THE 4.3 INCIDENT: BACKGROUND, DEVELOPMENT, AND PACIFICATION, 1945 - 1949 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kyengho Son, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Allan R. Millett, Adviser Professor John F. Guilmartin Jr. Adviser Graduate Program in History Professor David Stebenne Copyright by Kyengho Son 2008 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the background and the development of the 4.3 Incident in South Korea. The 4.3 Incident was an insurgency that lasted nine years in Cheju-do off the Korea peninsula from April 3, 1948. The Cheju Communists took the political initiative based on their long lasting anti-Japanese movement and the late establishment of the local Military Government in Chejudo after the liberation in 1945. The Cheju Communists played roles of a de facto government in the island, and passed the General Strike and the Autumn Harvest Rebellion of 1946 because of their independence from a national Communist organization. However, with the installation of provincial system on the island in late 1946 and the creation of the South Korea Labor Party (SKLP), the Cheju Communists transformed form workers of the de facto government to the members of a political party. The Military Government and the Cheju Communists began to confront each other after the memorial service of the March 1 Movement in 1947. Under the increasing pressure of the Military Government, young Cheju Communist leaders became determined to rise against the Military Government, and the Chollanam-do SKLP exploited their intention to sabotage the general election on May 10, 1948. The disturbances in the beginning phase of the 4.3 Incident were common disturbances led by decentralized SKLP organizations. However, due to the strong ii reactions of the Military Government, the Cheju Communists evolved from street fighters to guerrilla warriors. With the intervention of the Central SKLP, the guerrillas were reorganized into a Soviet Military style, and Dalsam Kim, the guerrilla leader, evacuated the island and became a representative of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea. The Military Government, at first, tried to resolve the disturbance by police operations and peace talks. Then, the Military Government understood the insurgency as guerrilla warfare. The Korean Constabulary took the responsibility of the pacification under the command of U.S. officers. After the establishment of South Korean government and the intervention of the Central SKLP, the insurgency turned into a war between South Korea and North Korea. The 4.3 Incident was the first round of the Korean War. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has confirmed the promise of God that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want (Psalms 23:1). God led me to study history, sent me great people to help me, and filled my life with his wonderful love. I appreciate God everything what he did for me and for this dissertation. As a professional soldier of the Republic of Korea Army, I would like to express my appreciation to relevant individuals of the Army Headquarters for providing me with enough time for study and financial support. I also give my special thanks to Colonel Changil Ohn at the Korea Military Academy and Colonel Namsung Huh at the Korea National Defense University. They recommended me to begin the study and never ceased to encourage me. I owe great help to the professors in the Department of History at the Ohio State University. Dr. Mark Grimsley and Dr. John F. Guilmartin have always given me insights on military affairs in world history. Dr. David Stebenne and Dr. James R. Bartholomew have guided me to the deep understandings of modern United States and modern Japan. A special mention should go to Dr. Allan R. Millett, my adviser. He always inspired me with constructive criticism on my ideas and his endless pursuit for the truth of the Korean War. At the same time, he eagerly helped me to correct my writings. My two friends, Jungtae Kim and Eric Gulley, should be thanked for their efforts to enhance my English writing. iv I have been indebted to many people including my family members during the five-year-long study. Pastor Geunsang Lee and his wife Sarah Lee have prayed for me and my wife and taken care of us like their son and daughter. Brothers and sisters in the Korean Church of Columbus, specifically the members of Buckeye Christian Fellows and KCC College and Career Group gave me their endless love in Lord God. My two sons, Kiju and Kiseok and nephew Uooseob Kang have been the messengers of God, who gives me joy and peace. My parents, brother, mother-in-law, brother-in-laws, and sister- in-laws encouraged me to continue to study in a foreign country. Finally, my wife, Kwang Ja Seo has supported me with everything she could do. Her love and prayer made this dissertation possible. v VITA February 5, 1971 ……………………………….……………………. Born - Seoul, Korea 1993 ………………………………………………...…….. B.A. Korea Military Academy Seoul, Korea 2002 ………………………………………… M.A. International Relations, The National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Japan 2002-2003 …………………………………...……………… Lecturer in Military History, Korea Military Academy 2005-2006 ……………………………………............ Graduate Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University 1993-Present ………………………………...……… Major The Republic of Korea Army FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ……………………………………………………………………….…………. ii Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………………… iv Vita ……………………………………………………………………………….……... vi List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………...…… vii INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTERS 1. LIBERATION AND TRANSFORMATION ……………………………… 16 2. CREATION OF THE CHEJUDO PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE ...………….. 50 3. FACING EACH OTHER: THE BIRTH OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE………….. 86 4. RUNNING AGAINST EACH OTHER: RISING TENSION AND THE COMING CRISIS ………………………………………….… 128 5. GUERRILLA WARFARE AND PACIFICATION ………...……… 171 6. A WAR BETWEEN SOUTH AND NORTH KOREA ……………..……. 210 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………….. 244 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………….. 257 APPENDIX MAPS …………………………………………………………………………. 266 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Persons connected to Cheju Yacheica …………………………….……………….... 68 viii LIST OF MAPS Map Page 1. Korea ………………………………………………………………………..……… 267 2. Cheju-do in 1948 ………………………………………………………..………….. 268 ix INTRODUCTION The 4.3 Incident, a Communist rebellion on April 3, 1948 on Cheju Island, ended with the surrender of the last guerrilla on April 2, 1957. The nine-year- long incident ended 15,000 lives on Cheju-do, devastated the island in the physical sense, and left deep scars within modern Cheju society. Many islanders lost family members, relatives, homes, farms, and other businesses by hands of Communist guerrillas or government forces. The incident was the longest and most violent insurgency after the liberation of 1945. The Autumn Harvest Rebellion of 1946 and Yosu Rebellion in 1948 ended after a few months, and even the Korean War lasted only three years. At the same time, the casualties of the 4.3 Incident surpassed those of the two rebellions. Three issues concerning the 4.3 Incident are significant to address. First, as Allan R. Millett asserts in his book, The War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning, the 4.3 Incident was the beginning of the Korean War. The 4.3 Incident, guerrilla warfare between Communists, represented by the South Korea Labor party, and nationalist government supported by right wing groups in continued North Korean tanks crossed the 38th Parallel on June 25, 1950. With the outbreak of the 4.3 Incident and the Yosu Rebellion, the SKLP changed its direction of movements from legal political action and illegal subversion to armed resistance to the Military Government and the Republic of Korea (ROK) from August 1948. After Chejudo, the regions of Chiri Mountains, the 1 Odae Mountains, and the border between North and South Korea turned into battle grounds. Second, the 4.3 Incident shows how the Cold War was conducted in a backward’ decolonized area. In Cheju Island, the Cold War ideology fused with the local residents’ political identification. Due to Communist movements over decades, pushed by local elites to gain independence from Japan, indigenous people regarded Communism as their ideology. Anti-Communist nationalism and capitalism advocated by the Military Government officials, Korea National Police and paramilitary groups, was a foreign ideology that came from mainland. In the eyes of the majority of Chejudoans, the 4.3 Incident was the struggle between their local political values and an alien ideology form the mainland. Finally, this incident is a typical case of communal violence, which has been rampant in modern Korean history. Conflict between two different ideological groups, the cruel treatment of people by governmental officers, murder and retaliation, merciless suppressive operations of governmental forces against the people’s forces, and atrocities by each side fill the story of the 4.3 Incident. The Koreans experienced a cycle of violence from the liberation in 1945 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. The incident can be studied as a model of the violence in Korean society. Students of the 4.3 Incident focus on several controversial questions. First, they have tried to identify a main culprit who provoked the insurrection. Until late