▲ In 1992, the remains of 11 people were found in a cave at Darangshi Oreum. Photo Courtesy Jeju Tourism Organization

Jeju is planning to apply to list the Jeju 4.3 Incident on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Jeju Island announced on Dec. 14 that the 4.3 Incident should be listed with UNESCO in order to collect the message of unity for resolving conflict with the historical significance of the incident reaching its 70th anniversary.

Jeju has decided the target goal for inscription will be 2020. The evidence that will be listed includes 4.3 records of trial, military history records, US military history, and the armed forces records.

The process to get 4.3 listed will begin in Jan. 2018, the 70th anniversary of the 4.3 incident.

Jeju will hire a professional who will be responsible for processing the incident to be listed on UNESCO and a listing promotion committee will be organized to discuss the specific solutions next February.

The application should be completed by November 2019 and after that, it will be submitted to the Cultural Heritage Administration by May of the same year.

In March 2020, there is a plan to submit the application to the Memory of the World Archives and Records Bureau after reviewing Jeju’s application.

Jeju will invest 100 million won in this project next year.

The director of self-government administration, Yu Jeong Sung said, “Through listing the 4.3 incident with UNESCO, we can view the 4.3 incident's meaning in the big frame of globalization and hope that we can contribute solving the conflict of our society due to the 4.3 incident."

The island is already listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, while Jeju's haenyeo divers and Chilmeoridang Yeongdeung-gut ritual have both received designation from UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.