Last year when i swam around Jeju i swam through some water that tasted very fresh and salty - completely different from everywhere else where the water smelled of sewerage, dead, rotting fish and/or oil and fuel. I swam into the little harbour and was surprised at the lack of detritus i had commonly encountered in most harbours - plastic bags, bottles, cans etc. I remember commenting to Steve and asking where we were. When he checked our chart he said we were in Gang Jeong. Gang Jeong had the cleanest water in Jeju!
And this is where the powers-that-be have decided to build a naval base.
I have seen with my own eyes the terrible state of the sea around Jeju, the result of pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
Nevermind that Jeju is a designated "World Peace Island" and the building of a naval base means no one will take that designation seriously - a missed opportunity. Jeju has a reputation for being 'natural' and 'clean'. Instead of building on this branding, the powers-that-be have chosen to destroy the last of Jeju that really is natural and clean - a missed opportunity.
From an environmental, a social and a tourism perspective Jeju will lose so much more than it will gain.
Please go to
http://www.savejejuisland.org/Save_Jeju_Island/Welcome.html
The sea belongs to us all.
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| Police at Gang Jeong |
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| Protesters and police |
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| Police guarding the lane way leading to the protest site |
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| Entrance to the site |
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| Protesters are living in tents |
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| Heading down to the site |
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| Protest Thursday 11th August, 2011. |
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| Gang Jeong - under threat |
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| No Naval Base! |
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