SEOUL (UCAN): The Diocese of Cheju (Jeju), South Korea, marked the 120th anniversary of the 1901 People’s Uprising Jeju on May 29. It unveiled a monument and offered a special Mass to honour hundreds of people killed during the violent rebellion against feudalism and colonialism on the country’s largest island, about 450 kilometres south of the capital, Seoul.
The rebellion morphed into a conflict between Catholics and others on the island. Of 900 people killed in the fighting, 700 were Catholics.
A memorial Mass was celebrated by Bishop Pius Chang-woo Moon at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, followed by inauguration of the Tower of Reconciliation. For the first time, the Mass also remembered those rebels who opposed the Church and had deadly conflicts with local Catholics.
The programme commemorated memories of the past and made strong calls for harmony between Catholics and non-Catholics on the island, according to the diocese’s website.
Diocese of Cheju held a symposium themed, New Church Plan, Memory and Harmony, at the cathedral parish attended by Bishop Moon and Father Cho Han-geon from the Korean Church History Research Institute.
‘We should not simply remember the pain but reconcile and join the journey for the future of Jeju … Many people died for the Church, but we need to ask again whether the Church really died for the culture of Jeju island’
Bishop Pius Chang-woo Moon
During the discussion, the bishop said it was the duty of both Catholics and those of other faiths in Jeju to change their perceptions about the century-old conflict and bloodbath and to build a bridge in the spirit of reconciliation to correct historical wrongs.
“We should not simply remember the pain but reconcile and join the journey for the future of Jeju,” said Bishop Moon. “Many people died for the Church, but we need to ask again whether the Church really died for the culture of Jeju island.”
The bishop emphasised that “a new evangelisation must sprout through an attitude of listening to Jeju culture and true reconciliation.”
Jeju is famed for its natural beauty but harbours a dark past, according to Jeju Weekly.
Until the early 19th century, Jeju was a penitentiary where Korean nobles found guilty of serious offenses were banished. The convicts were still influential and kept themselves apart from indigenous people of Jeju, often looking down on their culture and traditions. The authorities in Seoul appointed governors who were viewed as outsiders by locals.
Hundreds of Christians died in brutal skirmishes with the rebels and many fled the island before the government dispatched troops and crushed the rebellion. It is believed about 10,000 civilians were killed during the uprisings and the security forces were accused of mass killings.
The consequent oppression and abuse of the indigenous and their culture sparked a series of revolts, which were quickly and violently suppressed by the government. A major cause was foreign influence in the form of Western imperialism.
Another trigger for revolt was the imposition of taxation on the island. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910) Jeju was exempt from taxes and was only required to send boxes of oranges. In 1897, the government began to levy taxes on the islanders in an effort to raise money for modernisation, causing massive public anger.
On 4 March 1898, nearly 6,000 people rose up and imprisoned the governor and his subordinates. The mob armed themselves by looting the government arsenal and burned down government buildings which housed public records. The government sent in the military and brutally quelled the rebellion. With an imperial decree, “loyal islanders” were exempt from taxes and peace was restored.
Peace, however, was short-lived and the island was in turmoil again in 1901. This time, there was a strong Christian dimension to the revolt and consequent bloodbath.
Korean Catholics were seen as collaborators with imperial foreign powers. The anger was also fuelled by official protection for French priests and Korean Catholics that triggered a rise in their numbers. In order to benefit from the protection many, including criminals, converted to Catholicism.
Hundreds of Christians died in brutal skirmishes with the rebels and many fled the island before the government dispatched troops and crushed the rebellion. It is believed about 10,000 civilians were killed during the uprisings and the security forces were accused of mass killings.
In 2003, the Church and the 1901 Jeju Uprising Commemorative Foundation signed a joint declaration stating that both sides were responsible for the bloodbath in the island. Then-bishop of Cheju, Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il ,and foundation chairpersons, Kim Young-hoon and Kim Chang-seon, signed the Declaration of Reconciliation for the Future.
According to data from 2020, Jeju has about 695,500 residents including more than 75,000 Catholics.
