The Jeju people or Jejuans are a subgroup of

Koreans Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...

native to the

Jeju island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

, which is geographically located in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. Administratively, they live in

Jeju Province Jeju Province (; ), officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (Jeju language, Jeju: ; ), is the southernmost Provinces of South Korea, province of South Korea, consisting of eight inhabited and 55 uninhabited islands, including Marado, Udo ...

, excluding

Chuja Islands The Chuja Islands () are a group of 42 islands in the Jeju Strait, about halfway between Jejudo and the southern coast of Jeollanamdo. Only four islands are inhabited: Sangchuja ("Upper Chuja"), which is connected by a bridge to Hachuja ("Low ...

, an autonomous self-governing province of South Korea. Jejuans speak the

Jeju language Jeju (Jeju: ; Jeju RR: , or , or ), often called Jejueo or Jejuan in English-language scholarship, is a Koreanic language originally from Jeju Island, South Korea. It is not mutually intelligible with mainland Korean dialects. While it was hi ...

, which is considered to be one of the two branches of the Koreanic language family, as it has no mutual intelligibility with

Standard Korean A number of Korean dialects are spoken in Korea and by the Korean diaspora. The peninsula is very mountainous and each dialect's "territory" corresponds closely to the natural boundaries between different geographical regions of Korea. Most of t ...

or any other Korean dialects in the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. Jejuans also have unique cultural traditions that are distinct from mainland Koreans.

History

Origins

Modern humans have lived on Jeju Island since the early

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period (about 10,000 to 8,000 years ago). According to legend, three demi-gods emerged from Samseong, which is said to have been on the northern slopes of Hallasan and became the progenitors of the Jeju people, who founded the Kingdom of Tamna.

Tamna

There is no historical record of the founding or early history of Tamna. After the establishment of Tamna, in the first century AD, Tamna people started active trade with

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

and

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

on mainland Korea,

Han China The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

and

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

Japan, Southeast Asia, and the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Later, Tamna became a tributary state of Baekje and Silla, and was subsequently annexed by

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

Invasion of Goryeo

Tamna briefly reclaimed its independence after the fall of Silla in 935. However, it was subjugated by

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

in 938 and officially annexed in 1105. However, the kingdom maintained local autonomy until 1404, when

Taejong of Joseon Taejong (; 16 May 1367 – 10 May 1422), personal name Yi Pangwŏn (), was the third monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of Sejong the Great. He was the fifth son of King Taejo, the founder of the dynasty. Before ascending ...

placed it under firm central control and brought the Tamna kingdom to an end. One interesting event that took place during these later years of Tamna was the

Sambyeolcho Rebellion The Sambyeolcho Rebellion (1270–1273) was a Korean rebellion against the Goryeo dynasty that happened near the end of the Mongol invasions of Korea. It was suppressed by Goryeo and the Yuan dynasty. After the rebellion, Goryeo became a vassa ...

, which came to a bloody end on Jeju Island in 1274.

Japanese occupation

In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, including Jeju, inaugurating a period of hardship and deprivation for the islanders, many of whom were compelled to travel to the mainland or Japan for work. Residents of Jeju were active in the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

during the period of Japanese rule.

After Korean independence

1948 Jeju Massacre

On April 3, 1948, against a background of an ongoing ideological struggle for control of Korea and a variety of grievances held by islanders against the local authorities, the many communist sympathizers on the island attacked police stations and government offices. The brutal and often indiscriminate suppression of the leftist rebellion resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands of both villagers and communists, and the imprisonment of thousands more in internment camps. In 2006, almost 60 years after the Jeju Uprising, the government of South Korea apologized for its role in the killings and promised reparations. In 2019, the South Korean police and defense ministry apologized for the first time over the massacres.

Culture

Jejuans have a culture and language that are distinct from that of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju is also home to thousands of unique local legends. Perhaps the most distinct cultural artifact is the

ubiquitous Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describ ...

dol hareubang A (Jeju language, Jejuan: ), alternatively , or , is a type of traditional volcanic rock statue from Jeju Island, Korea. It is not known when the statues first began to be made; various theories exist for their origin. They possibly began to b ...

("stone grandfather") carved from a block of basalt throughout the island.

Language

Jeju is the indigenous language of the Jejuans.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

lists it as "critically endangered", with most of its speakers being elderly. The younger generation tends to speak

due to the educational system enacted by the South Korean government, which does not allow Jejuan language schools, and has repressed its usage especially during the country's authoritarian era (e.g. under

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

and

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

) up until the 1990s. The South Korean government, including the

National Institute of Korean Language The National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL; ) is a language regulator of the Korean language based in Seoul, South Korea. It was created on January 23, 1991, by Presidential Decree No. 13163 (November 14, 1990). It has previously gone by a ...

and the country's

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, continues to label Jeju language as a Korean dialect, specifically an "unintelligible Korean dialect", although it has no mutual intelligibility with Standard Korean or any other Korean dialects for that matter on the Korean Peninsula. Ever since the 2000s, the majority of South Korean academic publications had switched to the term "Jeju language" rather than considering it as a dialect. The only English-language monograph on Jeju, published in 2019, consistently refers to it as a language as well. Among native speakers, the term ''Jeju-mal'' "Jeju speech" is most common.

Religion

Shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

is a native religion of Jeju Island, and its teachings are mixed with

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Jeju Island is also one of the areas in which shamanism is most intact.Choi, Joon-sik . Folk-Religion: The Customs in Korea. Ewha Womans University Press, 2006. Other religions practiced on Jeju Island include mainstream Buddhism and Christianity.

Notable Jeju people

* Baekho (Real Name: ''Kang Dong-ho'', ;

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

: 姜東昊), singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, actor and

K-pop idol An idol () is a type of entertainer who works in the field of Korean popular music (K-pop), either as a member of a group or as a solo act. They typically work for an entertainment agency that operates a highly managed star system that idols ar ...

, member of

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

boy group

NU'EST NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: Kim Jong-hyeon, JR, Aron (singer), Aron, Baekho (singer), Baekho, Hwang Min-hyun, Minhyu ...

and its sub-unit

NU'EST W NU'EST W was the second sub-unit of South Korean boy band NU'EST. The group consisted of NU'EST members: JR, Aron, Baekho, and Ren, promoting in the absence of Minhyun, who at the time was promoting with Wanna One. The group disbanded foll ...

Boo Seung-kwan Boo Seung-kwan (; born January 16, 1998), known mononymously as Seungkwan, is a South Korean singer. Managed by Pledis Entertainment, he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen (South Korean band), Seventeen, its vocal team, and the ...

(), singer, dancer, and

, member of the

boy group Seventeen. *

Boo Suk-jong Boo Suk-jong (; born 8 January 1964) is a former South Korean Navy Admiral who served as its Chief of Naval Operations under President Moon Jae-in from 2020 to 2021. He is the first Jeju Island native to lead the Navy. Before being promoted to ...

(),

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

and

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

of the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations. The South ...

(ROKN) *

Choi Jung Hwa Choi Jung-hwa (born 20 May 1954) is the only son of General Choi Hong-hi, who is regarded as the founder of Taekwondo. Biography Choi Jung-hwa studied Taekwon-Do since the age of 7 under his father and many prominent high ranking Taekwon-Do Mas ...

(), South Korean Taekwondo master and the son of

Choi Hong Hi Choi Hong-hi (; 9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of tae ...

* Choi Jungsook (), South Korean educator,

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, the first woman principal in

Jeju Jeju may refer to: South Korea * Jeju Island (Jejudo), South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo ** Jeju City, its capital ** Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju language ** The ...

, the first woman superintendent in

, and activist in the

and women's movement * Gim Man-deok (), female merchant of

Han Jae-rim Han Jae-rim (born July 14, 1975) is a South Korean film director. He directed ''Rules of Dating'' (2005), '' The Show Must Go On'' (2007), '' The Face Reader'' (2013), '' The King'' (2017), and '' Emergency Declaration'' (2021), as well as Netfli ...

(), South Korean film director, screenwriter and film producer * Hyun Ki-young (), South Korean author * Hyun Kil-un (), South Korean author *

Jeon Soo-jin Jeon Soo-jin (born November 8, 1988) is a South Korean actress. Born in Seoul but raised in Jeju Island, she was studying design at Konkuk University in 2008 when she began doing part-time work as a model (people), model for the fashion magazine ...

(), South Korean actress (Born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

but raised in

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

) *

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

(Real Name: ''Park Soo-young'', ), singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, actress, model, MC and

, member of

girl group Red Velvet * Kaang Bong-kiun (), South Korean professor * Kang Chang-il (), South Korean politician * Kang Hye-ja (), South Korean

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

* Kang Mun-sok (), Korean

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and activist during the Japanese occupation period *

Kim Dal-sam Kim Dal-sam (; 1923 – 20 March 1950) was a Korean school teacher and communist revolutionary. He led insurgents of the Workers' Party of South Korea during the Jeju uprising. Background Kim Dal-sam was born Yi Song-jin () in 1923 and grew u ...

(),

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, leftist

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and commander of

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

troops during the

Jeju uprising The Jeju uprising (in South Korea, the ''Jeju April 3 incident'', ) was an insurrection on Jeju Island, South Korea from April 1948 to May 1949. A year prior to its start, residents of Jeju had begun protesting elections scheduled by the Un ...

Kim Hee-ae Kim Hee-ae (; born April 23, 1967) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in Korean dramas such as ''Sons and Daughters'' (1992), ''Perfect Love'' (2003), '' My Husband's Woman'' (2007), '' How Long I've Kissed'' (201 ...

(), South Korean actress * Kim Jin-hwan (), singer, dancer, and

, member of the

boy group

iKon iKon (; stylized as iKON) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The lineup consists of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, B.I departed from the group in June 2019. ...

Kim Nam-jin Kim Nam-jin (born August 1, 1976) is a South Korean actor. Kim began his entertainment career as a model (people), model, having walked the runway for Jang Kwang-hyo's Seoul Fashion Artists Association show in 1996 and appeared in advertisements ...

(),

South Korean actor South Korean actors are listed as follows: * List of South Korean actresses * List of South Korean male actors This is a list of South Korean male television, film, musical, theatre, and voice actors who are active in South Korea. Names are list ...

* Kim Si-hun (), singer, rapper, dancer, and

, member of the

boy group BDC * Ko Young-hoon (),

n painter *

Moon Myung-soon Moon Myung-soon (; 18 October 1962), also known as Moon Myoung-soon, is a South Korean politician based in Goyang. Career After graduating Seoul Girls' Commercial High School, Moon had worked at Kookmin Bank for three decades. From 2008 to 201 ...

(), South Korean politician * Moon Chung-in (), South Korean politician *

Moon Hee-kyung Moon Hee-kyung (; born December 22, 1965) is a South Korean actress. Moon made her acting debut in musical theatre in 1995. She has also played supporting roles in films and television series, notably ''Skeletons in the Closet'' (also known as ...

(), South Korean actress *

O Muel O Muel (born Oh Kyung-heon in 1971) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the award-winning film '' Jiseul'' in 2012. Career O Muel was born and raised on Jeju Island, and studied Korean painting at Jeju Natio ...

(Real Name: ''Oh Kyung-heon'', ), South Korean film director and screenwriter * O Sonfa (Real Name: ''Oh Seon-hwa'', ),

Zainichi Korean () are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since t ...

author and journalist * Oh Young-hun (), South Korean politician * Shaun Kim *

Soyou Kang Ji-hyun (born February 12, 1992), known professionally as Soyou, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a former member of the South Korean girl group Sistar. Early life and education Soyou was born on February 12, 1992, in Jeju ...

(Real Name: ''Kang Ji-hyun'', ), singer, dancer, model, MC and

, former member of

girl group

Sistar Sistar (; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2010 by Starship Entertainment. The group consisted of Hyolyn, Yoon Bo-ra, Bora, Soyou and Kim Da-som, Dasom. They made their official debut with the song "Push Push (Sistar ...

Notes

References

{{Korean peoples Jeju Province People from Jeju Province Ethnic groups in South Korea Indigenous peoples of East Asia