Source: Sisa Journal
Every year on December 28, she visits the grave of her relative (Moon Jung Sun, 21 at the time of her death). The tragedy of the Ahn clan started with her brother-in-law Hong Nam Ki (note that Korean women retain their family name even after marriage). Hong was studying in Japan when the country was "liberated" in 1945. Hong returned home and became the darling of his hometown.
When the Cheju insurrection started in April 1946, Hong went to Hanra Mountains to join the partisans. He was suspected of being a member of the South Korean Workers Party. Things were normal until December of 1946, when a militia unit killed Hong's wife Moon Jung Sun who was about to give birth.
Each village formed a militia after the April 3rd insurrection. Its primary function was to assist the police. According to witnesses, two militia members dragged Moon to a field outside the village shouting "no offspring for the Red bandits!".
By the time Ahn In Soon arrived at the scene, Moon was already dead. She was stabbed fourteen times. Her infant baby, who was half way out of her, was dead also. Ahn covered the two bodies with dirt hurriedly afraid of being seen by the militias. The news of this savagery spread through the island. Ahn had to wait for two years to bury her dead in a proper grave.
Ahn's tragedy is not unique among Cheju islanders. Many islanders met more cruel and unjust fate. Even today, few victims dare to speak out fearing retribution from the police. The truth about the April 3rd massacre began to trickle out after the June 1987 pro-democracy movement. Several books and witnesses have come forth on "April 3rd Riot", "April 3rd Incident", "April 3rd Popular Uprising", "April 3rd Massacre", etc. These publications added to the confusing 'history' of the tragic events on Cheju from 1945 to 1948.
Even after 10 years of 'openness' in Korea, few victims have stepped forward to point fingers. Mrs. Ahn is the case in point. The April 3rd Special Commission compiled a list of 14,504 victims in two years of investigation and published it last January. The list is still growing. The commission receives about 10 inquiries or new victims' name a day even two years after the publication of the list.
Many clans were wiped out with no relatives to file petition on their behalf. Distant relatives are slow coming forward for the risk involved. Many islanders are still hostile to the government and believe the special commission is out to trick them. The islanders remember so-called "commission to investigate innocent victims' (yang-min hak-sal sa-kun jin-sang jo-sa) set up by the national assembly soon after the massacre. Those islanders who were dumb enough to appear before the commission were grabbed by the police
Mrs. Ahn recalls that until the 1970's the police visited her several times a year asking if she had heard from her brother in law (Hong). The Cheju People's Daily has been running a series 'The April 3rd Witness' since 1989. The daily states that the newly prosperous and educated islanders are more hesitant to speak out than poor peasants and fishermen, presumably because they have more to lose in case of reprisals by the government.
Hong Moon Pyong's father was killed by the expedition force (to-byol-dae) on Cheju. Hong became a fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew more than 100 sorties in one year. One day Hong was called in by the Counter Intelligence. His father's record was brought up and Hong was grounded. Hong believes that his son was refused entry to ROTC for the same reason under Roh's regime (in 1990's!).
There is a 'National Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the April 3rd Massacre'. The islanders have shied away from this committee. For example, a college professor from Cheju, who joined the Committee, has received intense pressure from his Cheju relatives to drop out.
A Korean TV producer, Kim Dong Man, shot a new documentary of 4 witnesses including Jin Ah Young who was wounded and Kim Bok Nam who lost his parents. Kim's earlier documentary "The April 3rd Struggle" was banned by the ANSP and Kim is under ANSP investigation.
Many Cheju victims and their relatives turned themselves into ardent ant-Red hunters in order to prove their loyalty to the police. They were more brutal and barbaric than the "mainlanders". They fingered their relatives and friends to save their own skin. These islanders are of course less likely to push for the truth.
Some of the terror methods used against the islanders were: