1949
“Jeju-do, what should we do?” Kim Yu-sam asked, hand on his holster.
Odd, to have a former police officer look to Jeju for guidance. A year ago, he would have pointed that pistol at her in a heartbeat. And now, here he was- a comrade, a friend, standing by her side as they made their final stand.
Because that’s what it was. She knew, he knew, Ok Un-ha- one of the few surviving members of the Worker’s Party of Korea, Jeju branch- knew.
They were down to non-combatant women, the elderly, children, and the handful of militants that had survived the purges. They had lost Ri Dok-gu, one of their most vital leaders, alongside the entire village of Jungsangan.
Here, in this tiny village on Hallasan that they had cobbled together for their resistance, was where the people of Jeju would make their final stand.
“Comrade Jeju?” Un-ha promoted, concern shining in her dark eyes.
Jeju let out her breath. “I’m sorry. I… don’t know what to say.”
What could she say? What could she do? She wasn’t cut out for this. She had come from South Jeolla, and the woman had never been a leader. Neither was Jeju. It was sheer chance that joining the Worker’s Party’s fight had led to her leading them. If she weren’t their Provincehuman, she would probably be sheltering with the other women in the houses behind them.
It was odd, to wish for the guidance of someone whom she had never technically met. But her common sense from South Jeolla told her she wished Korea were here.
“Right,” she tried. “Right. Have you had any luck convincing the civilians to flee?”
Beol Village had been built in a natural ravine, with towering cliffs and dense trees preventing an aerial assault from the American bombers that occasionally buzzed overhead. Both an easily defensible location and a death trap. But if they could send the civilians to the caves pocketing the slopes of the slumbering volcano, like during the election boycotts…
Un-ha shook her dark head. “No, Comrade Jeju. They want to stay.”
“It’s probably for the best,” Yu-sam said. “If they head into the hills and the NYL catches them, that would be… Well, maybe it’s better they’re taken with witnesses.”
That hadn’t stopped the event at that village last December. Those poor girls, taken by Rhee’s bandits. The ‘Northwest Youth League.’
‘What cruel children.’
“Some words might help,” Un-ha prompted. “I think… I think everyone could use them.”
Jeju turned to look at her people. Wide eyes stared back at her from gaunt faces. Callused knuckles turned white as they clutched at knives, branches, and too few guns. The stench of unwashed humans hung heavy in the summer air.
“I won’t lie to you,” she began. Even from those small words, the rebels knew what she was going to say. She saw the way heads hung and shoulders slumped. She swallowed. “We aren’t going to win this. We’re outnumbered, outgunned, and… and most of us aren’t going to walk away from this.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Un-ha tremble.
“But our fight isn’t over. Not yet.” Jeju inhaled shakily. “We lasted this long. They dissolved our People’s Committee, banned our strikes, and, um, drove us into the mountains. But…” She raised her voice, trying to put a steel conjured from memories that weren’t hers into it.
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Chasing Liberty // Countryhumans North Korea fanfiction
Hayran KurguThe Koreas were victims of Japanese Imperialism for thirty-six years, deprived of freedom in their own country. With the defeat of the Japanese Empire after the second World War, you would think that their problems would be solved. But things rarel...
