History
The North-West Youth Association was established on November 30,1946,by refugees escaping Soviet-occupied North Korea. Murals in the Jeju April 3 Peace Park Museum state that North-West Youth Association members fought Soviets and Korean communists because “members of their family had been imprisoned,raped or murdered in North Korea,and that their property had been confiscated.” [1]
The Association conducted vigilante justice against suspected communists with no legal basis. The Association was supported by Syngman Rhee,the ardent,anti-communist,US-backed autocrat of South Korea. [2] A communist uprising in Jeju occurred from 1948 to 1949,followed by a violent suppression campaign. [3] [4] According to Bruce Cumings,the Association was brutal towards the residents of Jeju Island,exercising more authority than the police. [5] Between 14,000 and 30,000 people were killed during the Jeju uprising. 86% by security forces and paramilitary groups including the North-West Youth Association,and 14% by rebels. [6] [3] [4] Survivors give accounts of torture used against children and mass murder. [7] This created deep resentment in Jeju residents. What began as an anti-communist movement,quickly became a force to crush anyone who opposed President Rhee and the Korea Democratic Party.
A decade after the Korean War,Rhee was forced into exile after the April Revolution in South Korea. Anti-communism remained a powerful force,especially during the dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-Hwan. [8]
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