A darker story from Jeju’s history
Story and photos by Jim Saunders

Long known as a place for internal exile and persecution, the turn of the 19th century saw the flames of rebellion ignite once again on Jeju with Lee Jae Soo’s (이재수) uprising against an increasing number of Catholic missionaries and native converts spreading out across the island. The result: a massacre of some three hundred Catholics and the creation of Jeju’s first Catholic cemetery, which remains with us to this modern day.

The seeds of the massacre, however, were first sown in 1886 with an agreement between Korea and France which legally opened the country to their Catholic missionaries who had previously been unable to practice freely without persecution. Two churches were established on Jeju but local government officials continued an unwelcoming stance which was reciprocated with an increasing lack of trust from the Catholic community. The situation was not helped by certain individuals taking advantage of the agreement- local tax collectors, Bong Sae-Kwan (봉새관) Kang Bong-Won (강 봉원) extorted tax and gave special benefits to Catholics.

Natives of the Daejeong area would in turn organize themselves against such actions, to create the Sang Moo Sa Won (상무사원), led by district head, Chae Goo-Shik (채구식). One member of this organization beat a Catholic before being captured by a Catholic party and beaten himself. This man, Oh Shik-Ran (오 식란) committed suicide, which was one of the final incidents that served as a catalyst for the uprising against the Catholics, led by Lee Jae-Soo (이재수).

The uprising begins

From May 28 through May 30, 1901, the organization descended on Jeju City where many of them lived. The Mayor of Jeju, Kim Chang-Soo (김창수), had attempted to disperse the group, but upon failing was forced to join his soldiers with the Catholics, to fight against the uprising. At first they fared well but the situation swung out of their favour and in front of Gwandeokjeong, using long pikes and stones, some three hundred Catholics were brutally killed by the Sang Moo Sa Won.

The leading French priest on the island at the time, Father Marcel Lacrouts, survived, and as the dead went unburied, reported the incident to his government. A French battle ship was duly dispatched to Jeju and the uprising settled down. The bodies from Gwandeokjeong were laid to rest between Beouldobong (next to Sarabong) and Hwa-buk dong.

However, in 1903 Catholics asked for a better, lasting place for the remains and as a form of compensation a parcel of land, the Hwang Sa Pyeong (황사평), was given to them by the Jeju government. Thus, in amongst the peaceful tangerine groves, with Halla mountain as ever in the background, those killed were placed in a newly created cemetery.

Another little known and dark chapter of Jeju’s history awaits discovery at the Hwang Sa Pyeong where, today, a raised stone basin with earth mounded on top contains the interned remains. It is a far cry from Gwandeokjeong and the brutal deaths that put them here in the early Summer of 1901.

*A film depicting the events detailed above was made in 1999, Lee Jae Soo (이재수의 난) translated directly, or English name, The Uprising.

Visiting Hwang Sa Pyeong cemetery (황사평)

The cemetery is located on the outskirts of Jeju City and can be reached by private transport or taxi.

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Fire festival glory | Credit: Mike Laidman

Oreum is set ablaze in annual Jeju Fire Festival
Story by Marcie Miller | Photos by Brian Miller and Mike Laidman

If you’ve ever wanted to be part of a torch-wielding mob, mark your calendar for the 2010 Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival on Jeju, when an entire hillside is set ablaze.

The event is held during the first full moon of the Lunar New Year across Korea. The festival commemorates the practice of burning grassy fields to prepare them for the new growing season. This year’s 14th annual festival on Jeju was Feb. 13 and 14, with the climax hill torching the night of the 14th.

Foreign teachers invited to set off the blaze

Members of the foreign teaching community were among those invited to participate in the torch procession that kicked off the burn, and close to a hundred accepted the offer. After all, it’s not every day you get to be an officially-sanctioned arsonist.

The site of the festival is Saebyeol Oreum (a volcanically-created hill) alongside the 1135 highway, about halfway between Jeju-si and Seogwipo.

Torches at the ready | Photo: Mike Laidman

The hillside facing the highway and festival grounds was prepped for the event with a message laid out in haybales covered with a green tarp, and large sheafs of dry grass dotting the hillside. The lower portion of the hill is the site of half a dozen ancestral grave plots. To protect them from the fire, the burial mounds were covered with tarps, held down by rocks.

The no smoking sign is on

A ball of straw and sticks 10 feet in diameter was festooned with hundreds of white strips of paper holding prayers which would be sent heavenward with the smoke and flames.

After checking out the many festival activities the would-be torch bearers met up and were quickly herded to a roped off section of seating in front of the main stage. On the ground under each plastic lawn chair was a pair of white cotton gloves, and a short bamboo pole topped with a ball of what looked like rolled up athletic socks, soaked in a flammable liquid. The torches.

“Nobody light a match!” was heard, somewhat jokingly, down the line.

After a stage show complete with laser lights, fireworks, scantily clad classical musicians and drums that were alternately doused in water and flames, it was dark enough for the main event: the torching of the oreum.

High winds nearly cancel hill lighting highlight

The first day of this year’s event was canceled due to high winds, but officials deemed it doable in spite of a fairly stiff breeze, and the procession began. The torches were lit by touching one to the other, and with shouted instructions to hold the balls of flame high, a festival organizer led the group across a dark, rocky field to the roped off edge of the oreum. Fireworks rocketed skyward, and the command was given to light the field.

The torches were largely a symbolic gesture, as pyrotechnic charges laid out across the hillside did the real work. Within seconds the entire hillside was ablaze, and torch bearers were told to drop their torches and move back. As the wind carried the heat, smoke and embers toward the crowd, everyone did just that.

From a safe vantage point one could make out the message etched in flames: “no accidents and all in peace”. If the successful burn is indeed a good sign, it looks like Jeju farmers have a good year ahead.

Fire festival glory | Credit: Brian Miller

The fire begins | Credit: Mike Laidman

Islanders hit the beach despite unusually harsh winter weather
Story and photos by Brian Miller

It was a bitterly cold Saturday morning on what locals like to call “Korea’s Hawaii,” though the name seemed especially ill-chosen that day, as the temperatures hovered around freezing and the snow fell gently to the frozen sands of Jungmun beach. It was just the kind of morning that makes you wonder if Hawaiians ever have to drive with snow chains.

But a group of brave souls came to thumb their noses at Mother Nature and enjoy a day at the beach. They did some light aerobics in their bathing suits as Korean dance music blared over the loudspeakers. They came to take part in what has become an annual rite here on Jeju: The Jungmun Penguin Swim.

Billed as a way to beat the winter blues and reinvigorate the body, the swim usually takes place on the first Saturday of January. The 2009 swim occurred on Jan. 10, and featured an appearance by Jo Oh-ryeon (조오련), who gained fame as a swimmer with Korea’s National Team in the 70’s. He has also recently garnered attention for swimming around the islets of Dokdo 33 times to raise awareness of the country’s claim to sovereignty there. He riled up the swimmers by appearing in a Dokdo bathrobe whilst waving a large Korean flag, before the crowd joined with boisterous cheers and ran towards the sea.

Festival goers were also joined by Korean actor/model Marco, who stars in a Korean reality show called “We were married” (우리 결혼했어) with actress Son Dam Bi (손담비), who was also scheduled to attend but was forced to cancel.

But before participants took the plunge, they engaged in an amateur match of traditional wrestling, known as Sireum (씨름). Sireum is an ancient martial art and the national sport of Korea, in which opponents grab each other by the belts and wrestle until one opponent forces the other’s body above the knee to the ground. Members from the crowd challenged each other to spirited bouts in the sand and snow, while throngs of supporters cheered them on from atop sand dunes around the makeshift ring. The winner of the men’s bout won a night at the Suites Hotel in Jungmun, and the champion of the women’s chicken fighting competition won a golf bag.

The Penguin Swim was originally started as a way of drawing tourists to the island during the bitter cold of winter. This year swimmers braved air temperatures of 32F/0C and water temperatures of 39.2F/4C with wind speeds of 33 knots before dashing towards special tents to towel off and warm themselves by a fire. With the winter being much harsher than previous years, the swim drew a smaller crowd (estimated at 200 for 2009). Saek Dal (색달동마을회), a local village union, cooked up large vats of boiled pork with heaping bowls of kimchi and hot soup, while many participants took to makoli and soju to keep warm.

Local English teacher and festival participant Michael Butler may have summed it up best when he joked that “It was simultaneously the most painful and invigorating experience I have had since I came to Jeju.”

It was certainly a memorable time for many, and a fun way to beat the winter doldrums.

An amateur bout of ‘Sireum’, a traditional form of wrestling | Credit: Brian Miller

Mountain climber, artist An Heung-Chean’s passion is on display at a new Jeju-si gallery
Story by Marcie Miller | Photos by Jim Saunders

An Heung-Chean has painted, drawn and sketched the love of his life thousands of times. He has captured her with the morning dawn creeping across her face; with the golden rays of evening caressing her slopes, with clouds spilling over her face like a shy bride’s veil. And always, to him she is beautiful.

She is Mt. Halla, and it’s safe to say, no one on earth loves her more than this man. And he has the paintings to prove it.

He recently spoke about the mountain in the custom-built Jeju-si gallery and studio that now houses his collected works. The gallery opened in November, and is a must-see for anyone interested in Hallasan.

An speaks of the mountain with reverence.

“It’s like painting a loved one,” he said, with his daughter An Hye-Kyeung translating. “Mt. Halla has been the author of my life. It has made me what I am.”

Climbing Hallasan was life-changing event

An, now 80 and in frail health, first climbed the mountain in 1943 as a teen. The nimble youngster hiked from Jeju-si to Mt. Halla and back in one day. At that time there were no trails, no boardwalks nor handrails, and certainly no noodle shack.

There was just the mountain, and its irresistible siren’s call.

“I think it’s the most beautiful and most generous mountain in the world,” An said. “I often call it ‘Mother.’”

An didn’t get another chance to climb Hallasan again until November, 1957. That trip took three days, and he and partner Kim Jeong-Cheol used pickaxes to blaze a trail and tied ribbons to mark the route for the return trip.

When the climbers got to the top it was socked in; zero visibility. But then the fog rolled away, revealing the lake in the center of the crater, full of water sparkling in the sun. They could see for miles in every direction, and they were alone.

“It felt like watching the creation of the world,” he said.

Drawing the mountain keeps it with him

An returned to the mountain the next day and more than a thousand times since. But he didn’t start painting it until 20 years later, when he had a brush with death resulting in emergency surgery. That experience made him realize that he wanted to leave a legacy behind, a record of his relationship with Hallasan. And he wanted to keep his beloved close.

“Drawing is like always being with the mountain,” he said. Indeed, An is surrounded by the mountain in his gallery, with images of Hallasan adorning every wall and stacked several deep leaning against the walls.

His daughter, who owns and manages Art Space C in Sin-Jeju, said her father had no formal art training. He just draws from his heart.

Gallery doubles as Jeju mountaineering museum

The An Heung-Chean Gallery | Credit: Jim Saunders

The gallery also has an unusual installation, An’s entire collection of mountaineering equipment, from day packs to a set up tent, occupies the center of the space. Hiking boots line one wall and display cases hold an assortment of gadgets and gear.

An notes there is only one thing missing: the boots he wore on that first successful ascent.

An’s artwork is beautiful, worthy of any gallery. He will reluctantly sell a painting or drawing, but they don’t come cheap. After all, how much would you take to part with a piece of your heart?

Where and when

The An Heung-Chean Gallery and working studio is located at 22 Yeon Mun 4 Ro, near the Marina Hotel in Sin-Jeju. From the hotel head east three blocks (toward City Hall) to Yeon Mun 4 Ro (there is a blue street sign), and turn right. The gallery is on the corner, two blocks up on the right. It’s a two-story light yellow building, with a curved outer wall.

Due to An’s health issues, please call his daughter, An Hye-Kyeung, to arrange a gallery visit at 722 4782 or 016 690 0040.