As a history text, the book gives readers the rare experience of seeing national and global history as Jeju's history, rather than locating Jeju in an already known global context … Scholars in disaster studies will find this book helpful in linking a decades-­old disaster with lingering violences at the local site in the present.

Journal of Disaster Studies

Gwisook Gwon has written a sophisticated work which contributes significantly to our understanding of the history of Jeju and its complicated relationship to the evolution of the South Korean state. The book is based on in-depth research from several decades living on the island, and draws on many original documents and oral interviews. It will attract readers interested in Jeju as well as in societal efforts to overcome the legacies of violence in modern Korea's tortured past.

Steven Lee, Associate Editor, Journal of American-East Asian Relations

With breathtaking ocean views from one of the most beautiful Korean islands, Jeju's natural beauty hides a devastating truth. Gwisook Gwon shares the heartrending story of the Jeju 4.3 Massacre that everyone must know-a social history of political violence and its aftermath, showing in stark detail the terrible costs of the Korean War and the tenacious resilience of ordinary people in their search for truth and justice.

Suzy Kim, professor of Korean History, Rutgers University

Based on a wide variety of primary sources, including fascinating interviews with participants, The Island of World Peace is a comprehensive history of the civil war on Jeju Island, from the self-governing committees that arose in 1945 through the bloody conflict that began in 1948, finally to the reconciliation that occurred after South Korea democratized.

Bruce Cumings, University of Chicago; author of The Origins of the Korean War

Gwisook Gwon, an acclaimed scholar of memory politics on Jeju Island, has written a compelling and meticulously researched study of "Jeju sasam," also known as 4.3 or April 3rd, which refers to not a single day but rather a complex series of historical events beginning in 1948: a local uprising for self-determination suppressed by US-backed South Korean rightists in a violent crackdown which expanded island-wide into a brutal counterinsurgency campaign, resulting in mass killings of civilians until 1954 and known collectively as the Jeju Massacre. Exploring the multiple dimensions of Jeju 4.3, The Island of World Peace further traces the efforts to overcome decades of ideologically charged silence surrounding these events. A long time resident of Jeju, where she continues to live, the author draws upon extensive interviews with survivors of the Jeju massacres as well as with activists who have advocated for historical redress through processes of transitional justice in South Korea during the period since democratization.

Nan Kim, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; author of Memory, Reconciliation, and Reunions: Crossing the Divide