Jeju’s Historical Truth: Why the 4·3 Peace Park’s New Signage Matters

Translation result

Rather than demolishing it, the Jeju provincial government relocated a monument that had provoked controversy over distortion of the April 3 history to the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park and installed an explanatory plaque beside it.

Jeju Province, the 4·3 Peace Foundation and bereaved families announced on the 28th that they moved the Ham Byeong-seon service monument along with monuments honoring military and police service and a memorial to the war dead to the Peace Park, and installed a plaque titled “Setting the Record Straight.” This is the second such action, following last year’s placement of an explanatory plaque beside the memorial for Col. Park Jin-gyeong, who is accused of leading severe suppression of civilians during the April 3 period.

Erected in 1949, the Ham Byeong-seon monument praises his deeds as a military commander at the time. But government investigations have concluded that he led the mass killing of Bukchon-ri residents and oversaw harsh crackdowns that punished civilians without judicial process. Bereaved families and related civic groups had long argued that the monument amounted to historical distortion and demanded corrective signage.

The military-and-police service monument and the memorial to the war dead moved with it similarly commemorate the activities and sacrifices of the military, police and right-wing groups of that era. After deliberations with advisory panels and consultations with relevant agencies, Jeju Province relocated those stones and documented the relevant historical facts on the explanatory plaque.

Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon and representatives of 4·3-related organizations attended the ceremony to commemorate the victims. Jeju Province said it will continue to install explanatory plaques or relocate facilities tied to disputed historical narratives on a phased basis.