【290-292】The Tragic History of South Korea's Jeju Island

• 漂泊者乐园微信公众号在线英语学习资料

• 提示： 
  1. 回复  president  可收听查看所有《美国总统》文章。
  2. 回复  park          可收听查看所有《美国国家公园》文章。
  3. 回复  zjmgyy      可收听查看所有《中级美国英语》文章。
  4. 回复  bztl           可收听查看所有 《VOA标准听力》。

---

*【290】

AS IT IS

The Tragic History of South Korea's Jeju Island

August 05, 2018

A monument to the victims of the Jeju Uprising at Jungmun.

Every summer, thousands of South Koreans, Chinese and Japanese visitors travel to Jeju Island to enjoy its natural beauty and coastline.

Some activists are trying to get visitors to see other areas that explore the island's history, and remember the victims of anti-communist killings, which began before the Korean War.

Jeju Island is known as the 'Hawaii of Korea.' It has numerous waterfalls and natural wonders. Many visitors remember seeing fields of yellow canola flowers and the bright blue of ocean water.

But 70 years ago, Jeju was the place where communist supporters launched violent protests against South Korea’s new government. The protest movement grew into a separatist rebellion.

Pro-communist demonstrators held protests to oppose a vote set for May 10, 1948. The election results would confirm the division of the Korean peninsula between communist forces in the North and the non-communist South.

Communist rebellion

On April 3, 1948, rebels attacked police stations on Jeju, killing some officers. The rebels also burned voting centers for the May 10 vote.

The government in Seoul declared military rule to stop the unrest. Thousands of police officers and pro-government militias from the mainland took part in a violent suppression of the protests. The operation lasted until the unofficial end of the Korean War in 1953.

Fifty years later, a South Korean government report found that government forces were responsible for widespread atrocities. It blamed government forces for burning down 70 percent of all villages on Jeju Island

The report found 30,000 people were killed in the violence. That number represented 10 percent of the island’s population.

"People were killed without reason,” said Hong Chun-ho, an 81-year old survivor. “Anyone could lose their life. Whether or not, it was a baby, disabled, pregnant, or elderly, there was no exception. They killed anyone that came into sight," he said.

Victims' remains in Darangshi cave.

A dark past

Today a citizen’s group operates a business in Jeju called Dark Tours to help visitors better understand the island's sad history. The group wants to call attention to the South Korean government’s involvement in the killing of thousands of people.

We must “deliver the message that we will no longer keep silent against the state violence and that we won't let this happen again," said Baek Ga-yoon, a representative of Jeju Dark Tours.

The tour group takes visitors to see where executions reportedly took place and the grounds where many bodies are buried. It also shows them caves where villagers would hide from police and military forces.

Critics of the South Korean government's involvement in the Jeju conflict also hold the United States responsible for what happened 70 years ago. They note that the new South Korean government was a U.S. ally. They accuse the Americans of either directly supporting or permitting the attacks on pro-communist activists.

The U.S. military has denied any involvement in the crimes committed on the island.

Some South Koreans suspect that the tour group is not about understanding the past, but about criticizing U.S. involvement in the country.

Kim Kwang-dong works as a security expert at the Nara Policy Institution in Seoul. He says the education and tours dealing with the April 3^rd incident could be aimed at providing negative information about the U.S. military and work against the alliance. He fears this could lead to “the withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces, which would be very mistaken."

So neither the Jeju tour nor the areas marking the tragic history of the island, have become popular tourist stops. The Jeju Provincial Tourism Association reports that in 2017, only 2.3 percent of Koreans visited the island for cultural or historical education purposes.

FILE - An ocean view from a bedroom at the Seogwipo Hyatt hotel is seen in this April 26, 2002, photo.

Banned subjects

The violence that took place on Jeju Island is a divisive issue in South Korea. Some conservatives argue the killing of innocent civilians was justified to prevent the spread of communism during a time of war.

Others note the atrocities were committed by government forces. They say the people of Jeju were freedom fighters who opposed the division of the Korean peninsula.

For many years, the South Korean government suppressed and restricted information about Jeju's history. People who wrote about the killings were imprisoned. Some children and grandchildren of Koreans involved in the unrest report they had difficulty finding jobs.

In 2003, the Korean government apologized for its part in the violence. The families of the victims have demanded payment for damages. This year, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in expressed support for reconciliation through discussions and education.

“The spring of Jeju will blossom like a full bloom," the President said at a memorial ceremony earlier this year.

I’m Susan Shand.

VOA’s Lee Yoon-jee reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. The editor was George Grow.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

peninsula – n. a piece of land surrounded by water on most sides and connected to a larger piece of land

atrocity – n. a very cruel or terrible act or action usually involving death

deliver – v. to take something to a person or place; to do what you say

elderly – n. older adults

negative – adj. showing refusal or denial

commit – v. to carry out; to promise

reconciliation – n. the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement

blossom – n. the flower of a plant

---

*【291】AS IT IS

Chinese Visitors Bring New Life, Concerns for Europe’s Cities

August 05, 2018

FILE - Chinese tourists line up to enter a fashion store in Paris Aug. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Civita-di-Bagnoregio is an ancient Italian village about 120 kilometers north of Rome. It was built on a flat area of volcanic rock, high above the Tiber river valley.

Civita is known as a “dying city,” with a year-round population of just seven. For many years, people there had long believed that the world economy had passed them by. They had become used to seeing their young people leave for jobs in other places.

But a wave of tourists – mostly from China – is helping the town’s economy. This year, Civita expects 800,000 visitors.

Europe’s growing tourism from China

From small villages to famous capital cities, Europe has seen a sharp increase in Chinese tourists. The China Tourism Academy and the Chinese online travel agency Ctrip say more than 6 million Chinese citizens visited European countries in 2017. European officials estimate the number to be close to 10 million.

The most popular countries to visit among Chinese tourists are Britain, Italy, France, Germany and Spain.

Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, says Chinese tourism in Europe has increased by 200 percent in the past 10 years.

Those numbers are expected to increase this year, which has been named China-EU Tourism Year. The marketing effort was jointly launched by the European Union and China.

Europeans are both pleased with and concerned about the growing number of visitors. The increase has stressed some European airports and is adding to development issues in some areas.

‘Consequences’ of Chinese tourism boom

Some observers have different concerns.

Stratfor, an American research company, has called Chinese tourism an “unexpected tool” that China can use to “exert its influence.”

The group added that the huge rise “in the number of outbound Chinese travelers means their combined economic weight can have sharp consequences.”

Stratfor also said the Chinese government’s ability to give countries “Approved Destination Status” is a way to control where Chinese tourists can and will go.

That is how the government greatly reduced the number of Chinese people traveling to South Korea last year, Stratfor noted. Experts saw the move as an effort to punish South Korea for deploying an American-made missile defense system that the Chinese government opposed.

The European Union, however, sees the rise in Chinese visitors as important to the economy. The EU Commission said, “Tourism has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural…areas.”

Forty-five-year-old Roberta Mencarelli oversees a bed-and-breakfast hotel and restaurant in Bagnoregio, a few kilometers west of Citvia-di-Bagnoregio. She said that most of the visitors to the area are Chinese. “They have brought money into the town and the tourism has increased the energy here,” she said.

It has also increased the number of businesses. “There used to be only two restaurants in town,” she said. “Now there are 10.”

Mencarelli said she has even begun learning some Mandarin Chinese to help her communicate with visitors.

Rising tensions?

The increase of visitors has brought much more money to the small number of people who live in Civita.

Not everyone is happy about it. An old woman who gave her name as Giovanna described the inflow as an “invasion.”

“Too many people…” she said.

Her complaint is similar to those heard in some of Europe’s most famous cities like Venice, Barcelona and Paris. Critics say they are already overcrowded during the tourist season. They say the additional waves of visitors from China and other Asian countries have hurt the quality of life of local people and strained infrastructure.

Wolfgang Arlt is director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). He wrote in a recent blog entry that there is a “growing number of – sometimes violent – protests” by local people in some places popular with travelers.

Only seven percent of Chinese citizens have passports, compared to 40 percent of Americans. That means, industry experts say, that the possibility for even more growth in Chinese tourism is huge.

Arlt’s research group says the number of trips taken by Chinese travelers will increase from 145 million in 2017 to 400 million by 2030. If those numbers are correct, then Chinese would make up one-fourth of world tourism by that year.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Jamie Dettmer reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tourist –n. someone who travels for pleasure rather than business

exert –v. to use strength, to cause something to happen

consequences –n. the results of an action

potential –n. the chance that something will happen or exist in the future

contribute –v. to give, to cause something to happen

strain – v. to cause problems or stress from too much use

infrastructure –n. the structures and equipment that nations or areas need to operate such as roads, airports, railways and power centers

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

*【292】

AS IT IS

New Report Shares Secrets of Rare Blue Diamond’s History

August 05, 2018

FILE PHOTO: The 45.42 carat Hope Diamond is pictured on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, January 29, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Reed

The Hope Diamond is one of the world’s most famous jewels. It was in the possession of a series of people: kings, bankers, rich women and thieves, before its arrival 60 years ago at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

A rare blue diamond, it has a complex social history, to be sure. But, far more so is its geological history, researchers say in a new report.

“This is the first time anyone has come up with a fact-based study or model for how blue diamonds form,” said Gemological Institute of America research scientist Evan Smith. He led the study published in the journal Nature.

The group looked at 42 blue diamonds, including one from South Africa that recently sold for $25 million in 2016. Researchers could tell where the stones were formed based on the very small minerals trapped inside.

The scientists found the gems can form at least 660 kilometers below the earth’s surface, in a part called the lower mantle.

A model shows 'The Sky Blue Diamond' ring at the auction house Sotheby's in London, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016.

Formed deep underground

Diamonds are a hard, clear form of pure carbon called a crystal. They form under extreme heat and pressure. The report says that blue diamonds crystallize alongside water-bearing minerals that long ago were part of the floor of the sea. But these minerals were pushed deeper underground during the movement of large tectonic plates that shape the Earth’s surface.

Scientists already knew these diamonds received their blue color from the element boron. The study says that boron had once been in ocean water but was eventually pushed into the seafloor rock. Over millions of years, the boron continued to move deep underground.

Many diamonds appear colorless. Often, however, they have some yellow color. Still others have a light brown, pink or green color. About 99 percent of all diamonds form somewhere between 150 to 200 kilometers underground, a far shallower birthplace than their blue relations.

“These diamonds are among the deepest ever found,” Carnegie Institution for Science geochemist Steven Shirey said of the blue diamonds.

The public can see the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian National Museum of National History in Washington D.C.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Reuters' Will Dunham reported this story. Phil Dierking adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

Have you ever seen a blue diamond or other rare jewel? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

bear - v. to accept or endure (something)

geological - adj. having to do with the science that studies rocks, layers of soil, etc., in order to learn about the history of the Earth and its life

gem - n. a valuable stone that has been cut and polished for use in jewelry

tectonic plates - n. a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the earth's seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates.

---

---

往期回顾：

---

---

推荐：

---

---

还没听够看够？关注本公众号（漂泊者乐园微信公众号），定期收听收查看各种精彩内容。跑步入场还不晚哦。

（学习交流微信：littleflute） 

---

---

提示： 
1. 回复  president  可收听查看所有《美国总统》文章。
2. 回复  park          可收听查看所有《美国国家公园》文章。
3. 回复  zjmgyy      可收听查看所有《中级美国英语》文章。
4. 回复  bztl           可收听查看所有 《VOA标准听力》。

---

点击左下角的 阅读原文: 可收听查看本公众号 所有【As It Is】文章