본문

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>

별점(별점없음)

You may have heard of the saying, “there is no fixed limitation in history.” It means that we shouldn’t think of history as a time that has simply passed or as the past. Around 70 years ago, there was an incident called Jeju April 3rd uprising. Though there was a time when The Jeju April 3rd Uprising itself was taboo, many people remember what happened in Jeju during this time, and are putting effort into finding the truth. Perhaps, isn’t one of the reasons that the honor of the The Jeju April 3rd Uprising victims is being restored is that we are bearing fruit little by little because we haven’t forgotten the past? The topic that will be introduced in this volume is “dark tourism.” Dark tourism has a slightly different purpose from recreation and tourism. It’s about visiting a site that contains historical pain to see, hear, and learn from what happened at the time. Let’s carefully dive in to take a look into Jeju’s history. Reference. Jeju dark tour

  • Review

    0

  • Lookup

    497

  • Share SNS

    0

There is no fixed limitation in history Dark Tourism

You may have heard of the saying, “there is no fixed limitation in history.” It means that we shouldn’t think of history as a time that has simply passed or as the past. Around 70 years ago, there was an incident called Jeju April 3rd uprising. Though there was a time when The Jeju April 3rd Uprising itself was taboo, many people remember what happened in Jeju during this time, and are putting effort into finding the truth. Perhaps, isn’t one of the reasons that the honor of the The Jeju April 3rd Uprising victims is being restored is that we are bearing fruit little by little because we haven’t forgotten the past? The topic that will be introduced in this volume is “dark tourism.” Dark tourism has a slightly different purpose from recreation and tourism. It’s about visiting a site that contains historical pain to see, hear, and learn from what happened at the time. Let’s carefully dive in to take a look into Jeju’s history.          Reference. Jeju dark tour

A site of forced laborAlddreu Airfield

The first dark tourism site to visit is the ‘Alddreu Airfield.’ An airfield located near Songaksan Mountain, ‘alddreu’ translates to a lower field in the Jeju dialect. During Japanese colonialism, it was a location that the Japanese used as an outpost for war, together with Jungddreu Airfield (current Jeju Airport). Originally, this location was used as farmland and pasture.

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


During Japanese colonialism, the Japanese mobilized the Moseulpo residents to build a military airfield during the 1920s to mid-1930s. In the 66ha wide airfield, 20 hagars with a depth of 20m, a height of 4m, and a length of 10.5m were built. Currently, 19 original hangars are preserved. Seotal Oreum, where the hangars are located, is also the site of the Jeju April 3rd massacre. In an explosives warehouse built by the Japanese, a large puddle was created due to an explosion, and ordinary citizens who were imprisoned for preliminary inspection during The Jeju April 3rd Uprising were massacred.


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


In an explosives warehouse built by the Japanese, a large puddle was created due to an explosion, and ordinary citizens who were imprisoned for preliminary inspection during The Jeju April 3rd Uprising were massacred. Alddreu Airfield began to be used as an outpost as the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937. Numerous fighter jets from the Omura Naval Air Force were dispatched to this location to bomb Nanjing, a Chinese city that was about 700 km away. 


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


When the Pacific War broke out in the 1940s, 60 to 70 thousand Kwantung Army and Japanese elite forces were stationed in Jeju, and as the population of Jeju was about 250,000 at the time, one-fourth of Jeju’s population came in Jeju as the Japanese troops. It can be inferred how long and how many residents were forcibly mobilized simply by seeing the growth from 6,600 m² to 132,000 m². What is the Alddreu Airfield like today? Perhaps due to its sturdy creation, even as a lot of time has passed, its original figure remains intact. To introduce a behind story, there was a case where after some Japanese military officers visited Alddreu Airfield and decided to provide donations to a school located in the area, they were rejected.


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


▶ Address: 1670 Sangmo-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si

▶ Inquiry: 064-710-6708

A location that holds the pain of the Japanese colonial era and The Jeju April 3rd UprisingSeotal Oreum Cave Fortifications

If you enter the Alddreu Airfield a little more, you will face the Japanese cave fortification of Seotal Oreum and the Japanese anti-aircraft fortification of Seotal Oreum. Seotal Oreum Japanese cave fortification, which is National Registered Cultural Heritage No. 310, has the largest size of empty tunnel among cave fortifications in the province for attacks on mainland China during the Pacific War.

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


It is a grid maze with six entrances and was built to hide important military facilities underground from the Allied air bombing. Important military facilities include the combat command center, ammunition depot, fuel depot, and airplane repair factory. The Japanese cave fortifications are currently inaccessible. Due to the risk of collapse, steel frames have been erected for preventing collapse. The Japanese anti-aircraft fortification is a military facility designed to protect the Alddreu Airfield.


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


It is a facility that shows that Japan, which was on the defensive at the end of the Pacific War, wanted to use Jeju Island as a resistance base. Both locations have important implications as war relics and historical educational sites which show the image of the Japanese invasion. This is why 'dark tourism' is important.


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


▶ Address: 1593-2 Sangmo-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si

▶ Inquiry: 064-710-6708

Though a lost village, we shouldn’t forget itGoneul-dong village site

Now, let's visit the dark tourism site under the theme of the The Jeju April 3rd Uprising. Although many parts of Jeju retain the pain of the The Jeju April 3rd Uprising, there are many locations that have become "lost villages" through The Jeju April 3rd Uprising. Among them, here is the introduction of 'Goneul-dong Village’ Goneul-dong, which originated from "the land where water is always filled," is a historic village that has been recorded since the Goryeo Dynasty, and is at least 700 years old.

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


The tragedy in the quiet village of Gonul-dong on January 5, 1949, when a platoon of the 2nd Regiment of the National Guard surrounded it. Soldiers who entered the village searched all over the houses in Goneul-dong. In addition, they brought the residents together, dragged about 10 young people to the beach, slaughtered them, and burned both "Inner Goneul" and "Middle Goneul."


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


The following day, some of the residents were slaughtered near Mosalbul, the east cost of Hwabuk-dong, and Bat Goneul was set on fire. On this day, all of the 28 houses in Bat Goneul were also burned down, and the traces of Goneul-dong disappeared. 67 villages vanished all at once. The residents from Gonul-dong who survived had moved to another village nearby. Currently, if you go to Goneul-dong, there is a fence that remains in ‘Inner Goneul Village.’ Saet Goneul has turned into a field site, and there are no traces of the village. Most of the fences of the residential sites that were burned down at the time at Inner Goneul Village site have been preserved, and the path to the houses still remain. It has become a lost village, but we shouldn't forget this place.


There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


▶ Address: 4440 Hwabuk-dong, Jeju-si

Constructed as a barrier between people Jeju April 3rd Castle Ruins in Nakseon-dong

Let's move towards Jocheon-eup, not far from Goeul-dong. The Jeju April 3rd castle ruins in Nakseon-dong are located in Seonheul-ri, Jocheon-eup. Beginning in November 1948, the punitive forces started destroying villages that were in the middle of mountainous regions of Jeju Island. Seonheulido Village was burned down, resulting in numerous casualties and property damage.

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


In order to control the residents, it was built throughout Jeju according to the operation plan of the punitive force. In the case of Nakseon-dong, when the castle was completed in April 1949, residents could only sleep inside the Hamba house, which is akin to a concentration camp. At the time of the initial reconstruction, 50 households lived there, and later, there were about 250 households. If you look at the site of the castle ruins, you can see a sign saying "Moat."

 

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>
There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


The outer shell of the castle, which is about 500m long, was dug up to a depth of 2m and 2m to make a moat. Thornbushes covered the castle walls and inside the moat to prevent the armed forces from invading. The labor of digging the pit was left to the residents. There was also a guard tower where people had to stand guard regardless of gender or age.

 

There is no fixed limitation in history <Dark Tourism>


Five people per night were assigned to guard one by one, and it was very difficult to stand on guard at night after finishing hard farming work during the day. The current Jeju April 3rd castle remains in Nakseong-dong has been partially restored. There is a Jeju April 3rd Castle Site Information Center in Nakseong-dong, so it will be good to listen to the explanation here!

 

▶ Address: 7 Seonheulseo 5-gil, Jocheon-eup, Jeju-si

▶ Inquiry: 064-783-4373

Notice
※ The above information was written on 2022-12-02. Please confirm the information prior to your trip.
※ Unauthorized use of the content above (text, photos and videos) is prohibited and subject to copyright by the Jeju Tourism Organization.