[Peace for the Sea International Peace Camp in Taiwan 2016]

“As the naval base comes in, I said I was going to cook.”

Presenter Kim Jonghwan[1]

Since my grandfather, my family has been living here in the village of Gangjeong. My grandfather was a stonemason. So was my father. They made stone walls and stuff like that. They also had to work in the potato field. They worked hard. I used to run a fried chicken joint in Jungmun. The business was good. Then, I wanted to run a seaweed roll restaurant. So, I went to Tongyoung to learn how to make good seaweed roll from a local chef. I learned from her how to make Kimchi, fresh squid salad, and fried fish-curd. It was not easy for me to make good food. I learned for 10 days and then I came back to Seogwipo city to open my own seaweed roll eatery. But this time business was really bad and I couldn’t pay the rent. Well, Jeju people didn’t like seaweed roll whereas people from mainland liked it. So I moved to Seoul to open a tuna restaurant, too. I went through many different business.

Then, I realized I was not good at running my own business, so I started making greenhouses. When I was not working, I used to hang out with my friends at Gangjeong river. One day, all of a sudden, I heard this news about a naval base coming into my village. Well, at first they said it was a cruise ship port or a civilian-military port complex so I didn’t particularly oppose to it.

However, as I learned from the media and talked with my friends about the issue, I realized that it wasn’t a civilian-military port, but in fact was a naval base. At that point of time, there used to be a lot of activities going on at the Culture Hall, so went to the hall and IsaidI was going to cook for the people. Cooking was one thing I was good at. I couldn’t contribute materially, so I decided to do things I can, which was cooking food. Someone had to prepare food, because eating is most important, right? We couldn’t order food so I became a chef for the hall and then I moved to Gureombi rock to defend it.

▲ Halmangmul kitchenpeople are having lunch on Gureombi rock in 2011

At first, there were not many people so we used small tents to run the restaurant. We would just use gas stove to cook instant noodles. People would bring food and share with other people on Gureombi rock. As more and more people came in, we set up green houses for them to stay at night and we started the Halmangmul restaurant for residents and activists.
At that time, we had a lot of donations and support. Villagers helped us run the restaurant, too. But the support came from all over the country. We didn’t even have to go grocery shopping because people sent food to us. We picked seaweed and caught fish from the sea, and the villagers would give vegetables, supporters from mainland sent rice and kimchi to us, too. Not only did we receive food from outside, but we had a lot volunteers willing to help. That’s why we were able to run the kitchen.
The image I cannot forget is when people had a meal on Gureombi rock, overlooking the sea. The moment was so beautiful. The people who were sitting on the rock and eating, I kept thinking about the image even when I was in jail. As a matter of fact, many visitors decided to stay in Gangjeongbecause of that, too. ‘It was so beautiful. Why do we need a military base in a place like this?’People who experience Gureombi rock couldn’t just leave. They never stopped fighting to preserve it.

Then, they forcibly kicked us out of the rock and set up barb-wired fences around Gureombi. On that day they took over Gureombi, I was in jail because they sent me to prison on August 2011. Later, I was released from jail and so I came to JungdeokSamguri area, but then there was a small makeshift tent. So I and fellow villagers worked to build a big greenhouse. That’s how we continued the kitchen for residents and activists in here Samguri area.
Donations came from all over the country again. Rice, kimchi and vegetables were delivered to the Samguri kitchen. A lot of people sent food anonymously. That’s how I realized that there are so many supporters out there for our peace movement. It is so moving to see that. The people who support each other, I bet they are poor people, too. I bet they are have-nots, too. Delivery boxed poured inwithout names on them. That kept me going on. Without the help, I couldn’t have made this far. I also know that Gangjeong villagers supported the kitchen in many ways. And the dogs also kept me continue the fight against the naval base. There were many dogs to be taken care of. So I couldn’t give up on them.

▲JungdeokSamguri area on the verge of forceful eviction

When there were many people. I used to cook 3 rice cookers at a time, consuming 10kg of rice. These days, about 20-30 people eat at a meal, but back in the day, I would cook for them all day, only to find food was not enough for everyone. Well, I often made ‘KimchiChigae’, which was easy to cook with just kimchi and port. Supporters from all over the country sent kimchi to us, I couldn’t store all of it so Iwould cook a huge pot of kimchichigae. At that time, a pot of kimchichigae was not enough for everyone, because we didn’t have any other side dishes than kimchichigae, so we just fed on it.
But then, I started noticing some activists didn’t eat chigae, they just ate rice and kimchi. Later as I cook for them, I realized that they were vegetarians. I didn’t have any idea at all. The vegetarian activists worked very hard but there were not many food for them to eat. So I started to cook vegetarian meals, too. We need to take care of them, right?
That’s how we have been fighting against the Jeju naval base for 10 years. Every time the government wants something done, we couldn’t stop that. We fought hard but we lost every battle. And now they are getting ready to carry out another forcible eviction on the activist kitchen. But we need to keep eating. Everyday we have to eat, but where? So I am thinking of an alternative place for the kitchen. Will they let us use that piece of land for our kitchen? It is imperative for us to find a solution because even if we get kicked out from here, we need to continue to eat together. I wish we were strong enough to stop that eviction, but I am so sorry that we don’t have enough power to keep the place. I love the good old days when many people stayed and ate together even though it was really tough to cook for all of them. I miss it very much. The rice cooker was empty all the time

[Gangjeong Village JungdeokSamgeori Kitchen]

In Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, there is a rice cooker, always full of rice. There is a wide food table that welcomes anyone who comes in for food. Seven days a week, rice is cooked here. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we wait for people to come and participate. It is Gangjeong’sJungdeokSamgeori kitchen. They say it is a restaurant. But there is no menu or price tags. Chef Kim cooks everyday with food materialsavailable on the day. People come, serve and clean for themselves. The kitchen is open to everyone because of villager chef Kim Jonghwan’s dedication.

*This article is based on interviews with Kim Jonghwan and is written by Ddalgi, a peace activist and Gangjeong resident.

[1]Kim Jonghwan is a Gangjeongresident. In August, 2009 when the villagers’ morale was low, he went to Gureombi rock and set up tents there. He has been staying in the tents ever since, resisting the naval base construction. He was arrested August 24, 2011 on charges of obstruction of business and imprisoned for 97 days. He has never stopped fighting against Jeju naval base.