The Slow Unearthing of Buried Allegiances
THE ACTORS: Who is involved in this story? The immediate actors are the families of the victims, the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park, and the identification teams. However, the foundational actors are the South Korean government forces and 'armed leftist groups' (as the original article states). Crucially, the larger, less acknowledged actor is the United States military and intelligence apparatus, which had
significant influence over the nascent South Korean state during this period. Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first president, was a U.S.-backed strongman. The U.S. Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was directly responsible for governing much of the peninsula from 1945 to 1948 and continued to exert profound influence thereafter. This was not merely an internal conflict. THE FUNDING: Where did
the resources for this violence come from? The South Korean forces involved in the Jeju Uprising were heavily equipped, trained, and advised by the United States. During the Korean War era (1950-1953), the U.S. provided billions in military aid and economic assistance to South Korea. Leading up to this, between 1945 and 1948, USAMGIK directly controlled the South Korean economy and security
forces. For instance, the U.S. supplied the weapons used by the Korean Constabulary (predecessor to the South Korean Army) and other security forces during the brutal suppression on Jeju. The political and financial capital for constructing the post-WWII South Korean state, and by extension its military actions, was overwhelmingly American, flowing from U.S. congressional appropriations and policy