VISIT JEJU

Altteureu is a pretty name which means “field underneath,” but the concrete buildings that stand here and there are far from pretty. The vast field of Altteureu was used as an airport during the Japanese Imperialism. Altteureu and Jeongtteureu airport, which is now used as Jeju International Airport, are both the representative military facilities of Japanese Forces during Japanese Imperialism. Starting from the mid 1920s, Japanese Forces used residents of Moseulpo as workers to construct runways, hangars, and magazines for ten years. After that, they expanded the facility once more. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese Forces used Altteureu as an outpost, and when aircrafts from Japan laid over at Altteureu for fueling, they could conduct airstrikes on Shanghai, Beijing, and even Nanjing. Japanese Forces were expanding their frontline to the south and when the war broke out between the United States and Japan ignited by the Pearl Harbor Airstrike, they militarized the south coast and expanded Altteureu airport, which was 66㏊, to 264㏊. When their defeat was certain, Japanese Forces trained their suicide bombers here. Thus, it has a frightening but also very sad past. The hangars were built to resist any airstrikes, so they have not moved a single inch until today. There are about 20 hangars placed in between lettuce farms and potato farms, and entrance is allowed.