Typhoon Rusa Exposes a Korean War Massacre Kept Secret for 52 Years.

["ysk" <ysk@kimsoft.com>]

Typhoon Rusa Exposes a Korean War Massacre Kept Secret for 52 Years.
South Korean police in army uniforms did the killing at Yuhyang-ri, Masan

Source: '??'? ??? '50? ?? ?' ?? "???? ???? ???"

A few days after the Korean War started on June 25, 1950, the South Korean
police murdered a large number of Korean civilians in the mountains near
Masan.  The victims were buried in hidden mass graves.  In the past, there
were only rumors of these massacres, but the recent Typhoon #15, Rusa, has
exposed the grisly evidence of the civilians killed and buried so many
decades ago.

Photo: Remains of the massacre victims, stacked like fire wood, were exposed
by Typhoon Rusa - as if the Mother Nature wanted justice done.

The remains were uncovered on a small pepper farm field on a mountain slope
near Yuhyang-ri. The victims had been in a hidden mass grave for 52 years.
The 52-year old owner of the pepper farm, a Mr. Park, and his wife made the
discovery when they went to tend their farm early in the morning of
September 4th, 2002.

To their utter disbelief and astonishment, they saw a white gourd dipper and
small white objects, too white to be bleached wood, beneath the red peppers.
The moment he saw the white objects, Mr. Park recalled the story he had
heard in his childhood - the story of 200 or so suspected leftists shot and
buried near his village. He rushed to the village office to inform of his
discovery. Thus the rumor of a mass murder has become an undeniable fact.

200+ victims' remains see the light for the first time in 52 years

The scene of the mass grave was hard to view without getting overwhelmed
with strong emotions. The skeletons were all over and appeared to be trying
to tell us the story of their unjust death.

Photo: The village chief and the myon chief make an offering to the victims'
spirits.

 The remains were stacked in neat rows like so many chords of firewood.
They had remained undisturbed for 52 years - they looked as if they were
stacked there only yesterday.

Among the remains was a tiny skull, about the size of a cigarette box, of an
infant or an embryo. Although some villagers claim that the infant's skull
may be from a child's grave nearby, the location and condition of the skull
leave no doubt that the infant was killed at the time of the massacre or
even worse, the infant may have been buried alive.

Photo: A skull no bigger than a cigarette box was found at the site. It may
be that the infant was buried alive.

Some months ago, at another mass murder site at Guhchang, a skeleton of a
young child was found with his elementary school badge and name tag. The
Korean police were not beyond killing young innocent children and the
discovery of the infant's skull is no surprise. The police did not hesitate
to shoot infants being carried on their mother's back.  The seven sets of
remains uncovered so far were carefully removed by the villagers from their
cold dark mass graves; they saw the blue warm skies of the early Fall for
the first time in 52 years.

Typhoon Ruso has brought much destruction and devastation to the rest of the
nation - but it had a silver lining as well; it has brought to light a crime
against humanity committed and hidden for so many decades.  Had it not been
for Ruso, this horrible crime might have never been exposed.

Who were the victims?
According to the villagers, several trucks loaded with about 200 civilians
arrived at Yuhyang-ri soon after the war began.  They were shot and buried
in mass graves at Santai-gol and Toduk-gol. It is believed that some 2,000
inmates from the Jinju and Masan prisons were brought to the Yuhyang-ri and
Yuhyang-san region and killed.  Typhoon Rusa has yielded material evidence
for this crime - which has been only a rumor until now.  It is believed that
there are several mass graves in this area.  The Yuhyang-ri site is believed
to contain about 200 remains.

An old villager told the story of a young man, who had managed to survive
the massacre, only to be arrested next day and shot. This unfortunate young
man was forced to dig his own grave before he was killed.

Photo: Park Jin Gyu, 80, one of the few witnesses still living, recalls the
massacre.

Mr. Park and his wife are a dirt-poor farming couple of the village.  They
have a tiny patch of land some 100 m from the grave site exposed by Typhoon
Ruso.  Their crop was ravaged by Ruso.  The reporters found the couple
picking up what was left of their crop after the storm.

Reporters: When was the massacre?

Park: It was right after the 38th Parallel came down - June or early July, I
believe.  It rained 'dog and cat' in those days.

Reporters: Where is the massacre place?

Park:  At the Sntai-gol and Toduk-gol valleys, both have been leveled since
then. Korean police in army uniforms shot the victims and then asked us to
bury them.

Reporters: Did you see the victims before they were shot?

Park: Yes.  They were brought here in four trucks. The victims were seated
huddled in the middle of the trucks. Two armed police guarded the prisoners
on each truck. After they arrived, the victims were ordered to stand up and
get off the trucks. The police mercilessly beat repeatedly those who were
slow getting up with rifle butts.

Reporters: How come they couldn't get up?

Park: Their arms were tied behind their backs. How could they get up fast?

Reporters: How many were there and what time did they get here?

Park: From 1 pm to 2 pm. The police said there were about 200 prisoners.

Reporter: Do you remember where they came from?

Park: I heard later that they came from Jinju.

Reporters: Any survivors?

Park: Yes, there were three survivors. I know one of them well.

Photo: The site where a Mr. Yu was shot and buried.  Yu managed to survive
the massacre, only to be caught and shot next day. He was turned in by the
villagers.  Park fed Yu his last meal and buried him.

Reporters: Please tell us more.

Park: I believe it was in the evening of the massacre. One survivor hid in a
house by the elementary school but the villagers told the police on him. The
police caught him next day and shot him.  I was there to bury him.

Reporters: How did you happen to be there?

Park: The day after the massacre, I was ordered by a policeman to prepare
and bring a lunch to a field.  When I went there, Yu was already there.  He
was a tall man in his 20s.  The policemen told me that Yu was about to die
and that he deserved to eat his last meal.  Yu was quite an extraordinary
man.

Reporters: Why?

Park: Well, few people can eat knowing that they would be killed soon. But
Yu gulped the food down with no problem. After his last meal, the policeman
asked Yu if he had anything to say.  Yu said: "I don't regret my death but I
feel sorry for the people who will be joining me in one hundred years from
now. My only regret is that I must die at a strange place far from my home.
I am the sole son of three generations of my family tree and so, do not
shoot me in the face." After which, he shouted "Long live the Korean
People's Democratic Republic!" three times and jumped into the hole he dug
himself.  The police shot him and Yu died still after a few convulsions.

Reporters: Do you know anything more about the police and Yu?

Park: Yes.  Yu's father was a barber and the policeman's last name was Roh.

Reporters: Any women or children among the victims?

Park: No. The victims were mostly healthy men.

Reporters: Has any of the victims' relatives come here?

Park: Yes. About 2-3 years after the war ended, some women and children came
and cried at the burial sites.  I believe they came back about two years
ago.