The Jeju people or Jejuans (제주사름; 濟州人; ''Jeju-sareum''), also known as Cheju, Chejuan or Pukjeju, are an ethnic group native to Jeju Island, which is geographically located in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

. Administratively, they live in

Jeju Province Jeju Province, officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, is one of the nine provinces of South Korea. The province comprises Jeju Island (; ), formerly transliterated as Cheju or Cheju Do, the country's largest island. It was previously kno ...

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

Jeju language Jeju (Jeju: , ; ko, 제주어, or , ), often called Jejueo or Jejuan in English-language scholarship, is a Koreanic language traditionally spoken on Jeju Island, South Korea. While often classified as a divergent Jeju dialect ( ko, 제주방� ...

, which is considered to be one of the two branches of the

Koreanic language family Koreanic is a small language family consisting of the Korean and Jeju languages. The latter is often described as a dialect of Korean, but is distinct enough to be considered a separate language. Alexander Vovin suggests that the Yukjin dialect ...

, although it has no mutual intelligibility with

Standard Korean A number of Korean dialects are spoken on the Korea, Korean Peninsula. The peninsula is very mountainous and each dialect's "territory" corresponds closely to the natural boundaries between different geographical regions of Korea. Most of the dia ...

or any other Korean dialects on the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

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

History

Origins

Modern humans have already lived on Jeju Island since the early

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

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 Hallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island in South Korea; it is the highest point of South Korea and the second-highest mountain in Korea overall, after Paektu Mountain. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallas ...

and became the progenitors of the Jeju people, who founded the Kingdom of

Tamna Tamna, or Tamna-guk, was a state based on Jeju Island from ancient times until it was absorbed by the Korean Joseon dynasty in 1404, following a long period of being a tributary state or autonomous administrative region of various Korean kingd ...

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 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

and

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

on mainland Korea,

Han China The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

Japan, Southeast Asia, and the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

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

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

Goryeo's Invasion

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

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

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

Taejong of Joseon Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won (Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, he wa ...

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 at the last stage of the Mongol invasions of Korea. It was suppressed by Goryeo and the Yuan dynasty. After the rebellion, Goryeo became a ...

, 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 military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

during the period of Japanese rule.

After independence in South Korea

1948 Jeju Uprising

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 deaths of tens of thousands of both villagers and communist radicals and the imprisonment of thousands more in internment camps. Furthermore, up to 40,000 Jejuans had to flee to Japan due to the actions of the South Korean government. The Uprising has become a symbol of Jeju's independence from the Korean Peninsula. 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 describe ...

dol hareubang ''Dol hareubangs'', also called ''tol harubangs'', ''hareubangs'', or ''harubangs'', are large rock statues found on Jeju Island off the southern tip of South Korea. They are considered to be gods offering both protection and fertility and were ...

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

Language

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

is the indigenous language of the Jejuans.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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) 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 Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

and

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

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

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

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 religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

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. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. 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'',

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 강동호;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

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

K-pop idol An idol () refers to a type of celebrity working in the field of K-pop in fandom culture in South Korea, either as a member of a group or as a solo act. K-pop idols are characterized by the highly manufactured star system that they are produced b ...

, member of

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

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: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single t ...

and its sub-unit

NU'EST W NU'EST W was the second subunit 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 on Decem ...

Boo Seung-kwan Boo Seung-kwan (; born January 16, 1998), better known mononymously as Seungkwan, is a South Korean singer and entertainer under Pledis Entertainment. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Seventeen and is a member of the Vocal Team subun ...

(

: 부승관;

: 夫勝寬), singer, dancer, and

, member of the

boy group

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

. * Boo Suk-jong (

: 부석종;

: 夫石鍾),

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

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

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

of the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy in ...

(ROKN) * Choi Jung Hwa (

: 최정화;

: 崔正華), 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, defector to North Korea, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to hi ...

* Choi Jungsook (

: 최정숙;

: 崔貞淑), South Korean educator,

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, the first woman principal in

, the first woman superintendent in

, and activist in the

and women's movement * Gim Man-deok (

: 김만덕;

: 金萬德), 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). Career Born in 19 ...

(

: 한재림), South Korean film director, screenwriter and film producer * Hyun Ki-young (

: 현기영), South Korean author * Hyun Kil-un (

: 현길언), 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 for the fashion magazines Shibuya and C ...

(

: 전수진),

South Korean actress This is a list of South Korean television, film, musical, theatre and voice actresses who are active in South Korea. Names are listed as stage name. A * Ah Young * Ahn Eun-jin * Ahn In-sook * Ahn Ji-hye * Ahn Ji-hyun * Ahn Seo-hyun * Ahn So- ...

(Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

but raised in Jeju Island) *

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

(Real Name: ''Park Soo-young'',

: 박수영), singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, actress, model, MC and

, member of

girl group Red Velvet * Kaang Bong-kiun (

: 강봉균), South Korean professor * Kang Chang-il (

: 강창일),

South Korean politician The politics of the Republic of Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. The government exercises executive power and le ...

* Kang Hye-ja (

: 강혜자), 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 a ...

Kang Mun-sok Kang Mun-sok (1906–1955) was a Korean socialist activist during the Japanese occupation period and thereafter. Born in Namjeju County on Jeju Province, he became active in the socialist movement in Japan starting in the 1920s. He worked from ...

(

: 강문석), Korean

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and activist during the Japanese occupation period * Kim Dal-sam (

: 김달삼),

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. whe ...

, leftist

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and commander of

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

troops during the Jeju uprising *

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'' (2012), ...

(

: 김희애),

* Kim Jin-hwan (

: 김진환), 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, consisting of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, leader B.I departed from the group in June 2019. Init ...

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

(

: 김남진),

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 liste ...

* Kim Si-hun (

: 김시훈), singer, rapper, dancer, and

, member of the

boy group BDC *

Ko Young-hoon Ko Young-Hoon (born 1952) is a South Korean painter. Biography Ko was born in 1952, on Jeju Island, and graduated from Hongik University. He lives and works in Seoul. His work is known for its hyperrealism that invokes ''trompe-l'œil''. Art ...

(

: 고영훈),

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 City. Career After graduating Seoul Girls' Commercial High School, Moon had worked at Kookmin Bank for three decades. From 2008 ...

(

: 문명순),

* Moon Chung-in (

: 문정인),

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 ''S ...

(

: 문희경),

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'',

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

: 오선화),

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

author and journalist *

Oh Young-hun Oh Young-hun (; born 31 January 1969) is a South Korean politician serving as 39th Governor of Jeju Province since 1 July 2022. He previously served as member of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2022. Oh resignation as member of the National As ...

(

: 오영훈),

* 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. Life and career 1992–2010: Early life and career beginnings Soyou ...

(Real Name: ''Kang Ji-hyun'',

: 강지현), singer, dancer, model, MC and

, former member of

girl group

Sistar Sistar (, often stylized as SISTAR) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2010 by Starship Entertainment. The group consisted of Hyolyn, Bora, Soyou and Dasom. They made their official debut with the song " Push Push" on 3 June 2010. Their ...

References

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