The Jeju people or Jejuans are a subgroup of Koreans native to the Jeju island, which is geographically located in the East China Sea. Administratively, they live in Jeju Province, excluding Chuja Islands, an autonomous self-governing province of South Korea.
Jejuans speak the Jeju language, which is considered to be one of the two branches of the Koreanic language family, as it has no mutual intelligibility with Standard Korean or any other Korean dialects in the Korean Peninsula. Jejuans also have unique cultural traditions that are distinct from mainland Koreans.
History
Origins
Modern humans have lived on Jeju Island since the early
Neolithic period (about 10,000 to 8,000 years ago). According to legend, three demi-gods emerged from Samseong,
which is said to have been on the northern slopes of
Hallasan and became the progenitors of the Jeju people, who founded the
Tamna.
[Lee, Peter H.; de Bary, William Theodore: Sources of Korean Tradition, Volume I: From Early Times Through the Sixteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, (1997), .]
Tamna
There is no historical record of the founding or early history of Tamna.
After the establishment of Tamna, in the first century AD, Tamna people started active trade with Baekje and Silla on mainland Korea, Han dynasty and Yayoi period Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Chola dynasty of South India. Later, Tamna became a tributary state of Baekje and Silla, and was subsequently annexed by Joseon.[p332]
Invasion of Goryeo
Tamna briefly reclaimed its independence after the fall of Silla in 935. However, it was subjugated by
Goryeo in 938 and officially annexed in 1105. However, the kingdom maintained local autonomy until 1404, when Taejong of Joseon placed it under firm central control and brought the Tamna kingdom to an end. One interesting event that took place during these later years of Tamna was the Sambyeolcho Rebellion,
[ Tamna timeline , Jeju-gossi, February 23, 2011.] which came to a bloody end on Jeju Island in 1274.
Japanese occupation
In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, including Jeju, inaugurating a period of hardship and deprivation for the islanders, many of whom were compelled to travel to the mainland or Japan for work. Residents of Jeju were active in the Korean independence movement during the period of Japanese rule.
[Hilty, Anne (2011). Jeju Island: Reaching to the Core of Beauty. Korea Essentials. Republic of Korea: The Korea Foundation.]
After Korean independence
1948 Jeju Massacre
On April 3, 1948, against a background of an ongoing ideological struggle for control of Korea and a variety of grievances held by islanders against the local authorities, the many communist sympathizers on the island attacked police stations and government offices. The brutal and often indiscriminate suppression of the leftist rebellion resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands of both villagers and communists, and the imprisonment of thousands more in internment camps.
In 2006, almost 60 years after the Jeju Uprising, the government of South Korea apologized for its role in the killings and promised reparations.
Culture
Jejuans have a culture and language that are distinct from that of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju is also home to thousands of unique local legends. Perhaps the most distinct cultural artifact is the
ubiquitous dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") carved from a block of basalt throughout the island.
Language
Jeju is the indigenous language of the Jejuans.
UNESCO lists it as "critically endangered",
with most of its speakers being elderly. The younger generation tends to speak
Korean language due to the educational system enacted by the South Korean government, which does not allow Jejuan language schools, and has repressed its usage especially during the country's authoritarian era (e.g. under
Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee and
Chun Doo-hwan) up until the 1990s.
The South Korean government, including the National Institute of Korean Language and the country's Ministry of Education, continues to label Jeju language as a Korean dialect, specifically an "unintelligible Korean dialect", although it has no mutual intelligibility with Standard Korean or any other Korean dialects for that matter on the Korean Peninsula.
Ever since the 2000s, the majority of South Korean academic publications had switched to the term "Jeju language" rather than considering it as a dialect. The only English-language monograph on Jeju, published in 2019, consistently refers to it as a language as well. Among native speakers, the term Jeju-mal "Jeju speech" is most common.
Religion
Korean shamanism is a native religion of Jeju Island, and its teachings are mixed with
Confucianism and
Buddhism. Jeju Island is also one of the areas in which shamanism is most intact.
[Choi, Joon-sik . Folk-Religion: The Customs in Korea. Ewha Womans University Press, 2006.] Other religions practiced on Jeju Island include mainstream Buddhism and Christianity.
Notable Jeju people
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Baekho (Real Name: Kang Dong-ho, ; Hanja: 姜東昊), singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, actor and K-pop idol, member of K-pop boy group NU'EST and its sub-unit NU'EST W
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Boo Seung-kwan (), singer, dancer, and K-pop idol, member of the K-pop boy group Seventeen.
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Boo Suk-jong (), Navy Daejang and Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN)
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Choi Jung Hwa (), South Korean Taekwondo master and the son of Choi Hong Hi
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Choi Jungsook (), South Korean educator, doctor, the first woman principal in Jeju Island, the first woman superintendent in South Korea, and activist in the Korean independence movement and women's movement
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Gim Man-deok (), female merchant of Joseon
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Han Jae-rim (), South Korean film director, screenwriter and film producer
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Hyun Ki-young (), South Korean author
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Hyun Kil-un (), South Korean author
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Jeon Soo-jin (), South Korean actress (Born in Seoul but raised in Jeju Island)
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Joy (Real Name: Park Soo-young, ), singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, actress, model, MC and K-pop idol, member of K-pop girl group Red Velvet
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Kaang Bong-kiun (), South Korean professor
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Kang Chang-il (), South Korean politician
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Kang Hye-ja (), South Korean sport shooter
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Kang Mun-sok (), Korean socialist and activist during the Japanese occupation period
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Kim Dal-sam (), school teacher, leftist revolutionary and commander of Workers' Party of Korea troops during the Jeju uprising
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Kim Hee-ae (), South Korean actress
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Kim Jin-hwan (), singer, dancer, and K-pop idol, member of the K-pop boy group iKon
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Kim Nam-jin (), South Korean actor
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Kim Si-hun (), singer, rapper, dancer, and K-pop idol, member of the K-pop boy group BDC
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Ko Young-hoon (), South Korean painter
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Moon Myung-soon (), South Korean politician
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Moon Chung-in (), South Korean politician
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Moon Hee-kyung (), South Korean actress
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O Muel (Real Name: Oh Kyung-heon, ), South Korean film director and screenwriter
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O Sonfa (Real Name: Oh Seon-hwa, ), Zainichi Korean author and journalist
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Oh Young-hun (), South Korean politician
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Shaun Kim
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Soyou (Real Name: Kang Ji-hyun, ), singer, dancer, model, MC and K-pop idol, former member of K-pop girl group Sistar
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