DRASTIC CHOICES AND EXTREME CONSEQUENCES: Concerning Korea 1945-1953

J. Jihae Kwon

In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Art and the Book Program Corcoran College of Art + Design Washington, D.C.

Spring 2014 ©2014 J. Jihae Kwon All Rights Reserved Corcoran College of Art + Design

We hereby recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by Jihae Kwon entitled Drastic Choices and Extreme Consequences: Concerning Korea 1945- 1953 be accepted as fulfilling, in part, requirements for the degree of Master of Art in Art and the Book.

Graduate Thesis Committee:

(Signature of Student)

J. Jihae Kwon (Printed Name of Student)

(Signature of Program Director/Advisor)

Kerry McAleer-Keeler (Printed Name of Program Director/Advisor)

(Signature of Thesis Committee Reviewer)

Georgia Deal (Printed Name of Thesis Committee Reviewer)

(Signature of Thesis Committee Reviewer)

Casey Smith (Printed Name of Thesis Committee Reviewer)

i THESIS STATEMENT

The choices one makes have intentional and unintentional consequences.

Extreme choices produce dire consequences that can subsequently influence future generations and, on a larger scale, an entire nation. In Korea between 1945 and 1953, many radical choices were made to stabilize the political situation. Many obeyed the order from the highest in the political ladder which resulted in tragedies. Some people abused the situation for their own gain and satisfaction.

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My grandma, Bunheng Jeong, for sharing her family history and for enduring hardship with hope and positive attitude.

My mom, Yonhong Jang, for inspiring me to write about my family history and for providing the details of the family history.

My aunt, Gihong Jang, for encouragement and helping me communicate with my grandma.

My professors at Corcoran College of Art+Design for supporting, inspiring, and helping me complete my thesis.

Korean War veterans for fighting to protect my people’s freedom.

Korean people for never stopping to live life and for never forgetting their heritage.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page i Thesis Statement ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures v Introduction 1 Chapters Chapter 1 Historical Background Japanese Colonialism 2 Liberation and the United States Military Government 2 The Press Persecution and the National Security Law 6 Organization of the National Guidance League 8 (Gukmin Bodo Yeonmeng)

Chapter 2 The NGL Membership 10 Activities of Police and Military Against Members 11 of the NGL and the Wrongfully Accused Chapter 3 Personal Experiences Executioners 16 Mr. Noh Kim Man-sik Lee Joon-young Witnesses and Victims 18 Mr. Lee Chung Nam-sook from Hampyong Goh Gyeong-hwan’s Brother Kim Gwang-ho from Gimhae County Jeong Yun-won from Pohang

Chapter 4 My Grandmother’s Family 21 Jeong Il-seon, Jeong Dong-yeob, and Great Grandmother Conclusion 24 List of Figures References viii End Notes ix Bibliography xi

iv LIST OF FIGURES

1. South Korean soldiers checking thousands of dead bodies in a trench shot at

Taejon, South Korea

2. The present day No Gun Ri bridge with bullet holes where villagers were killed

by the U.S. military during the Korean War

3. Photo of my grandmother’s family when she was sixteen years old (1933)

v Figure 1

Figure 2

vi Figure 3

1 2

5 6

3 4

In 1933

1 Jeong Il-seon

2 Jeong Dong-yeob

3 Grandmother’s younger sister

4 Grandmother’s younger brother

5 Great grandmother

6 Grandmother

vii 1

INTRODUCTION

Decisions have both short and long-term consequences. Sometimes we cannot see the consequences and do not know the outcomes, but we take a step and make a choice. Some after-effects are irrevocable, and some are fixable. Some decisions affect us immediately and exclusively while others have consequences that are global.

When we make decisions, we sometimes doubt our decisions and ask ourselves what might have happened if another choice was made. We make choices daily, small or great, for good or bad.

After World War II, South Korean president Rhee Syngman put many alleged

Communists in a rehabilitation program known as the National Guidance League.

Many of them were executed between 1945 and 1953 to prevent them from joining the Communist north. Rhee’s decision affected many families including my own.

What we choose to do has intentional and unintentional consequences. Extreme choices produce dire consequences that can subsequently influence future generations and, on a larger scale, an entire nation for decades. 2

CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

JAPANESE COLONIALISM

Knowing the historical background between 1910 and 1953 is crucial to understanding the events that took place before and during the Korean War. Korea was under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945. During the Japanese occupation, many

Koreans suffered in diverse ways. The Japanese tried to wipe out Koreans culturally.

They forced Koreans to abandon Korean names and take Japanese names and to worship Shinto, the state religion of the Japanese Empire. They extracted many men to the front lines of the Japanese war, forced thousands of women to be sexual captives for Japanese soldiers, and used thousands of men and women in experimentation like that of Nazi Germany. Among many colonial activities in Korea, the Japanese made Korean farmers suffer greatly. As a result of the land survey conducted from

1910 to 1918, the Japanese government took possession of a great amount of land and charged high taxes. By 1935, a large percentage of rice paddy fields were under the custody of Japanese landlords.1 To protect their property, many Korean landlords collaborated with the Japanese and, together, they exploited farmers. As a result, many farmers suffered great poverty.

LIBERATION AND THE UNITED STATES MILITARY GOVERNMENT

During the Japanese occupation, the independent movement was very active inside and outside of Korea. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was 3

established by independence fighters in Shanghai, China in 1918. Rhee Syngman was appointed as the first president and was later impeached by the Provisional

Assembly for the misuse of his authority. The Japanese lost World War II, and Korea was finally liberated on August 15, 1945. Koreans who suffered greatly under the

Japanese occupation looked for a new life and a new society. They turned to

socialism for new hopes and prospects. Inspired by the Russian Revolution and the anti-Imperialism movement in Russia, many independence activists, students, and intellectuals voluntarily accepted the socialist ideas. They believed that socialism was an idealogical weapon that could liberate the oppressed class of farmers and laborers. Yet they were also Nationalists, . . . and in the end regarded the Korean independence as a priority above all else.2

The independence activists who established the Provisional Government were those nationalist intellectuals that turned to socialism for the future of Korea.

After the liberation, many independence fighters returned home to be a part of the new Korea. Kim Gu, who was the 6th, 12th and 13th president of the Provisional

Government of Republic of Korea, and Rhee returned to Seoul, Korea. Kim Il-sung, the late leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Kim Du-bong, who worked for independence in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China, set up their political ground in Pyongyang, North Korea.3 As the Cold War intensified, the

United States and the USSR’s conflicts affected Korea’s future greatly.4

While the U.S. sought to establish an American-style democratic state in the south, the Russians pursued the construction of a Soviet-style 4

socialist state in the north . . . . [The Korean people] wanted to establish a nation-state in which while individual freedoms were regarded as important, a heavy emphasis was nevertheless placed on the communal aspect of the nation. The political organizations whose understanding and conception resembled . . . were the Shanghai-based Provisional Government led by Kim Gu.5

In December 1945, the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers was held, and it was decided that the U.S. and the USSR would form “a joint committee and launch a Korean provisional government.”6 As the result of the Moscow Conference,

Korea was divided in two at the 38th parallel. This decision would eventually cause much conflict between US and USSR supporters, Rightists and Leftists. Rhee, a U.S. supporter, would become a suppressor of all opposition to him and the United States.

The majority of Koreans wanted the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai to govern both North and South. However, the Provisional

Government became powerless when it was not recognized by the U.S. and the USSR.

The USSR supported the People’s Committees in the north with Kim Il-sung as the leader. Having been educated in the U.S. and having their support, Rhee became the leader in the south and employed many policemen and officials who worked for the Japanese.7

After the Japanese withdrew from Korea, many industries were shut down, and the Korean economy was in trouble. The stability in Korea heavily depended upon reform plans. North and South Korea had different approaches: 5

The provisional government of the North, under the leadership of the People’s Committee, carried out land reforms by liquidating pro- Japanese properties and nationalizing all industry. . . The changes in the North put a lot of pressure upon the South. The Rightists in the South who were rather generous toward pro-Japanese figures and passive in punishing them, untied themselves under the name of anti- Communism. Thus, they demanded that a government only for the South be founded to lead the struggle against Communism in the North.8

Many Koreans who sided with the Japanese during the colonial era were not interested in the land reform. They chose to delay land reform to protect their interests. Their continued rise to power led to increased riches in the South. These circumstances consequently led to serious conflict as well.

After the liberation, Koreans expected better living conditions, but they faced a different reality. Farmers stayed in poverty. As the gap between farmers and landlords increased, the idea of confiscating land to divide it equally appealed to the farmers. Without having any political agenda, many farmers embraced the idea of common ownership—the idea of Communism. “In the fall of 1946, the struggles of impoverished farmers and laborers of the South intensified. Eventually, their struggles turned into a resistance against the U.S. military government, which in turn suppressed the protest and decided to oppress the activities of the Leftists.”9 Rhee’s insecurity caused him to suppress any opposition by force, and this grave decision produced the most devastating outcome in Korean history.

Under the control of the U.S. and the USSR, the North and South could not come to a political agreement. The UN General Assembly decided that a separate 6

election would be held in 1948 only in South Korea to establish a separate government.

This was the beginning of the tragedies ahead. In April of 1948, the people of Jeju Island, the biggest island in southern Korea, reacted to the UN’s decision and against the idea of establishing separate government with armed uprising. Rhee’s series of extreme choices that caused tragic innocent deaths started by sending armies to suppress the Leftists in Jeju Island. It resulted in the deaths of approximately 30,000 people out of 150,000 residents.10 On August 15th, 1948, the Republic of Korea was officially promulgated with

Rhee as the first president, and the division between North and South, after 1,300 years of unification, became a reality.11

THE PRESS PERSECUTION AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY LAW

During the control of the U.S. military, the United States promised complete freedom of speech by changing the colonial press laws, which had required permission and inspection to publish a book or an article. Every article and book had to be examined.

If it had any anti-Japanese nuance, it was stopped, and the people who were responsible for the writing it were punished. The U.S. only required to register without inspection.12

Honest and sincere articles and books were published which reflected the peoples’ voice and included anti-government writing. On May 29th, 1946, to prevent anymore anti-government and leftist articles being published, the U.S. announced the Military

Government Law 88 and changed the press laws back to the permit system.13 This press system did not allow for the freedom of speech, and citizens became controlled and manipulated. 7

Rhee decided to take control over the press. Any newspaper agencies that were a threat and challenged Rhee’s power were suppressed or ceased to publish.

On September 22nd, 1948, the Rhee government announced seven articles of the

Press Laws.14 They listed conditions where the government could suppress the press.

Any situations that:

1. Are in violation of the laws of the nation 2. Criticize the government 3. Recognize or support the Communists and the Communist North Korea 4. Invent and spread lies 5. Halt relations with allies and damage the prestige 6. Contain stimulating tone or stir the people 7. Reveal top national secrets15

The law was vague and did not indicate what constituted “stimulating tone” or “lies.”

This allowed the government to loosely apply the law to any situation necessary. In addition, on December 1st, 1948, the National Security Law was promulgated. The

Press Laws were not directly stated in the National Security Law. However, a statement in article 3, “anyone who agreed, initiated, or promoted any anti-state activities,” comprehensively threatened the freedom of speech.16 With the Press Law and the

National Security Law, Rhee harshly suppressed the press which resulted in many newspaper agencies shutting down, and there was no freedom of speech. Between

1948 and 1949, Jeil Newspaper, Joseon Jungang Daily Newspaper, Segye Daily Newspaper,

Gukmin Newspaper, Daehan Daily Newspaper, and many more were suppressed or shut down.17 Seoul Newspaper published anti-Rhee articles and did not report on the

Korea-U.S. Defense alliance article, so they were finally shut down in May, 1949.18 8

Rhee controlled the citizens mentally and physically. Rhee did not govern Korea much differently than the Japanese did during their rule. In fact, he was worse. Rhee gained power under the assumption that he shared in their struggles and wanted a better society for his people.

The persecution of the press did not stop at newspaper agencies. It expanded to individual persecutions of reporters, journalists, writers, and poets under the National

Security Law. According to the First Constitution, “Special Laws may be legislated to punish malicious anti-national activists (Article 111).”19 The National Security Law was to “restrict anti-state activities which endanger the national security, so that the nation’s security and the life and liberty of the citizens can be secured. . . Under this Law, the term Anti-State Organization shall mean an association or a group having a command structure.”20 This justified Rhee’s decision to form and execute a rehabilitation system that would result in taking away “the life and liberty of the citizens” that the First

Constitution promised.

ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL GUIDANCE LEAGUE

(GUKMIN BODO YEONMENG)

During the Japanese rule, in 1938, an ideology guidance program called Sasang

Boguk Yeonmeng was organized to reeducate Koreans and persecute any independence activity.21 On June 5th, 1949, fearing any further anti-government activities, Rhee resurrected the very tool the Japanese used in suppressing Koreans in the name of 9

the National Guidance League–Gukmin Bodo Yeonmeng–(from here on the NGL).22

The NGL was:

A rehabilitation program and a [surveillance] organization established by the South Korean government before the Korean War to keep track of those suspected of having Leftist sympathies. . . Authorities listed people suspected of communist activities and forced them to swing to the right.23

When they were identified as being reformed or repented, they were guaranteed that their records would be wiped clean and would be protected from execution.24 They were also promised if they lost their jobs because of their political ideology, they would receive their jobs back and have better employment opportunities.25 With such enticement, about 200,000 to 300,000 people ended up registering as members.26 Some signed up willingly, but they were unaware of what that membership actually entailed.

The NGL was a surveillance program to keep tabs on the Leftists. They were required to frequently report on their activities and whereabouts. They were forced to participate in community activities to prove they repented. This resembled the

Communists’ public self-criticizing program. Rhee’s ways of controlling opposition were ironically very similar to the ways of the Communists. The deadly result was also similar to that of the Communists. 10

CHAPTER 2 THE NGL MEMBERSHIP

A series of decisions Rhee made after the promulgation of Korea led the country further away from peace. Instead, it consequently brought about a much grimmer society. After the U.S. left Korea on June 29, 1949, Rhee felt more threatened by the opposition. The original purpose of the NGL was to keep track of the Communists, but it became skewed. Rhee used the NGL as a tool to suppress any opposition, Communists or not. He also suppressed nationalists which included independence activists. Some independence activists, with whom Rhee fought for the liberation, did not agree with Rhee’s political vision. Because of a shaky leadership foundation, any anti-government elements had to be removed to secure

Rhee’s power.27 In doing so, Rhee took extreme measures. “Independence activists were accused of being members of the Bodo Yeonmeng [the NGL], a ‘re-education’ body where Leftist sympathizers were signed on the pretext of protecting them from execution. The activists were subjected to arrest and eventual execution.”28 On June

26, 1949, Kim Gu was assassinated among many independence activists who were also assassinated by the government under Rhee’s direction.29 Many of the NGL members were “tortured, framed on false treason charges [and accusations], jailed, and, in some cases, executed.”30 Out of insecurity, Rhee killed his own friends and collaborators.

Many journalists and writers were also forced to join the NGL because they were considered intellectuals and a threat to the government. Anyone who had joined any kind of literary group was forced to join, including Hwang Soon-won, a novelist, 11

and famous poets Baek Cheol, Kim Gi-lim, and Jeong Ji-yong to name a few.31 Some of their survival is still unknown.

Communists, the opposition, and intellectuals were not the only ones who were forced to become an NGL member. “. . .The Bureau of Police . . . [were] ordered . . . to fulfill a quota. . . Simple uneducated peasants were strongly persuaded to enter. Thus eventually more than 70 percent of the NGL might have been comprised of innocent people who had no consistent political will or ideology.”32 Simple peasants who lived in poverty were promised a better life and more wealth if they joined the NGL. When Rhee decided to eliminate all opposition including the NGL members, many innocent farmers were imprisoned and executed.

ACTIVITIES OF POLICE AND MILITARY AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE NGL AND THE WRONGFULLY ACCUSED

Starting in 1945, anyone accused of being a Communist was imprisoned and, in numerous cases, executed without any legal charges. Many of the NGL members who received a trial were sentenced, labeled class A, B, or C and imprisoned, A being the harshest. The trials were held in which “. . . police officers . . . had the residents all seated in a row. They browsed their faces, and pointed at certain people with their fingertips, holding them responsible for the rebellion.”33 They were sentenced depending on their so-called anti-government activities. The Class A were those who were active in attending Communist assemblies, attacking police stations, and so on. However, there were many class B and C who were peasants with no political agendas.34 Rhee was not 12

concerned about the fairness of the trial and whether the accused were guilty or not.

He was only concerned about surrounding himself with people who would help him secure and satisfy his thirst for power.

Seodaemun Prison in Seoul was used by the Japanese to torture and kill Korean independence fighters and any anti-Japanese during the Japanese rule. After the liberation, Rhee used it to jail the NGL members and the opposition. He decided to use it to jail his own people, even his fellow independence fighters. Local prisons also held accused Communists. In Taejon, about 87 miles south of Seoul, “prisoners were shuttled out of the city’s jail by the army and police, marched with hands bound to the edge of long trenches, made to lie down, and then shot with rifles. Their bodies were rolled in and covered.”35 (fig.1)

This incident in Taejon was one of many brutal executions of the NGL members and the opposition. Massacres happened throughout the Korean Peninsula, especially in southern parts of Korea where it was mainly farmland. Many of the NGL members and people who were accused of being the opposition were “dragged to nearby hills or valleys to be shot or were thrown into sea without any legal procedure.”36 In Yeosu and Suncheon, about 160 civilians were killed by the machine-gun operated by Korean police and army.37 In Taejon, “The death shuttle went on for days, with up to 7,000 prisoners executed. In Busan, about 10,000 prisoners were eventually trucked out of the city and machine-gunned.”38 About 870 were killed in Ulsan, 712 in Yangsan, 713 in Dongrae, 551 in Gimhae, 2,000 in Busan, 1,218 in Jinju, 1,681 in Masan, and so on.39

Being fully aware of innocent people being killed, Rhee continued to use atrocious methods to eliminate the opposition. 13

Many executions happened in small towns whose residents were simple farmers and peasants with not much education and no political agenda. They joined the NGL because they were forced to join and were promised wealth. Such was the case of a small town in southern Korea. In an abandoned cobalt mine in Kyungbuk, about 3,500 remains were uncovered. The local people and prisoners were brought to the mine by trucks, about eighty people at a time. They were lined up and shot at the entrance of the mine. Then they were thrown into the mine and torched. Neighbors “saw the victims’ blood running from the shaft into the outside river for several months.”40

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea (TRCK), established in 2005, estimated 100,000 civilians were killed between 1950 and 1953 when Korea’s population was about twenty million.41 However, in some research, the number is projected as high as 300,000.42 Rhee’s desire for power and the choices he made bore a dramatic outcome that was not inconsequential.

Some witnesses from this period were still alive to be able to testify to the scale of the executions. Mr. Ahn, who was a medical officer of the First battalion of the Third brigade, “sterilized the dead bodies at the execution site five to six times over three month from mid-November 1948 to February 1949. Each time, fifty to one hundred people were killed on the spot.”43 The actual number of people killed is unimaginable.

Massacres were conducted by the Korean army, police, and, in some cases, the U.S. forces. After the Korean War broke out in June 25, 1950, the number of the executions drastically increased between the summer of 1950 and 1953. Rhee feared 14

that the NGL members would join the Communist north. Those executions included innocent civilians. On July 1950, in No Gun Ri, as the US military was retreating, not being able to distinguish between Communist guerrillas and South Korean refugees, they were commanded to “shoot all refugees coming across the river.”44 According to the investigation conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Army, and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea:

Korean villagers were forced by U.S. soldiers to evacuate their homes and move south. The next day, July 26 . . . when the villagers reached the vicinity of No Gun Ri, the soldiers stopped them at a roadblock and ordered the group onto the railroad tracks . . . the soldiers searched them and their personal belongings. Although the soldiers found no prohibited items (such as weapons or other military contraband), [they] ordered an air attack upon the villagers via radio communications with U.S. aircraft. . . planes flew over and dropped bombs and fired machine guns, killing approximately one hundred villagers on the railroad tracks. Those villagers who survived sought protection in a small culvert underneath the railroad tracks. The U.S. soldiers drove the villagers out of the culvert and into double tunnels nearby. The U.S. soldiers then fired into both ends of the tunnels over a period of four days, resulting in approximately 300 additional deaths.45 (fig.2)

A similar incident happened “when the bridge over the Han River [in Seoul] was demolished [by the U.S. military] together with hundreds of refugees still on it.”46

Rhee’s extreme actions to strengthen his political power resulted in numerous deaths of innocent citizens. Many lost their families and friends, and death was not the end of the tragedies. The remaining family members were constantly watched and questioned over time. They were forced to keep silent about what had happened to 15

their families and friends for decades. Following Rhee’s reign, several dictators ruled

Korea. After fifty long years of silence, survivors, victims’ families, and witnesses finally came forth to testify to the brutality and the executions. Among them were not only the victims, but also the executioners. 16

CHAPTER 3 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Following are the accounts of people who have had first-hand experience of the terrible part of the Korean history or the consequences of it later.

EXECUTIONERS

MR. NOH

Mr. Noh was in the Korean Army’s second division. During the War, he was stationed in Jeomchon. He was ordered by the commander to set fire to Seokdal village of Myngyeong. Residents who escaped from the fire were shot to death in the rice fields in front of the village. Mr. Noh said, “There was no selection process for saving innocent senior citizens, children, and women who gathered in the rice fields.”47

KIM MAN-SIK

Shortly after the War broke out, Kim, who was a military police sergeant, received an urgent command to “go to local police stations, take custody of suspected communists there and execute them.” He said, “They were all tied together with military communications wire . . . so when we opened fire, they all pulled at each other to try to escape. The wire cut into their wrists. Blood was splattered all over their white clothes.” Kim was in charge of executing 170 people in Hoensong and Wonju.48

LEE JOON-YOUNG

Lee was a prison guard in Daejeon in mid-1950. It was decided to shoot all prisoners sentenced ten years or more regardless of their crime. He described the scene of the execution: “Suppose this is the rim of a trench. People were dragged and 17

sat down there. Then shooters came behind each of them and fired on the back of their heads.” Members of right-wing militias helped, rearranging bodies across the trench, so others could be shot and buried on top. “When they got out of the trench, their legs were red with blood. Watching the scene, I grew speechless.”49 18

WITNESSES AND VICTIMS

MR. LEE

In Busan, Mr. Lee witnessed horrific scenes of massacre. In 1950, for nearly two months, many people were killed. Forty to sixty people were all tied together to be killed. Wooden stakes were erected first. Then people were tied to the wooden stakes at their hands, and they were beheaded.50

CHUNG NAM-SOOK FROM HAMPYONG

Chung, 80, was from Hampyong, a village in southwest. According to Chung,

South Korean 11th Army Division stormed the village in December 1950 to hunt

Communist guerrillas. Instead of capturing the Communists, they attacked innocent villagers who were gathered in a field. Chung said, “They told us to light our cigarettes.

Then they began shooting their riffles and machine guns. After a while, an officer called out, ‘Any of you who are still alive can stand up and go home now.’ Those who did were shot again.” Chung was shot seven times, but he survived by pretending to be dead under the heap of bodies.51

GOH GYEONG-HWAN’S BROTHER

Goh’s brother was newly wed when he was forced to join the NGL. He had no political affiliation with any party, but he was persuaded to join to fill the quota. In the summer of 1950, he and ten other villagers were taken by soldiers and policemen and were killed. Goh’s family was branded as a Communist and political offender and was forced to live in hiding fearing for their safety.52 19

KIM GWANG-HO’S FAMILY FROM GIMHAE COUNTY

During the Japanese occupation, Kim’s grandfather was imprisoned for taking part in the March 1 Independence Movement. Just before the outbreak of the

Korean War in June 1949, “Independence activists were accused of being members of the NGL. . . [They] were subjected to arrest and eventual execution.” Even though

Kim’s grandfather was not a member of the NGL, he was singled out by right-wing youths “who dragged him off and executed him.” Kim’s father was made director of the funeral committee for the good citizens slaughtered in the Gimhae-Changwon region. Twenty seven bodies were found, and among them was Kim’s grandfather who was identified by his gold-capped tooth. Kim’s father began actively participating as secretary-general for the National Association of Surviving Family Members of

Innocent Massacre Victims.

On May 16, 1960, the military coup by Park Chung-hee took place, and the

Leftists persecution continued. Kim’s father was carried off by violent detectives who beat him up severely before carrying him away. He was charged with “special anti- state activity.” When Kim’s father asked what his crime was for burying his father, the persecutor answered, “It is a crime to bury Reds.” In January 1962, Kim’s father was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released two years and seven months later.

Because of torture, he was not able to work, and Kim and his siblings were not able to finish high school. Whenever any spy incident took place, Kim’s father was “dragged off and returned half-dead.”53 20

JEONG YUN-WON FROM POHANG

Referencing my own personal family’s experience, my grandfather had a neighbor to whom he was very close. They were so close that they did not have a fence between their houses. They would talk to each other almost everyday, and they were a kin to real brothers. One day, Jeong was accused of being a Communist and trucked off with other villagers to the mountain. He and others were killed there. When the truck returned, observers noted a cut-off hand was stuck on the grill of the truck.54 21

CHAPTER 4 MY GRANDMOTHER’S FAMILY

The extreme consequences of Rhee’s destructive choices affected my family.

As an outcome, my family also made a series of calamitous choices. Like ripples, decisions made had consequences expected and unanticipated. My maternal grandmother is from Pohang, a port city in southeast. Her father passed away when she was young, and she and her siblings were raised by her mother. My grandmother had two older brothers, Jeong Il-seon, the oldest, Jeong Dong-yeob, the second oldest, and two younger siblings. (fig.3)

Il-seon was a rich man and a law-abiding citizen. When the land law was changed, no one really obeyed it except Il-seon. He later gave away all his land to farmers because he felt it was the right thing to do for everyone’s welfare. He cared for the people. He also had a very successful brewery in Gwangcheon. Il-seon and his family were very well-respected in the community because they were always looking after people. He was married with three children. He and Dong-yeob had no affiliation with the Communists, and they were not members of the NGL.

Dong-yeob was married with three children as well. He also had a brewery in

Chilpo and was a rich man. However, he was in a loveless marriage he wanted to get out of, but his wife would not comply. He moved to Seoul and turned to his mistress for comfort which was a common and accepted practice back then. He and his mistress started living together in a house. He rented out a room to a man who was a famous Olympian in Korea. Then Dong-yeob’s mistress started having an affair with 22

the Olympian as well, so Dong-yeob sent his mistress to Pohang. When Dong-yeob’s mistress moved to Pohang, she started having an affair with another man, Lee Sang- jo. Lee was not known for his kindness and was very jealous of the Jeong family. Out of concern for his brother, Il-seon went to Lee to stop him from having an affair with

Dong-yeob’s mistress. This decision to advocate for his brother cost him his life.

On October 8th, 1947, there was an attack on police stations by the Communist guerrillas. October 9th, police and army were ordered to subjugate the Communist guerrillas. On that same day, Il-seon was supposed to go on a picnic with his friends like he had regularly done. Having broken a leg at the brewery, he could not join his friends. He was home resting when Lee came calling on him during the lunch hour.

Lee called, “Hello, big brother,” a common way of calling someone older in Korea.

Il-seon came out to greet him with his broken leg. Out of anger and jealousy, Lee falsely accused Il-seon of being a Communist, and he brought the police with him.

He was fully aware of what would happen to Il-seon when he accused him. The police had Il-seon stand against an electric pole and executed him by shooting him in his head in front of people. Only for one day, the day after the police station attacks, there were random executions of supposed Communists. There were no executions the following day in that town. Il-seon was thirty-eight years old when he was killed.

Lee took advantage of Rhee’s insecurity and dire decisions by manipulating the faulty

NGL system to satisfy his need to avenge.

Seeking revenge for her husband’s affair, Dong-yeob’s wife became a police officer, and she ultimately made a decision that would kill Dong-yeob. In the summer 23

of 1949, she falsely accused her own husband of being a Communist and arrested him.

Dong-yeob was taken to Seodaemun Prison in his pajamas with no shoes. In January of 1950, his family was contacted that Dong-yeob passed away from illness in the prison, and his body needed to be retrieved. When Dong-yeob’s cousin went to pick up his body, he was scolded by a prison guard. He rebuked the cousin and Dong-yeob’s family for not even sending him any clothes or food to a great man like Dong-yeob.

Dong-yeob’s cousin was perplexed because Dong-yeob’s mother sent him food, money, and clothes regularly. Nothing reached him. Later, the family found out that it was

Dong-yeob’s wife who stopped all the goods from getting to him. She fully intended to afflict pain on her husband and eventually his death when she became a police officer.

When his body was picked up, Dong-yeob was still in the summer pajamas he was arrested in with no shoes. He was also thirty-eight years old when he died.

My great grandmother lived with Il-seon in Gwangcheon until Il-seon was killed. After Il-seon’s death, she took in Il-seon’s family and moved to Pohang. Fearing that the news of Dong-yeob’s passing would shock the mother, the family kept it from the mother for almost a year to the day of his death. When the family finally broke the news to the mother, she was completely heart-broken. Not being able to bear the pain, she refused to eat or drink. A week later, she passed away in 1951. Their decision to withhold this information may have influenced her death.55 24

CONCLUSION

Decisions have consequences that are both deliberate and unintentional.

Those decisions affect, not only the immediate people who are involved, but also their survivors and descendants for generations to come. This was the case in my own family. Rhee’s decision to persecute any opposition resulted in 100,000-300,000 deaths. His decision affected the outcome of my grand-uncles’ choices which ended in death. Because of what happened to my grand-uncles, their children have become anti-Communists and skeptical towards the Korean government. I have become skeptical towards any politicians and government.

Many victims’ families kept their silence out of fear, and there had not been much effort to console the victims and their families. In 2001, the U.S. government admitted their participation in the No Gun Ri incident, and President Bill Clinton expressed “deep regret” in a public statement.56 The Truth and Reconciliation

Commission of Korea are trying to mend the tragic past by investigating cases.

However, the pain is still there, and the tragic memory is still strong in their minds.

The evidence of the massacres are discovered time after time to remind us of the past.

Many witnesses and survivors were interviewed for a special television program regarding the NGL. Even after fifty years, they were still unable to speak freely about their experiences out of fear, deep pain, and sorrow. Some avoided having an interview entirely. Having been betrayed by own families, friends, and neighbors, it was evident that overcoming the grief and pain was unbearably difficult. The gruesome and 25

shocking things they witnessed was still fresh in their memories. Those who were able to share their stories, they spoke as it just happened yesterday.

What happened sixty years ago has been wrapped in silence. This has meant that the events–and the motives of the participants–were never examined. The purpose of my thesis is to document the past so that the deaths of not only my relatives, but also the hundreds of thousands of others will be meaningful to their descendants. Nothing is gained by secrecy, except further secrecy and misunderstanding. This involved opening the wounds of a painful time for my country and for my family. There are scars that have never healed and memories that are still difficult to talk about. Much was learned about my family as well as my country that had been hidden. My goal– my decision–was to uncover the terrible events of more than half a century ago so that my countrymen and my family could learn from the past. Then we will be able to move forward. LIST OF FIGURES REFERENCES

1. Photo by U.S. Army Major Abbott, July 1950.

2. Photograph by Faye Sizemore, October 2009.

3. Family photograph, 1933.

viii ix

1 The Association of Korean History Teachers, A Korean History for International Readers (Seoul, Humanist Publishing Group Inc, 2010), 251. 2 Ibid, 253. 3 Ibid, 275. 4 Ibid, 280. 5 Young Woo Han, A Review of Korean History, Vol. 3 (Pajubookcity, Korea: Kyongsaewon, 2010),180. 6 The Association of Korean History Teachers, A Korean History for International Readers, 277. 7 Ibid, 276. 8 Ibid, 279. 9 Ibid, 279. 10 Jae-Jung Suh, “Truth and Reconciliation in South Korea: Confronting War, Colonialism, and Intervention in the Asia Pacific,”Critical Asian Studies, (Routledge, 2010), 509. 11 The Association of Korean History Teachers, A Korean History for International Readers, 281.

12 “Newspaper from Liberation to 1960’s (해방 이후 1960년대까지 신문),” Yeojugun History (여주군사), accessed November 5, 2013, http://history.yj21.net/Theme/Theme.asp?BC_ID=f0010. 13 Ibid.

14 Song Ja Im, “The Rhee Sungman Administration’s Press Control (이승만 정권기 언론통제),” National Archives of Korea (국가기록원), accessed November 6, 2013, http://theme.archives.go.kr/next/pen/viewHistory.do. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 The Association of Korean History Teachers, A Korean History for International Readers, 282.

20 “National Security Law (국가보안법),” Lawyers for the Democratic Society National Security Law Archive (민변 국가보안법 자료실), accessed November 6, 2013, http://antinsl.jinbo.net/nsl_full_text_en.html.

21 Gi Jin Kim, Gukminbodoyeongmeng: Busan and Gyeongi Area (국민보도연맹: 부산 경기 지역) (Seoul: Yuksa Bipyeongsa (서울: 역사비평사), 2004), 21. 22 Ibid. 23 Khiem Do and Sung-soo Kim, “Crimes, Concealment and South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 2008, accessed September 12, 2013, http://japanfocus.org/-Kim-Sung_soo/2848.

24 Kim, Gukminbodoyeongmeng: Busan and Gyeongi Area (국민보도연맹: 부산 경기 지역), 49. 25 Ibid, 53. 26 Do and Kim, “Crimes, Concealment and South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. 27 Eric Struch, “Truth Commission reveals history of Korean War: U.S.-South Korea carried out massacres of civilians,” The International Action Center, 2008, accessed September 23, 2013, http://www.iacenter.org/korea/ skorea070608/. 28 “Family Tragedy Indicative of S. Korea Remaining Was Wounds,” The Hankyoreh, 2010, accessed September 12, 2013, http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/427055.html.

29 “The National Guidance League I (보도연맹 1),” Daum TV (Daum TV 팟), September 8, 2008, accessed November 11, 2013, http://tvpot.daum.net/clip/ClipView.do?clipid=10180990&rtes=y&startDuration=0. 30 Hamish McDonald, “South Korea Owns Up To Brutal Past,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 2008, accessed September 12, 2013, http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/south-korea-owns-up-to-brutal-past/2008/11/14/ 1226318928410.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1.

31 “The National Guidance League I (보도연맹 1),” Daum TV (Daum TV 팟). 32 Do and Kim, “Crimes, Concealment and South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. x

33 Hee-Kyung Suh, “Atrocities Before and During the Korean War: Mass Civilian Killings by South Korean and U.S. Forces,” Critical Asian Studies, 553-588 (Routledge, 2010), 559. 34 Sang-hun Choe, “Unearthing War’s Horrors Years Later in South Korea,” The New York Times, 2007, accessed September 23, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/world/asia/03korea.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. 35 McDonald, “South Korea Owns Up To Brutal Past,” The Sydney Morning Herald. 36 Ji-sook Bae, “Gov’t Killed 3,400 Civilians During War,” The Korea Times, 2009, accessed September 12, 2013, http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/03/113_40555.html. 37 McDonald, “South Korea Owns Up To Brutal Past,” The Sydney Morning Herald. 38 Ibid.

39 Kim, Gukminbodoyeongmeng: Busan and Gyeongi Area (국민보도연맹: 부산 경기 지역), 4. 40 Akira Kobayashi, “The Unknown Korean War: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea and Excavation of the Remains of Mass-Murdered Victims,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, 2010, accessed September 23, 2013, http:// www.japanfocus.org/-Kobayashi-Akira/3351. 41 Struch, “Truth Commission reveals history of Korean War: U.S.-South Korea carried out massacres of civilians,” The International Action Center. 42 Ibid. 43 Suh, “Atrocities Before and During the Korean War: Mass Civilian Killings by South Korean and U.S. Forces,” Critical Asian Studies, 553-588, 557. 44 Suh, “Truth and Reconciliation in South Korea: Confronting War, Colonialism, and Intervention in the Asia Pacific,”Critical Asian Studies, 518. 45 Charles J. Hanley, “No Gun Ri: Official Narrative and Inconvenient Truths,” Critical Asian Studies, 589-622 (Routledge, 2010), 590. 46 Suh, “Truth and Reconciliation in South Korea: Confronting War, Colonialism, and Intervention in the Asia Pacific,” Critical Asian Studies, 518. 47 Suh, “Atrocities Before and During the Korean War: Mass Civilian Killings by South Korean and U.S. Forces,” Critical Asian Studies, 553-588, 560. 48 Choe, “Unearthing War’s Horrors Years Later in South Korea,” The New York Times. 49 Jae-soon Chang, “Shooter grew ‘speechless’ at 1950 Korea killings,” USA Today, 2008, accessed September 26, 2013, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-05-18-1293882351_x.htm.

50 Kim, Gukminbodoyeongmeng: Busan and Gyeongi Area (국민보도연맹: 부산 경기 지역), 112. 51 Choe, “Unearthing War’s Horrors Years Later in South Korea,” The New York Times. 52 “Waiting for the Truth,” The Hankyoreh, 2007, accessed September 12, 2013, http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/ english_edition/e_national/218141.html. 53 “Family Tragedy Indicative of S. Korea Remaining Was Wounds,” The Hankyoreh. 54 Jang Yonhong, telephone call to author, September 1, 2013. 55 Jang, telephone call to author. Jeong Bunheng, telephone call to author, October 16, 2013. 56 Struch, “Truth Commission reveals history of Korean War: U.S.-South Korea carried out massacres of civilians,” The International Action Center. Bibliography

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