Jeju Island, South Korea
2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the atrocities of the April 3rd Uprising on Jeju Island, South Korea. The massacres of the period, which occurred from roughly 1948 to 1954, claimed the lives of some 30,000 victims, the vast majority innocent civilians. This year families gathered, as they do annually, at the Peace Park in Bonggae to grieve and pay their respects. While shamanic rites that were once suppressed by Korea's national government are currently performed on site as part of the official proceedings, elements of the island's spiritual practices also make a more subtle appearance in the offerings left at the extensive memorial wall.
Gifts to the spirits of the dead include a variety of food, alcohol and other items the deceased would have enjoyed during their lifetime. A close look at the offerings will reveal the practice of first breaking off pieces of food and scattering them about the ground, a ritualistic act performed in all shamanic ceremonies on Jeju Island.
For more on the role Jeju Island's shamanic religion plays in addressing the trauma of survivors, see the Tedx talk I gave locally in 2016. Link: TEDx
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The ages of the victims from a single village, Odeung, located in the island's mid-northern region. (From the placard shown above)
A short time after offerings are laid, crows begin to descend upon the Peace Park. Removing small bits of food from offerings is regularly practiced in shamanism. Many explanations have been given for the origin of this, including a legend known throughout Korea, but the simplest practical reason seems to be to encourage the visiting birds to stay off of sacred offering platforms. This interpretation of the act is represented in the chanted lyrics of shamanic rituals. Still, discarding and casting off bits of offerings isn't only a practical action, but a deeply spiritual one.
Spreading bits of food nearby graves and memorials may appear as littering to the uninitiated, but it is actually a feature of Jeju Island's spiritual traditions.
Birds, especially crows, feed from bits of offerings torn off by those who leave them. Many elderly islanders have expressed memories of fear as children in such instances when masses of crows appeared, but warmed to the experience as adults. It is a feature of their sacred traditions. Some young islanders who visit the memorial will even post photographs of crows feeding from the offerings on social media. The experience of the phenomenon hasn't been lost to the younger generations.
Graves at the Peace Park stretch almost as far as the eye can see, pictured below in a video shown to the crowd who gathered for the historic 70th anniversary memorial. You could say without exaggeration that graves stretch much further than the horizon even, as the remains of victims still exist in areas all across the island. Excavations aiming to exhume more of the fallen are planned for the near future.
Visitors to the 70th anniversary event search for their family members' names on the memorial wall.
Votive offerings to victims can be found at other sites around Jeju Island, including the truly heartbreaking child graveyard in Bukcheon Village. Visitors leave offerings of toys and candy, school supplies such as pens, choco-pies and gum for the spirits of the unidentified children who lost their lives during the conflict period.
School children play in a schoolyard just a hundred meters away from a location where children lay buried in unmarked graves.
Visitors leave offerings of toys and candy, school supplies such as pens, choco-pies and gum for the spirits of the children who lost their lives during the conflict period.
The graves of unknown children at Bukcheon Village.
Toys and socks adorn the grave of an unknown child victim.
For information on the 4.3 Jeju Uprising:
Thank you!