| Start Date: | November 30, 1946 |
| End Date: | December 19, 1948 |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Battles: | Jeju uprising |
| Type: | Paramilitary |
| North-West Youth Association | |
| Hangul: | 서북청년회 |
| Hanja: | 西北青年會 |
| Rr: | Seobuk Cheongnyeonhoe |
| Mr: | Sŏbuk Ch'ŏngnyŏnhoe |
The North-West Youth Association, also known as the Northwest Youth League, was a far-right anti-communist South Korean paramilitary group active during the Cold War. It is most well known for committing widespread atrocities during the South Korean government-led suppression of the Jeju Uprising.
The North-West Youth Association was established on November 30, 1946, by refugees escaping Soviet-occupied North Korea. Murals in the Jeju April 3 Peace Park Museum state that North-West Youth Association members fought Soviets and Korean communists because “members of their family had been imprisoned, raped or murdered in North Korea, and that their property had been confiscated.”[1]
The Association conducted vigilante justice against suspected communists with no legal basis. The Association was supported by Syngman Rhee, the ardent, anti-communist, US-backed autocrat of South Korea.[2] A socialist uprising in Jeju occurred from 1948 to 1949, followed by a violent suppression campaign.[3] [4] According to Bruce Cumings, the Association was brutal towards the residents of Jeju Island, exercising more authority than the police.[5] Between 14,000 and 30,000 people were killed during the Jeju uprising. 86% by security forces and paramilitary groups including the North-West Youth Association, and 14% by rebels.[6] [3] [4] Survivors give accounts of torture used against children and mass murder.[7] This created deep resentment in Jeju residents. What began as an anti-communist movement, quickly became a force to crush anyone who opposed President Rhee and the Korea Democratic Party.
A decade after the Korean War, Rhee was forced into exile after the April Revolution in South Korea. Anti-communism remained a powerful force, especially during the dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-Hwan.[8]