Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Geckoman]

[Guri Guy]

SOUTH KOREA: Exposed South Korean Soldiers Massacred Vietnamese during Vietnam War

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

AHRC UA Index: 000224 24 February 2000
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UA 07/00: WAR CRIMES - civilians massacred

SOUTH KOREA: Exposed South Korean Soldiers Massacred Vietnamese during Vietnam War
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Last year, the Associated Press reports exposed that U.S soldiers massacred Korean civilians during the Korean War and the most documented of these killing happen in Nogunri. It is well known that Korean soldiers participated in Vietnam war from 1963 to 1973. Recently, a Korean newspaper exposed that Korean soldiers had massacred innocent vietnamese civilians. The Asian Human Rights Commission supports the initiative of the Peace Committee of Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS] in this appeal to seek justice for victims of war crimes.

The painful history of Nogunri's victims has been ignored for fifty years, but at last the facts have come to light. Recently it has come to our attention that during the Vietnam War Korean soldiers also conducted massacres of innocent civilians. Testimony of such slaughter of Vietnamese
civilians by Korean soldiers in Vietnam war was given in an article of the Korean weekly magazine Hankyoreh 21, titled "Remember Vietnam's Soul".

Currently, discussion of these massacres has become a prominent issue in the Vietnamese media.

Korean soldiers participated in the Vietnam war from 1963 to 1973. They killed approximately 41,400 of the enemy. However, an unknown number of ordinary Vietnamese people tragically lost their lives as well. The Ministry of Culture and Communication of Vietnam has publicly estimated that the number of innocent victims killed in the provinces like QUANG NGAI, QUANG NAM, and BINH DINH was approximately 5,000 people. It was reported that most Vietnamese people have not forgotten the shock of the
massacres yet and the mental anguish of the survivors have had serious and had lasting effects.

The Korean citizens participated in various campaigns on massacres in Vietnam; writing cards to apology through the coordination of KHIS and collecting contributions with Hankyoreh 21 to build schools and hospitals in Vietnam in districts that suffered the most damage. Through these
activities, they have asked Vietnamese pardon of past crimes committed by Korean soldiers.

The Korean public opinion on this issue is shown below:

1. The real facts of the massacre should be publicly revealed 66.3%
2. There is a need to dispatch a fact-finding mission 66.9%
3. The Korean government should make a public apology and provide compensation to Vietnamese victims 77.9%

*source: Hankyoreh survey

Nonetheless,the Korean government has avoided addressing this matter at all. "Nogunri massacre" during the Korean War and "Vietnamese Civilians Massacre" during the Vietnam War are representative cases of the twentieth century in which Korea was at one time a victim, and at another, an oppressor.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:
We are requesting yourself and your organization's support in solidarity to seek justice for victims of massacres in Vietnam. The statement below supports efforts to persuade the Korean government to:

* establish a fact-finding mission
* issue a public apology to the Vietnamese victims of the massacres.

Place your name and Organistion, endorsing the statement below and send it to KHIS. The statemen will be published in the Hankyoreh Newspaper with the list of supporters.

SEND TO:

Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS)
Fax: 822-3673-5627
E-mail address: <[email protected]>
<[email protected]>

http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2000/366/

They say 5,000 here as an estimate. I have seen 30,000 on other sources but I can't locate them at the moment. So, I'll have to revise that to 5,000 until I can find them.

Another link for you:

http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=e17768f0425c1625fbfdc2a2d6f5726c

Another link:

Early this week, there was a report about the alleged massacre committed by the Korean infantry unit in a village of Binh Dinh province in Central Vietnam coastal area. The report was made by Ms Ku Su-jeong who is working for the Hankyere newspaper in Seoul. She heard the story when she was visiting a village in Binh Dinh where the Vietnam Communist Party government had erected a monument in memory of 1,004 victims allegedly massacred by the South Korean troops during the 6-week operation in February 1966 in Binh Khe district, the place now called Tay Son district. The local authorities told her that the victims included 380 villagers who were killed in one day.

http://www.vietquoc.com/jan15-00.htm

South Korea needs to own up to it's own brutality. I heard President Roh apologized to Vietnam but they have refused to pay any compensation. Korea used comfort women in the Korean War and Vietnamese war. I will dig up some links later. Cheers.

[contrarian]

30,000 in ten years The Japs manged 300,000 in a few days in Nanking.

The Korean Marines also startedthe ear collection thing in Viet nam.

Nogun-ri was a disaster. Panicky badly lead troops in a bad situation. Some Canadian troops near Caen did the same thing in wwII.

*beep* happens.

[cbclark4]

The 30,000 number is unsupported by any evidence.

The 5,000 number may have some credibility,
that would be a about 12% collateral casualties.

The ear collecting was started as a way to conduct body counts.
The VC did not wear dog tags.
The practice did not last long as a systemic practice.
Personal "ear collections" were rare.

Yep, maybe a little disgusting
but no more brutal than how we deploy
the dog tags in our own dead.

Have you ever seen that notch in the dog tag?
Ask yourself why it is there.

[djsmnc]

Some Marines are cool. Some are just way out of their gourds. I think it's the really indoctrinated young ones that are the most dangerous. Doesn't matter what country they're from.

[cbclark4]

The Korean villagers stated that on July 25, 1950, U.S. soldiers
evacuated approximately 500 to 600 villagers from their homes in
Im Gae Ri and Joo Gok Ri. The villagers said the U.S. soldiers escorted
them towards the south. Later that evening, the American soldiers led
the villagers near a riverbank at Ha Ga Ri and ordered them to
stay there that night. During the night, the villagers witnessed a long
parade of U.S. troops and vehicles moving towards Pusan.

On the morning of July 26, 1950, the villagers continued south along the
Seoul-Pusan road. According to their statements, when the villagers
reached the vicinity of No Gun Ri, U.S. soldiers stopped them at a
Roadblock and ordered the group onto the railroad tracks, where the
soldiers searched them and their personal belongings. The
Koreans state that, although the soldiers found no prohibited items
(such as weapons or other military contraband), the soldiers ordered
an air attack upon the villagers via radio communications with U.S.
aircraft. Shortly afterwards, planes flew over and dropped bombs and
fired machine guns, killing approximately 100 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 the larger double tunnels nearby (this report
subsequently refers to these tunnels as the �double railroad overpass�).
The Koreans state that the U.S. soldiers then fired into both ends of the
tunnels over a period of four days (July 26-29, 1950), resulting in approximately 300 additional deaths.


http://www.army.mil/nogunri/

[cbclark4]

NoGun-Ri may in all been cause by crossfire between US Troops and NKPD.

The overnight activity as described was typical combat skirmishing.

The air activity, was support against advancing armor.

The witnesses saw aircraft and then explosions.

There is no telling whether the explosion was from a bomb or a tank shell.

I would think if it was the intention of the soldiers to mow down the refugees they would have done it right there on the tracks.

The Tunnel or underpass situation would appear to have been cross-fire. There are no forensics available that show only US bullets injured or killed these refugees.

The refugees were not in contact with the same soldiers throughout their journey.

Still the same quite tragic.

Read the report.

http://www.army.mil/nogunri/

[itaewonguy]

difference is, the Americans have appoligized and stated it was a mistake
dont remember Korea coming forward and saying sorry for Vietnam or all the other things they have done.. Koreans LOve to point the finger! but NEVER admit they did anything wrong.. japanese and Koreans are very similar and korea gets angry when japan doesnt admit their crimes!
hahahahaha

[Guri Guy]

It's true Itaewonguy. They are more similar than they think or would like to admit. I admire Vietnam anyway. They don't live in the past and they move on.

Anyway, the 20th century was very brutal all around. Let's hope the 21st century can be better. My desire is for all nations to band together and really explore space. We are literally fighting over crumbs here on earth.