ISLAND OF STONE, 2011
3-channel video installation and film, HD 16:9, Color, 15:45 min. Jane Jin Kaisen & Guston Sondin-Kung
Island of Stone documents the resistance against the Jeju Naval Base in Gangjeong village, Jeju Island. With the memory of the Jeju April Third Massacre, protesters feared that the construction of the base would make Jeju Island once again become a center of regional military conflict and cause lasting damage to pristine marine life. It was filmed in the spring of 2011 during the transformation from a mainly local issue to an international protest movement.
The main video in the installation portrays South Korean film critic Yang Yun Mo, while the other two screens testify to the daily clashes between protesters and the military. A few days after the recording on April 6, 2011, Yang was forcibly arrested for objecting to the naval base construction and went into a 71-day hunger strike while in prison. Island of Stone was posted online shortly after Yang’s arrest and the film went viral on social media networks and was screened as the closing film at the Seoul Human Rights Film Festival.
The base with the official name the Jeju Civilian-Miitary Complex Port, opened on February 26, 2016. In November 2017, an American nuclear-powered submarine docked at the base during escalating tensions in the region.
Video stills: Island of Stone
Directed, conceptualized, filmed, and edited: Jane Jin Kaisen & Guston Sondin-Kung. Archive footage of the arrest of Yang Yoon Mo: Kim Min Su. Cast: Yang Yun Mo.Translation: Se Young Oh, Park Jung Joo, Kim Min Jung