At the end of June I was privileged to fly to the island of Jeju to participate in a commemorization of the Jeju uprising and massacre hosted by Jeju Presbytery for leaders of the PROK. Along with Moderator Rev. EunKyong Kim, General Secretary Rev. Changju Kim, and several other leaders from the PROK General Assembly, I got to see with my own eyes many of the sites on Jeju Island where some terrible atrosities and violations of human rights took place seven decades ago. To most Koreans, Jeju is an island paradise, a holiday destination with beautiful beaches and mountains, but it has a painful history. For a long time the truth of the massacres that took place between 1947 and 1950 was suppressed by the South Korean government. Even the offical title for the event—“the Jeju 4.3 Incident”— reflects this contested history in that it makes it sound like it was a single isolated event that took place by accident. But during this time period at least 30,000 Jeju Islanders lost their liv
John in Korea; The United Church of Canada and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, in partnership with each other: for justice, peace, and reconciliation -- sharing in God's work of transformation -- in Korea, in Canada, and beyond . . .