I highlight morally relevant history - of Korea, of The United States and of The early years of the United Nations (UN), which tends to be ignored in the discussion of the Jeju tragedy - a seven year period of brutality on Jeju Island, South Korea, that lasted from March 1, 1947 to September 21, 1954. While discussions of these events acknowledge the responsibility of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK), they overlook the connection of the tragedy to Korea’s earlier history - such as its Independence Movement in the early 1900s. Also overlooked is the way in which the US created machinery in the early years of the UN that was the sine qua non of the controversial UN monitored elections which were the flashpoint of the incident. This Pre-UN and early UN history is poignantly connected to the Jeju tragedy, as we will see, and is crucial for understanding its full significance. Sadly, however, this history is dimly understood. For the sake of understanding the full scope of moral responsibility for the Jeju tragedy, and for reconnecting to the values and virtues important for all people, this overlooked history must be brought to light.

This paper offers a discussion of the March First Movement of 1919 (MFM) through the lens of moral development. Central to the discussion is the moral development of the most well-known personality associated with the MFM, Yu Kwan-sun (1902-1920). After discussing Yu’s own moral development, I connect this discussion to another important but less well-known figure associated with the MFM, Lee Sŭnghun (1864-1930). As a chief organizer of the MFM, Lee Sŭnghun made it possible for Yu Kwan-sun to both display and further develop her virtues and moral energies during the MFM. A discussion of Lee Sŭnghun also enables us to appreciate the thread of moral energy that was spinning prior the MFM, and which blossomed into the MFM in large part due to his efforts. I close by briefly discussing another participant in the MFM, Louise Yim (Im Yŏngsin) (1899-1977). Like Yu Kwan-sun, Yim was imprisoned and tortured for her participation in the MFM. Unlike Yu, however, Yim survived and dedicated her adult life to the independence of her country and the education of its citizens. A deeper consideration of the individuals involved in the MFM can connect us in the present to their virtues and moral energies. To know these individuals is to be inspired and moved by them. Thus the stories of the individual participants in the MFM remain an important resource for international ethics.

This paper presents an analysis of the Jeju 4.3 incident through a framework of virtue, vice and international ethics. By utilizing primary source documents such as the United States’ Military Intelligence reports (the G-2 Weekly Summaries and Periodic Reports), the incident is described as arising from a “cocktail of vices” – including not only cognitive errors, but also affective vices of character such as factionalism and the inability to compromise. Seen in this way, the Jeju incident offers a lesson about international ethics of which we should be mindful as we move towards the peaceful unification of the two Koreas.