Dear friends,

We warmly invite you to join us for the 78th Anniversary Jeju April 3 Victims Memorial Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Bayside, New York.

This gathering is a time to remember the victims of Jeju 4·3, honor the pain and resilience of survivors and bereaved families, and share the historical truth and enduring significance of Jeju 4·3 with our community and future generations.

This year’s memorial also carries a special hope: the hope for the establishment of a Jeju 4·3 memorial monument in the United States. Through remembrance, we seek not only to honor the past, but also to build a future rooted in truth, justice, human dignity, and peace.

Event Information
Event: 78th Anniversary Jeju April 3 Victims Memorial Ceremony
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: News M Hall, Bayside, New York
Host: Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Bereaved Families Association of the U.S.

Your presence and solidarity would mean a great deal to us. We would be grateful if you could join us and also share this invitation with others who may wish to remember Jeju 4·3 with us.

For inquiries, please contact: 43jejuusa@gmail.com

With gratitude,
Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Bereaved Families Association of the U.S.

BROOKLINE, Massachusetts | April 19, 2025
The 77th Anniversary Memorial for the Victims of Jeju 4·3 was held on April 19 at Hunneman Hall in Brookline, Massachusetts. The event was convened to share the truth of Jeju 4·3 with the global public and to amplify a message of justice, human rights, and peace.

Hosted by the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. and its Memorial Committee, chaired by Suyeon Yang, the annual memorial marked the recent inscription of Jeju 4·3 records on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. The gathering also served as the organization’s first public step toward formally advancing a Jeju 4·3 resolution in the U.S. Congress.

Jeju 4·3 and the UNESCO inscription

The Jeju 4·3 Incident refers to mass civilian killings and related state violence that occurred on Jeju Island from 1947 to 1954. An estimated 30,000 civilians were killed during suppression operations carried out by South Korean authorities during the period of the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea.

In April, UNESCO inscribed Jeju 4·3 records in its Memory of the World Register. The newly inscribed materials total 14,673 items and include lists of prisoners from illegal military trials, postcards from prisons, testimonies from victims and bereaved families, civil society records, and official government investigation reports.

Memorial remarks and the congressional resolution initiative

The memorial was emceed by Hyunjung Lee, a Walden Korea committee member. In her commemorative address, Chairwoman Suyeon Yang emphasized that Jeju 4·3 must be remembered not only as a regional history of Korea, but as a global human rights story that demands ethical attention. She noted that the community has moved beyond an era of silence and is now rewriting the historical record through documentation and testimony. She further described the memorial as the first international commemoration held after the UNESCO inscription and called for U.S. society to engage this history with a shared sense of responsibility.

Video messages of solidarity were delivered by Changbeom Kim, Chair of the Jeju Bereaved Families Association, Kwanghyun Oh, Chair of the Jeju 4·3 Bereaved Families Association in Japan, and Jeju Special Self Governing Province Governor Younghoon Oh.

Catherine Yang, based in Washington, D.C., presented the purpose and significance of the proposed congressional resolution. She underscored that the resolution is not solely about assigning responsibility for the past, but about renewing an international commitment to human rights and democracy going forward. The draft resolution, prepared by the Jeju 4·3 Victims and Families Association in the U.S., includes acknowledgement of the historical context of U.S. involvement during the US military government period, requests for disclosure of relevant records, and an expression of solidarity with survivors and bereaved families.

Passing memory to the next generation

A highlight of the program was a speech by Joseph Choi (Jaeyoon Choi), a ninth grade student at Bedford High School and a second generation Korean American. Beginning with the question, “Why am I only learning this history now,” he offered a reflection on silence, memory, and solidarity, and emphasized that what his generation can do begins with listening.

Language, art, and healing

Professor Diana Lynch of Boston University, a poet and scholar, spoke on the role of language in confronting suffering and opening a space for healing. She described Jeju 4·3 as an event that must be held in poetic and ethical memory, and stressed the responsibility of speaking against silence.

The memorial also featured performances that carried the themes of remembrance and repair. Pianist Benjamin Choi performed Janáček’s Sonata 1.X.1905 (From the Street), Evoking a sense of grief and suppressed emotion and illustrating the capacity of music to hold memory. Child singer Hazel Cho performed “Camellia’s Dream,” followed by Chairwoman Suyeon Yang’s concluding tribute song accompanied by Jeju 4·3 video images.

Ongoing work and public access

The Jeju 4·3 Victims and Families Association of the U.S. continues human rights education and arts based public programming through Walden Korea, and engages in community service and cultural exchange in partnership with the civic arts group The Scent of Camellia, led by Hyejung Lee.

The full video of the 77th Anniversary Jeju 4·3 Memorial in the United States will be available beginning in the fourth week of May, after final production, at:

Korean: www.43jeju.com
English: www.waldenkorea.org

Membership in the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. and its Memorial Committee is open to all, including those who are not bereaved family members. Those who wish to join the work of truth seeking and historical remembrance may submit a membership form online. There is no membership fee.

Media Contact

Jeju 4·3 Victims and Families Association of the U.S. and Memorial Committee
Website:

Hallyu, the Korean Wave, is a global phenomenon that reflects worldwide appreciation for Korean culture, including film, K-pop, cuisine, and traditional arts and crafts. Hallyu can also serve as a doorway to deeper layers of Korean history, including the Jeju April 3 Incident.

What is the Jeju April 3 Incident, and why must we know?

The Jeju April 3 Incident (1947–1954) unfolded during a volatile period in Korean history, marked by social unrest and conflict in the aftermath of World War II and Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The incident resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 civilians and left a lasting scar on Korean society.

The Jeju April 3 Incident is widely understood as a major instance of collective trauma in South Korea, a profound psychological wound shared by a community that has endured mass violence. It is also increasingly studied by scholars worldwide as a case that illuminates the early Cold War dynamics in Northeast Asia. Some interpretations argue that the Jeju April 3 Incident should be understood as a critical precursor to the later escalation on the Korean Peninsula, including the Korean War, in which approximately 36,000 American soldiers were killed.

Community Commemoration Event

Come hear the stories of victims’ families and descendants living in our community. Join us in commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Jeju April 3 Incident. This solemn and educational gathering offers an opportunity to learn about the incident’s historical significance, honor those affected, and reflect on the importance of empathy, remembrance, and healing in the aftermath of collective trauma.

The event is family-friendly and includes arts and crafts activities designed to help participants connect with the history and emotional impact of Jeju April 3.

Date and Time: April 27, 5:00 p.m.
Location: Boston Korean Church in Brookline (32 Harvard Ave)
Admission: Free (dinner provided)

High School Essay Contest: Memory and Justice

We also invite high school students to participate in an essay contest reflecting on their experience at the event. All participants will receive a special memento, and outstanding essays will be awarded scholarships. Selected essays may also be considered for publication in the Walden Korea International Journal, offering students an opportunity to share their work with a broader audience and contribute to public dialogue on Korean history and memory.

Submission Deadline: May 30
Eligibility: High school students
Submission Process: Students who attend the event will receive a submission link by email.

Essay Guidelines

Your essay should address the following areas:

Unique Reflection (required)
Reflect on your experience at the event and what you learned about the Jeju April 3 Incident.

Collective Trauma Impact
Discuss the impacts of collective trauma, using academic research to support your analysis.

Future Implications
Consider how the Jeju April 3 Incident continues to shape society today, including attitudes and reconciliation efforts.

Formatting Requirements

Length: 1,000–2,000 words, in English
Font: 12-point Times New Roman
Spacing: Double-spaced

For questions, please contact: info@waldenkorea.org

Professor Sung-Yoon Lee’s 2022 op-ed in The Hill argues that remembrance, truth-seeking, and reconciliation should begin with a presidential visit to the Jeju April 3 Peace Park.

In an op-ed published in The Hill on April 6, 2022, Sung-Yoon Lee, a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, makes a clear and consequential argument: a U.S. presidential visit to the Jeju April 3 Peace Park would be a meaningful starting point for the United States in addressing the unresolved grievances of the victims of the Jeju 4·3 Incident. Southwestern Law School

Jeju Island witnessed the systematic killing of civilians beginning in 1948, a tragedy made more complex by the historical context of U.S. authority on the peninsula during the period of the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). Lee emphasizes the moral and diplomatic importance of remembrance and reconciliation, pointing to the significance of public gestures that acknowledge victims and validate historical pain. House Docs+1

The op-ed argues that both South Korea and the United States have, at different times, minimized or avoided full accountability, slowing the pursuit of truth and reconciliation. The mass killing of civilians, including women and children, and the destruction of communities, remains a critical but insufficiently understood chapter in post-1945 Korean history that warrants sustained attention in the United States. House Docs

Lee specifically suggests that when President Joe Biden travels to South Korea, he should pay respects at the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park as an act of acknowledgment and a gesture toward healing that could strengthen the U.S.–ROK relationship. He also proposes that Congress can contribute to reconciliation through tangible support, including educational initiatives for victims’ families, drawing on precedents in which the United States has addressed past wrongs through public recognition and material measures. House Docs+1

At its core, the piece calls for the Jeju 4·3 Massacre to be recognized as a shared historical and ethical issue, not solely a domestic Korean tragedy. It urges actions that support truth-telling, public memory, and reconciliation as foundations for a more mature and credible bilateral partnership. House Docs

To read the full op-ed, please visit:
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3258230-biden-should-visit-south-koreas-jeju-april-3rd-peace-park/

Date and Time:
Thursday, April 6, 6 pm
followed by a reception at 7 pm.

Location
7th floor, Cabot Intercultural Center, Tufts Fletcher School
160 Packard Ave., Medford, MA

Host: Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S.

Support organizer: Jeju 4·3 International Network for Truth and Justice, Memorial Committee for the Jeju April 3rd Uprising and Massacre, Fletcher School North Korea Working Group

Sponsor: Jeju Special Self-Governing Province

RSVP: info@waldenkorea.org
Tel) 617-849-8433

The Jeju 4·3 International Network for Truth and Justice was established at 2:00 p.m. KST on June 27, 2022, at the Jeju City Communication and Cooperation Center. Participants from Jeju, Seoul, Japan, the United States, Europe, and Taiwan joined forces to advance truth and justice related to Jeju 4·3.

Seven organizations formed the initial coalition, with the Jeju Association for the Bereaved Families of 4·3 Victims serving as the central hub. The founding members included the Jeju 4·3 Pan-National Committee to Commemorate the Jeju 4·3 Massacre, the Memorial Committee for the Jeju 4·3 Uprising and Massacre, the Association for the Bereaved Families of 4·3 Victims in Japan, the Jeju 4·3 Victims and Families Association in the U.S., the Taiwan Jeju 4·3 Victims Association, and Jeju 4·3 Network Europe. Two additional groups, Jeju 4·3 Network Tokyo and Jeju 4·3 Network Osaka, were also reported to be in preparation.

At the founding ceremony, representatives of each organization participated by video conference. Jeju Provincial Governor Oh Young-hoon and National Assemblyman Kim Han-kyu (Democratic Party) delivered congratulatory remarks, and Koh Hee-beom, Chair of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation, attended in person and offered congratulatory comments.

In its founding declaration, the Network stated that it aims to serve as a catalyst for connecting the next generation by fostering the spirit of Jeju 4·3 and resistance to injustice, reaffirming commitments to peace and human rights.

A spokesperson emphasized that the Jeju 4·3 Massacre, which claimed an estimated 10 percent of Jeju’s population at the time, occurred 74 years ago but should not be treated as a problem unique to Jeju. The statement located Jeju 4·3 within the post–World War II geopolitical struggle on the Korean Peninsula, describing it as a history in which Jeju residents sought to shape their future after liberation rather than have it dictated by great powers.

The spokesperson also highlighted that progress on truth and justice was achieved through sustained efforts by bereaved families, civic society, and Jeju 4·3 organizations, leading to the enactment of the Jeju 4·3 Special Act, the adoption of a government-level fact-finding report, and a presidential apology. Subsequent amendments to the Special Act were described as historic steps enabling compensation and retrials through state mechanisms.

The statement further noted that in the 1970s and 1980s, when open discussion of Jeju 4·3 was extremely difficult in Korea, early calls for truth-seeking first emerged in Japan. It pointed to more recent developments, including the formation of the Jeju 4·3 Victims and Families Association in the United States and the establishment of Jeju 4·3 network initiatives in Taiwan. It also referenced ongoing activities in other countries, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, aimed at advancing international awareness and fact-finding.

Looking ahead, the Network stated its intention to pursue truth and accountability regarding the role of the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). It framed historical truth as something that does not arrive automatically but must be built through collective action across generations, emphasizing solidarity as the foundation for a more just future.

Representatives participating in the founding ceremony stated that the Network will collaborate across civil society networks, strengthen international awareness, and investigate the role of USAMGIK in Jeju 4·3. Organizers noted that the Memorial Committee for the Jeju 4·3 Uprising and Massacre began reaching out to Jeju 4·3-related associations worldwide in September 2020. Formal discussions on establishing the international network began in January 2021, and the Network was launched six months later. Each participating organization appointed a co-representative, and a joint secretariat was formed, composed of co-representatives and directors responsible for key areas of work.

The Jeju 4·3 International Network for Truth and Justice plans to organize international forums and seminars, develop solidarity projects, expand international representation of Jeju 4·3 history, and strengthen cross-border cooperation to advance peace and justice.

Walden Korea signed a business agreement with the Korea Support Center and the Koryo People’s Cultural Center “Beyond Incheon,” located in Hambak Village in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea. The agreement is intended to promote the history of Primorsky, Manchuria, and the Korean Peninsula to a global audience. Hambak Village is described as Korea’s largest concentrated ethnic village, where approximately 7,000 Koryo (Goryeo) people live together as a community.

The term “Koryo people” (Goryeo people) refers to ethnic Koreans who have lived across the post Soviet region, including Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine, particularly following the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

In spring 2019, marking the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement and the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government, President Moon Jae-in visited Uzbekistan and stated that the first generation of Koryo people were independence activists and patriots.

Historically, in 1863, Koreans who crossed the Tumen River and settled in Primorsky Krai formed Korean villages that later became central sites of the independence movement, including serving as a base for armed resistance. That trajectory was disrupted in 1937, when forced deportations to Central Asia devastated the community. Tens of thousands of Koryo people reportedly died during the relocation and in its aftermath. Those who survived rebuilt their lives in Central Asia, cultivating barren land, establishing collective farms, and sustaining their communities while educating the next generation. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Koryo people dispersed across Eurasia, and some later migrated to South Korea, including through pathways that expanded after 2007.

Despite their historical connection to the independence movement, many Koryo people in South Korea face significant barriers to recognition, educational opportunity, and social integration. In contrast to ethnic Koreans from China (Joseonjok), many Koryo people are not fluent in Korean, in part because Korean-language instruction was banned in the Soviet Union after 1945. As a result, many have remained concentrated in residential enclaves such as Hambak Village, where language access and community support are more readily available.

Many Koryo people who resettled in South Korea were highly educated professionals in their former countries, including doctors and professors. However, after arriving in Korea, many encountered limited pathways for professional recognition and employment, and were often funneled into low-wage work.

As part of its related programming, Walden Korea plans to launch a modern Korean history study trip that brings second-generation Korean students and U.S. residents to South Korea. The itinerary will include visits to a Koryo community where participants can meet descendants of anti-Japanese independence activists and learn more about the Korean diaspora. Participants will also visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to study inter-Korean relations and will include a learning component on the Jeju 4·3 Massacre.

Walden Korea signed a business agreement with Remainers, a Korea-based company focused on Korean culture, on July 24, 2022. Remainers is led by Lim Sung-hee, a master of traditional soybean paste and red pepper paste; Lee Hyun-kyung, a master of natural dyeing; and Yoon Kyung-ja, a developer.

Under the agreement, the two organizations will share culinary techniques and cultural knowledge grounded in the spirit of Hongik. Walden Korea noted that a Korean cuisine partner is essential because the Korean Wave has grown significantly in the United States, and Korean food is increasingly central to global interest in Korea. Walden Korea also emphasized that cuisine can serve as an accessible entry point through which American audiences connect more deeply with Korean history and culture. Suyeon Yang, Chairwoman of Walden Korea, is a Korean cuisine specialist who studied traditional Korean court cuisine.

Remainers will introduce its gochujang and doenjang kit to the U.S. market and will collaborate with Walden Korea on related cultural programming, including international exchange activities, certificate courses, educational recipes, events, and consulting.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This spring, that step was taken. For the first time on American soil, to the best of my knowledge, events were organized specifically to raise public awareness of a dark chapter of modern history: the Jeju 4·3 Uprising and Massacre, often referred to as the Jeju Island Massacres.

On April 1, the Jeju April 3 Victims Memorial Ceremony was held at the Harvard Faculty Club. Harvard University, a place where scholarship has shaped public understanding for centuries, provided a fitting setting for words that sought to bring light to a tragedy long obscured by distance and silence. The program featured local speakers whose expertise and tone combined intellectual rigor with humility and empathy: Professor David McCann (Harvard University), Professor Edward Baker (Harvard University), Professor Sung-Yoon Lee (The Fletcher School at Tufts University), and Ms. Suyeon Yang, Chairwoman of the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S.

Together, the speakers offered a troubling yet necessary portrait. Professor Baker opened by situating the massacre within its historical context and arguing that the United States bears responsibility in this chapter of Korean history. A history not distant in time, yet too easily forgotten. Professor McCann then approached the tragedy through literature, illustrating how the pain of Jeju’s victims has been preserved and transmitted through poetry and testimony. These perspectives did not merely describe suffering; they raised the moral and political questions that follow any account of mass violence: how such atrocities become possible, who authorizes them, and how ideology and power can transform ordinary systems into instruments of terror. In combination, the presentations deepened understanding of what happened and why the painful past continues to shape the present.

The Harvard event blended commemoration with short lectures and was hosted by Walden Korea, an academic and cultural platform, and the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. It brought together graduate students from Tufts and Harvard, along with researchers and community members interested in Korean history, and it highlighted how much remains unknown in the American public sphere about the complex history of Jeju 4·3. The event’s significance was not only in the facts shared but also in the deliberate decision to speak openly—placing the subject in public view rather than leaving it under the cover of silence.

New York Commemoration Continues the Momentum

Eight days later, on April 9, a second commemoration was held at the New York Academy in Bayside, New York, continuing the effort to raise awareness on American soil. The service opened with a screening of Jiseul: Unfinished Years 2, directed by Oh Mook, which depicts the story of Jeju 4·3. Ms. Yang followed with remarks that held together historical facts and emotional truth, emphasizing that this history is not abstract but lived, inherited, and enduring.

A memorial poem, “Before the Law,” by poet Heo Young-sun, was recited by Jennifer Eun Joo Kim. The commemoration concluded with a salpuri dance performed by Kang Eun-ju, an expressive and fitting finale for an event dedicated to mourning and remembrance. Sungyoon Park presided as master of ceremonies. Due to COVID-19, attendance in person was limited to pre-registered participants, while many others joined via Zoom.

Although these events represent only early steps, they are meaningful steps toward truth-telling and reconciliation. There is no truth without awareness, no awareness without sustained effort, and no justice without truth. Walden Korea and the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. plan to continue public education and commemoration efforts to ensure that the victims of Jeju 4·3 do not remain invisible.

During the Harvard program, Professor Sung-Yoon Lee, a prominent scholar of Korea and U.S.–Korea relations, issued a direct call for President Joe Biden to pay respects at the Jeju 4·3 Peace Park—an 88-acre memorial sanctuary on Jeju Island dedicated to the victims. He noted that President Barack Obama visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 2016 and argued that Jeju 4·3 deserves comparable recognition.

Ms. Yang then spoke from an explicitly personal position. For her, Jeju 4·3 is not simply a historical subject; it is family history. She shared that her father lost his father and two brothers—her grandfather and uncles—in the massacre, and she underscored how discussion of Jeju 4·3 was suppressed for decades by the state, leaving many families to carry their grief in silence.

The Harvard event also included recorded video remarks from South Korea, expanding the forum beyond U.S.-based speakers. Those featured included philosopher Doh-ol Kim Yong-ok; Oh Im-jong, Chair of the Jeju 4·3 Bereaved Families Association; Oh Kwang-hyeon, Chair of the Jeju 4·3 Bereaved Families Association of Japan; Koh Hee-beom, Chair of the Jeju 4·3 Peace Foundation; Heo Young-sun, Director of the Jeju 4·3 Research Institute; Oh Young-hoon, Member of the National Assembly; and Professor Taek-Kwang Lee of Kyung Hee University.

These two commemorations—one at Harvard and one in New York—mark the beginning of a broader American-facing effort: to confront the historical record, expand public knowledge, and move toward accountability and reconciliation grounded in truth.

The April Third Jeju Uprising and Massacre, the biggest peacetime massacre of civilians in post-1945 Korean history, warrants study, remembrance, and reconciliation. From March 1, 1947 to September 21, 1954, more than 30,000 innocent civilians were massacred by government authorities in the name of quelling Communists. Scholars view the tragedy as a major turning point, if not the start, of the Cold War in Northeast Asia. Today, some 75 years later, truth, accountability, justice, and reconciliation have yet to be fully established. This retrospective seeks to cast the Jeju Sasam Incident through the prism of truth, justice, human rights, and historical memory. The ongoing tragedy in Ukraine–perhaps the start of a new Cold War–offers a new perspective on this old Korean tragedy.

Presenters

Mr. Edward J. Baker
Former Associate Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University
​
Dr. David R. McCann
Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature, Emeritus, Harvard University
​
Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee
Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies & Assistant Professor, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
​
Ms. Suyeon Yang
Chairwoman, Walden Korea and Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S
Remarks

Dr. Do-ol, Young-Oak Kim
Philosopher
​
Dr. Alex Taek-Gwang Lee
A professor at the Department of British and American Cultural Studies and a founding director of the Center for Technology in Humanities,
Kyung Hee University, South Korea & Advisor of Walden Korea
​
Music

Anna Choi, oboe
a dual-degree student at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory.
​
Anthony Choi, cello
a dual-degree student at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory.
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Co-Hosted by
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Walden Korea
The Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S.,
Memorial Committee for the Jeju April 3rd Uprising and Massacre,

Sponsored by
​
Truth and Justice International Network on the April 3 Jeju Massacre.
43 Committee of Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council.

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Walden Korea invites you to our very first International strategic forum “The 1948 Jeju Uprising and Massacre: Perspective on U.S. Policy, Historical Memory, and Reconciliation.”

The “Jeju 4.3 Uprising,” as it is known in Korea, is a great tragedy in modern history, in which more than 30,000 people were killed. Despite the uprising and the brutal crackdown having taken place under the auspices of the U.S. Military Government in Korea that governed southern Korea from September 1945 to August 1948, the incident is rarely taught and virtually unknown in American society. The Biden administration’s catchphrase, “reconciliation,” should also be applied to U.S.-Korea historical reconciliation in the context of seeking the values of justice, peace, and human rights. Since the U.S. Military Government is culpable in this tragedy, in order to achieve genuine reconciliation, the United States should issue a statement of apology.

“The Jeju 4.3 Uprising was the third atomic bomb dropped by the United States,” said Hyun Ki-Young, a South Korean writer. Considering the 4.3 Uprising, in which at least 30,000 people were slaughtered and 130 villages were incinerated, it is like the third atomic bombing by the United States, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but, ironically, on the civilian population of a non-enemy, client state.

The Jeju 4.3 Uprising predates the outbreak of the Korean War and marks the start of the ideological struggle, known as the Cold War, in East Asia. This forum addresses questions on how to approach the Jeju 4.3 Uprising as an historical discourse of broad interest and seek redress from the United States government. The forum seeks to unveil key questions on what went wrong—to what extent South Korea’s Syngman Rhee government and the U.S Military Government in Korea are responsible—and explore some salient aspects of the literature of resistance in Korea.

This forum is co-hosted by the Memorial Committee for the Jeju April 3rd Uprising and Massacre. It is co-sponsored by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Korean School of New England.

Speakers

Prof. Alex Taek-Gwang Lee
Kyung Hee University

Alex Taek-Gwang Lee is a professor at the Department of British and American Cultural Studies and a founding director of the Center for Technology in Humanities, Kyung Hee University, South Korea. He was invited as a visiting professor at the Centre for Culture Media, and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia University, India, and an international visiting scholar at Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. He is a member of the advisory board for The International Deleuze and Guattari Studies in Asia and the board member of The International Consortium of Critical Theory (ICCT) as well as Asia Theory Network (ATN). He edited the third volume of The Idea of Communism (2016) and published articles in various journals such as Telos, Deleuze, and Guattari Studies and Philosophy Today and chapters in Back to the ’30s’: Recurring Crises of Capitalism, Liberalism and Democracy (2020) and Balibar/Wallerstein’s “Race, Nation, Class”: Rereading a Dialogue for Our Times (2018).

Prof. David McCann

Harvard University

David McCann, the Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature, received his B.A. from Amherst College, taught English for two years in Korea in the Peace Corps, and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard. He has published twenty-four books: anthologies, studies on Korean literary culture, translations of the poets Sowol, Pak Chaesam, Kim Chi Ha, Ko Un, Kim Namjo, and So Chongju, as well as four collections of his own poetry. His work in the field of Korean literature has been recognized by the Manhae Prize in 2004, and the Korean Culture Order of Merit in 2006.

His current work explores the performance functions of literature during periods of cultural confrontation, the case-study functions of historical compilations, and other features of Korean literature and literary culture.

Prof. Sung-Yoon Lee

The Fletcher School at Tufts University

Sung-Yoon Lee, Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies and Assistant Professor, teaches courses on Korea and U.S.-East Asia relations. He is a former research fellow with the National Asia Research Program, a joint initiative by the National Bureau of Asia Research and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and former associate in research at the Korea Institute, Harvard University.

In 2005, he launched at Harvard’s Korea Institute a new seminar series, the Kim Koo Forum on U.S.–Korea Relations. He has taught courses on Korean political history at Bowdoin College (2000), Sogang University (2007), and Seoul National University (2012-2015). His opeds have been published multiple times in The Hill, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Asia Times, etc. Lee is a frequent commentator on major international broadcast networks, including BBC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PRI, etc., and has testified as an expert witness at U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearings on North Korea policy. In 2013, the Guardian called Lee “[a]mong the most insightful and prescient chroniclers.”

Ms.Suyeon Yang

Chairwoman of Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Victim Families Association of the U.S.

Founder of Walden Korea

Suyeon Yang is a polymathic journalist, activist. She established the Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Victim Families Association of the U.S.(43jeju.com) and Walden Korea(Waldenkorea.org) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to remember state violence and spread human rights values and peace and environmental appreciation. She is conducting international forums, history lectures, and creating English language journals through these organizations. She lost her grandfather and two uncles in the 4.3 incident. The tragedy remains a significant trauma in her family history. Her goal is to reveal the truth of the 4.3 incident to the United States and receive an apology from the U.S. government.

Ms. Yang served as the Editor-in-Chief of Korean American Press in Boston, and NewsM magazine in New York. Ms. Yang won the New England Media Awards in 2008 and the National American Media Award in 2009. Her Korean articles are currently available through Sisain, one of the top current affairs magazines in Korea.

Walden Korea Planning Members

Yuna Kim
Johns Hopkins University

HyungJin Kim
Northeastern University

An Hye An
Johns Hopkins University

Jeong Hyun Kim
Kyunghee University

Jangha Cho
Kyunghee University

Catherine Yang
Boston College

Yujin Lee
Johns Hopkins University

Naeun Lee
Korea International School Jeju

Sohee Yang
Sogang University
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea

Roslyn Lee
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

On September 26, 2021, the international forum titled [International Forum] The 1948 Jeju Uprising and Massacre: Perspectives on U.S. Policy, Historical Memory, and Reconciliation was held. Organized as a joint project by the Walden Korea Planning Committee, the forum examined Jeju 4·3 through three interrelated lenses: U.S. policy, historical memory, and the conditions of reconciliation.

The principal presentations were delivered by Professor David McCann of Harvard University, Professor Taek-Kwang Lee of Kyung Hee University, Professor Sung-Yoon Lee of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Chairwoman Suyeon Yang of the Jeju 4·3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. The forum’s guiding frame, “Re-Placing Memory: Jeju 1948–49 and Thereafter,” approached Jeju 4·3 not as a closed chapter but as an ongoing ethical and educational question that requires renewed language, renewed inquiry, and renewed public responsibility.

Professor David McCann explored Jeju 4·3 through Korean resistance literature and the poetry of remembrance. He read Kim Yeong-sook’s poem, “Jeongbang Waterfalls in Jeju Island,” in the original Korean and discussed Jeongbang Falls as one of the major sites where Jeju residents were killed. He then examined additional poems that confront the tragedy, including “Every Memorial Stone” by Lee Jong-hyeong and Ko Un’s “Jeju Island Poet.” McCann emphasized that poetry functions not merely as representation but as an apparatus of mourning and testimony, a medium through which collective memory is preserved and transmitted. His presentation underscored how literary language can articulate human rights and ethical attention where historical violence is often reduced to silence or abstraction.

Professor Sung-Yoon Lee interpreted Jeju 4·3 in relation to the political character of state power and the mechanisms by which violence is legitimized. He argued that primary responsibility lies with the Syngman Rhee government and raised questions about how political mythology and authority contributed to escalation and concealment. He further maintained that the historical conditions of the U.S. Military Government on the peninsula must be taken seriously, and that U.S. presence and advisory structures shaped the environment in which decisions were made. In this view, U.S. responsibility cannot be treated as peripheral to the broader context of the events. His remarks positioned Jeju 4·3 within the post-liberation order and the international political conditions that framed the early Cold War era.

Chairwoman Suyeon Yang centered her remarks on the enduring pain carried by victims’ families and the intergenerational marks left by the massacre. She emphasized that migration does not dissolve remembrance, and that the question becomes how to preserve, translate, and transmit memory across languages and locations. Yang also stressed the necessity of meaningful U.S. reflection and public accountability in light of the historical entanglement of Jeju 4·3 with the U.S. Military Government period. Her remarks clarified that reconciliation is not a sentimental closure, but a process that requires truth-telling, responsibility, and sustained public education.

Professor Taek-Kwang Lee situated Jeju 4·3 within a global historical frame. He proposed Jeju 4·3 as an early and consequential point of entry for understanding how the Cold War formed and expanded, and argued that the event’s international implications are often lost when it is confined to a narrowly local or domestic narrative. He suggested pathways for expanding Jeju 4·3 discourse into international conversations on human rights, state violence, memory politics, and transitional justice. He emphasized that as Jeju 4·3 is translated into a broader ethical and scholarly language, opportunities widen for research collaboration, education, and transnational solidarity.

Taken together, the forum advanced a shared task: to confirm historical truth while also asking how testimony and memory can become durable forms of public language, and what structures of responsibility are required for reconciliation. By bringing literary witness, political analysis, family testimony, and global historical framing into the same space, the forum presented Jeju 4·3 as a complex event that cannot be stabilized by a single explanatory lens.

Walden Korea plans to build on this foundation by convening an annual international forum on Jeju 4·3 and by sustaining related research, lectures, and public education programs.

On July 16, 2021, the Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S. was officially launched. Suyeon Yang, a journalist, was appointed Chairwoman, and Young Jun Yang, a doctor of Oriental medicine based in Washington, D.C., was named Vice-Chairman. Yuna Kim, a Johns Hopkins University doctoral researcher working on a dissertation related to Jeju 4.3, was appointed Secretary-General.

Representing survivors’ and bereaved families, the Association serves as a U.S.-based hub to advance work related to the Jeju 4.3 Incident. Its goals include identifying bereaved families and victims within immigrant communities, restoring honor, supporting truth-finding efforts, expanding solidarity networks, and educating the next generation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch ceremony was held as a live Zoom event. In her inaugural address, Chairwoman Yang stated that although many families have lived abroad for a long time, the bereaved families in the United States will not forget the Jeju 4.3 Massacre.

Several leaders offered congratulatory remarks. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Won Hee-ryong noted that public awareness of Jeju 4.3 has grown in Korea, symbolized by widespread use of the camellia badge, and emphasized that the Association’s launch marks a beginning in sharing the truth of Jeju 4.3 and advancing the values of justice and human rights. Assemblyman Oh Young-hoon described 2021 as a meaningful year, citing revisions to special legislation related to truth investigation and honor restoration. Oh Im-jong, Chair of the Jeju 4.3 Bereaved Families Association, expressed hope that efforts to hold the United States accountable and to build a world grounded in peace and human rights would comfort the spirits of those unjustly sacrificed. Yang Jo-hoon, Chair of the Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation, highlighted the historical context of Jeju 4.3 under the U.S. Military Government and the involvement of U.S. military advisers during the suppression process, expressing hope that truth and reconciliation efforts in both Korea and the United States would accelerate.

Chairwoman Yang also announced the launch of Walden Korea, a nonprofit international academic exchange organization focused on human rights and peace, emphasizing education for the next generation. Walden Korea will research the Jeju 4.3 Massacre and organize seminars on Jeju 4.3 and related human rights issues. A Walden Korea Planning Committee was formed, including undergraduate and graduate students in the United States and Korea from institutions such as Boston College, Johns Hopkins University, Northeastern University, Brandeis University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Kyung Hee University, and Sogang University. The launch ceremony was sponsored by the Memorial Committee for the Jeju April 3rd Uprising and Massacre and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.