[Photo] Jeju artist groups hold festival to celebrate “Liberation”

On Apr. 1, two days before the 70th anniversary of the April 3 Jeju Uprising, artist groups including Jeju Dulu Nanum, the Rice Seed School, the Jeju People’s Artist Federation, and citizen performers held a festival to commemorate the theme of “Liberation” outside of the Jeju Culture and Arts Center. The event honored the Mar. 1 independence movement, with a particular emphasis on the events of Mar. 1, 1947. It was on this day when police fired on demonstrators who were marching against the trusteeship arrangement that left the US military in control of South Korea. This marked the first shots in what would eventually culminate in the Apr. 3 Jeju Uprising, a tragedy which left 10% of the population dead and thousands more in prisons throughout South Korea. (by Baek So-ah, staff photographer)