Congratulatory Message by Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province at the Opening Ceremony of 4•3-gil in Geumak-ri
Hello everyone,
We are very honored to open 4•3-gil in Geumak Village.
Geumak Village has long been a prosperous and beautiful village, with 8 parasitic cones and both small and large streams.
Sadly, the painful history of the 4•3 Incident that swept Jejudo Island 69 years ago did not spare Geumak-ri.
Many villagers were sacrificed, and large parts of the village were lost.
Even now, traces of the 4•3 Incident in Geumak Village remain, such as those in Junggareum, Donggareum, Saengimul, Gwedongsan, Bengduigareum, and others.
August 20, 1950 the day the Korean War broke out
The memorial tombs of Manbengdi that honor the 63 Hallim-myeon victims who were sacrificed at the ammunition storage site of Sangmo-ri in Daejeong-myun are here in Gaetgeorioreum Parasitic Cone.
With the opening of 4•3-gil today, we hope everyone would vividly experience and empathize with the remains of the painful history in many places of Geumak-ri, and we hope that you remember the importance of peace and human rights and keep building a way to reconcile with our history.
The opening of 4•3-gil is one of the important businesses required to accomplish the “4•3 Perfect Resolution” that I promised.
With the opening of Donggwang-ri in 2015 as the start along with the opening of 4•3-gil in Uigwi-ri and Bukchon-ri in 2016, we hope you will follow us in the opening of 4•3-gil in Geumak-ri this year.
Through an agreement between the central government and other local autonomous government entities, we are looking for opportunities to spread 4•3-gil domestically and all over the world by launching the 4•3-gil Walking Contest, for one.
Everyone, next year will be the 70th anniversary of the 4•3 Incident.
With the help of the bereaved families of victims of the 4•3 Incident and the provincial community, Jeju 4•3 was able to emerge as a model for solving past affairs and as a symbol for reconciliation and mutual prosperity.
For more compensation and rewarding of the victims, to repair the sullied reputations of those who were convicted, for the establishment of a reporting system for victims, for further support for the excavation of the victims’ corpses, and to expand actual support for the victims and their bereaved families We hope all of you will work hard with us to solve the remaining problems of the 4•3 incident.
We will do our best so that all members of the community come together for the 70th anniversary of the 4•3 Incident, and the victims can smile once more amid the tribute by people all over Korea.
We express our sincere gratitude to the residents of Geumak-ri and to all those who made much effort for the opening of 4•3-gil in Geumak-ri.
Thank you.
June 17, 2017
Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Won Hee-ryong 원희룡
홈