Empowering Victimhood Through Litigation: Two Trial Cases from the Jeju April 3 Incident

• In Event: 40461 - Section on Sociology of Law Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: Political Economy / Democratic Deficiencies

Abstract

This article addresses a critical gap in the study of victimhood in historical grievances cases by examining the transformation from passive and powerless victims to active, empowered victim identities. Focusing on the aftermath of the 1947-1954 political repression and violence in Jeju Island, South Korea, known as Jeju April 3 Incident, this study draws on archival research and in-depth interviews with survivors, bereaved family members, activists, and lawyers. It demonstrates how litigation plays a crucial role in empowering victims by allowing survivors and families to actively engage in the legal process, where they publicly perform, socialize, and symbolically mobilize their narratives. The Jeju April 3 trials show how survivors and bereaved families, once stigmatized as “rioters” or “families of rioters,” reclaimed their dignity and transitioned from passive subjects of injustice to active agents of social change. By highlighting how court proceedings serve as crucial spaces for marginalized individuals, this study contributes to the scholarship on legal mobilization and identity transformation, particularly in contexts of state violence and historical injustice.

Author

• Irene Hyangseon Ahn, American University