Excavating a Horror That Some Koreans Wish Would Stay Buried

[soryang]

Excavating a Horror That Some Koreans Wish Would Stay Buried

By Choe Sang-Hun New York Times
July 5, 2019

Under the liberal government of President Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea established its Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2005 to investigate civilian massacres during the war. The commission eventually confirmed widespread extrajudicial mass executions of unarmed civilians across South Korea by its own police and military, as well as by right-wing villagers.

When it started excavating the killing sites in 2007, Mr. Park was asked to lead the efforts.

Mr. Park’s team quickly uncovered the long-suppressed horror: skeletal remains stacked one on top of another, with hands still tied and bullet holes in the skulls. They corroborated witness accounts of the police making victims crouch in trenches before shooting them in the head. Children’s bones were found with toy marbles.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/world/asia/korean-war-vigilante-killings.html

It's amazing that the Times article doesn't mention the role of the Japanese colonial administration nor the role of their collaborators left in positions of authority in South Korea during the US military occupation. Also the omission of the word "South" from the title of the story which should be "Excavating a Horror That Some South Koreans Wish Would Stay Buried."

Much of the brutality and atrocities described in the article are similar to the social and political dynamics of the Tonghak rebellion period in the late 19th Century when the Japanese military dominance of Korea began. The Tonghak rebellion period is portrayed in the current South Korean historical drama Noktu Flower. To this day, conservative politicians are often viewed as chin-il, (friendly to Japan) and liberal or left politicians are still criticized as jong buk (servants of the north or communists). This sub text is always present in South Korean politics.

[soryang]

1. the Hangyoreh has an English language web archive of April 3 Jeju Island massacre accounts

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/jeju43

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the April 3 Uprising and Massacre in Jeju. A tragedy of contemporary South Korean history, the event had an estimated death toll between 25,000 and over 30,000 – representing 10% of Jeju Island’s population at the time. The Special Act on the Jeju April 3 Incident blandly defines it as “an incident extending from March 1, 1947, through the turbulence that erupted on April 3, 1948, and on to September 21, 1954, in which residents were killed due to armed clashes and suppression tactics.” But it was a tragedy of contemporary South Korean history, and the scars remain to this day. For close to 50 years, the massacre remained a taboo topic...