Sovereignty of the Dead: Mourning Practices in Jeju as Decolonial Politics against South Korean Subimperialism

The subimperial formation of ‘South’ Korea, articulated within US imperialism, first emerged in Jeju amid the genocidal violence against Jeju natives since March 1947. While the South Korean state recognized the mass-murdered as citizens following the transitional justice programs in the 2000s, I question whether the recognition of citizenship conferred by the state – the perpetrator – constitutes the sovereign subjectivity that the bereaved Jeju natives have truly sought. To reflect on the possibility of sovereignty of the dead, I think with Indigenous studies scholarship to debate with Agamben and Mbembe. I argue that the sovereignty of the dead is contingent on the extent to which their historical subjectivities are honored through mourning practices. Drawing on photographs and archival materials concerning mourning practices, I illustrate the ways survivors and bereaved families in Jeju sought indigenous sovereignty for the mass-murdered.