| North-West Youth Association | |
|---|---|
| Active | November 30, 1946–December 19, 1948 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Type | Paramilitary |
| Engagements | Jeju uprising |
| North-West Youth Association | |
| Hangul | 서북청년회 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 西北青年會 |
| RR | Seobuk cheongnyeonhoe |
| MR | Sŏbuk ch'ŏngnyŏnhoe |
The North-West Youth Association(Korean: 서북청년회), also known as the Northwest Youth League, was a far-right anti-communist South Korean paramilitary group active during the Cold War. It mostly consisted of right-wing refugees from the Soviet-occupied northwestern region of Korea.
History
The North-West Youth Association was established on November 30, 1946, by anticommunists from Soviet-occupied North Korea,[1] described by the Jeju 4.3 Peace Park Museum as "a group of landowners who were forced to leave North Korea due to the political climate there including land reform and a crackdown on pro-Japanese factions."[2]
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 leader of South Korea.[3] A communist uprising in Jeju occurred between 1948 and 1949, followed by a violent suppression campaign.[4][5] According to Bruce Cumings, the Association was brutal towards the residents of Jeju Island, exercising more authority than the police.[6] 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.[7][4][5] Survivors give accounts describing the torture of children and mass murder.[8] The violent crackdown created deep resentment in Jeju residents. What began as an anti-communist movement quickly became a force that sought to crush anyone opposed to President Rhee and the Korea Democratic Party.
A decade after the Korean War, Rhee was forced into exile in the wake of South Korea's April Revolution. Anti-communism remained a powerful force in the country, however, especially during the dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-Hwan.[9]
See also
References
- https://accesson.kr/kj/assets/pdf/8009/journal-43-2-289.pdf
- http://jeju43peace.org/historytruth/fact-truth/factstruth_article9/
- "Islanders still mourn April 3 massacre - JEJU WEEKLY". www.jejuweekly.com.
- Hugh Deane (1999). The Korean War, 1945–1953. China Books&Periodicals, Inc. pp. 54–58. ISBN 9780141912240.
- Merrill, John (1980). "Cheju-do Rebellion". The Journal of Korean Studies. 2: 139–197. doi:10.1353/jks.1980.0004. S2CID 143130387.
- Cumings, Bruce (December 20, 2016). "American Responsibility and the Massacres in Cheju Conference on Overcoming the Past: Healing and Reconciliation -- Cheju and the World in Comparison" (PDF).
- "The National Committee for Investigation of the Truth about the Jeju April 3 Incident". 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
- "Memories of pain and loss from the Apr. 3 Jeju Uprising and massacre". The Hankyoreh.
- "History of anti-communism in South Korea". The Korea Times. 17 February 2015.