, issued a formal “apology” for the “excessive use of force” that led to the killing in 1948 of more than 14,000 people, according to the official count. The Jeju governor, Woo Keun-min, acting as host, made much of the gesture, praising Mr. Roh for having “apologized to the people who had been victimized and sacrificed.” Soldiers and police, at the behest of Syngman Rhee, the president who steered the South Korean government through the Korean War and continued to rule until his overthrow in 1960, were blamed for the onslaught in which local residents say as many as 80,000 people died.

Astonishingly, Mr. Roh said not a word about the North Korean spies who infiltrated Jeju Island, setting up bases in the dense jungle and caves surrounding Mount Halla, pillaging farms and homes for food and funds and killing those who opposed them. There was no hint of Kim Il Sung’s plan for taking over Jeju as part of a strategy of squeezing South Korea from below while his main force troops invaded from above. Nor was there any mention of Jeju in the context of a much larger struggle, the Korean War that began two years later, tearing the country apart for the next three years at a cost of at least two million lives.

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