Above: There have been ongoing protests against a US Navy base on Jeju Island, known as the Peace Island
supporters in their march around the island. After Jeju Stone will travel to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and then to Okinawa where he will give support to protests against US bases there.
The Life and Peace March has two teams – one team of several hundred marching east and the other consisting of several hundred marching west – and both teams will meet up in Jeju City for a huge finale rally. Stone will speak at that event. One short video of Stone being met at the Jeju airport showed a large media contingent filming his arrival. He is without a doubt the biggest name to yet arrive on Jeju Island to support the non-violent struggle against the Navy base.
I am particularly moved by his gesture to visit the prison to meet Professor Yang who was a leading film critic in Korea and has surely seen many of Stone’s films over the years. I can only imagine what this visit will do to lift Yang’s spirits. You can watch my all-time favorite Jeju video where Yang is interviewed on Gureombi rock before the Navy began blasting the sacred coast. See it here
Oliver Stone graciously agreed to be interviewed for Regis Tremblay’s new documentary film called The Ghosts of Jeju. He is using his celebrity to help people’s movements all over the world which speaks well of him.
Each of us can do something to help the Save Jeju movement. One thing I’d urge is ordering the documentary The Ghosts of Jeju and showing it in your community. Information on ordering the film can be found here
