제주도 하귀마을의 4 3 경험과 치유과정 연구

Abstract

This thesis reviews the Jeju April 3 Incident using forensic methods of historical research through the experiences of survivors of the April 3 Incident. By reviewing the experiences of April 3 Incident survivors at historic villages as sites of shared memory and April 3 trauma, this work attempts to uncover the village healing processes and the reconstruction of communities of peaceful coexistence. The target village for the thesis is Hagwi and it was chosen for a number of reasons. First, the village had more than 302 victims even though it is not a mid-mountain village. According to the 'Jeju April 3 Incident Investigation Report', the village had the most victims among 19 villages in Aewol-eup as of May 30, 2001. Second, a socialist anti-Japanese movement was predominant in this village during the Japanese occupation, and the village led 'the People's Council' of the former Aewol-myeon right after liberation. Third, the villagers established a memorial space called 'Yeongmowon' before the ''Jeju April 3 Incident Investigation Report' was adopted; they pioneered finding ways of reconciliation and coexistence; and they sought and practiced ways to heal April 3 trauma by themselves. Hagwi village had a tradition of socialistic anti-Japanese movement during the Japanese occupation. They tried to establish a righteous living foundation through the People's Council led by socialistic anti-Japanese activists after liberation by establishing an autonomous united government. The US military government then employed pro-Japanese groups; failed in food policy; had corrupt officials; pursued barbaric anti-communist policies led by the anti-communist North West Korean Youth Association; and pushed ahead with the establishment of a single government in only South Korea. As the villagers' autonomous activities to establish a peaceful and coexisting living foundation as well as a united government were blocked, they chose to resist. Due to the resistance, the village was branded 'a red village' by the governmental authority such as the US military government, and it became a site of massacre. Most of the victims were sacrificed within 5 months from October, 1948 through March 1, 1949 when operations to burn villages were enforced after the hostile South and North Korean governments were established. There were many cases of massacre committed by the punitive expedition: massacre at Misu-dong village; massacre at Wonbaengdui, Gamundong; the firewood incident at Oedo police substation; the 'Close your eyes' incident at Hagwi public elementary school; massacre at Jawundang; massacre at the western farm field from Oedo police substation; and massacre at Soseung stream. Going through the April 3 Incident, Hagwi village became branded as a "commie" village. The villagers changed its name to Donggwi and Gwiil in order to escape the nightmare of being a commie village, but they had to endure years of fear, rage, and resignation. The villagers, who had to endure suppression under the anticommunist structure in the destroyed village community after the April 3 Incident, started to heal their April 3 Incident wounds after the June Democracy Movement in 1987. They began to talk about April 3 in the village with their own words. They took steps to find the identity of Hagwi village and restored the name of Hagwi again in 1993. Then 10 years later in 2003, they established a memorial space through their own effort before the ''Jeju April 3 Incident Investigation Report' was adopted. They led the way to peace and coexistence based on human rights by cherishing the memory of the victims of the April 3 Incident along with those sacrificed for the country. The Yeongmowon in Hagwi village became a place to remember that concern for human rights is essential for building peace. This place also serves to restore the village community and heal the April 3 trauma of the village. The April 3 Incident at Hagwi village is reviewed based on testimonies and villager resistance to the policies of the US military government, and the characteristics of the April 3 Incident in Hagwi village are presented as follows. First, it is a history of the massacre and suffering of innocents and the struggle to bring government power to account after over 11% of villagers were victimized with 90% of those sacrificed by the punitive force. Second, the April 3 Incident at Hagwi village is a history of the struggle by villagers to survive and live as humans against the suppression of the US military government and pro-American anti-communist powers. Third, establishing an autonomous united country was the desire and task for the whole nation at the time of liberation as it was being divided by foreign powers. However, the US military government constructed pro-American, anti-communist powers and finally led to the establishment of a single government only in South Korea. Therefore, Hagwi villagers resisted the policies of the US military government through: nonparticipation in the reelection of transitional Assembly lawmakers; participation in the commemoration of the March 1 Movement; participation in the general strike of private and public bodies; the rejection of the May 10 general election, and others. These examples demonstrate that the "April 3" experience of Hagwi village was a history of strife as a movement to found a united nation as well as a national liberation campaign.