Sinchon Massacre

The location of South Hwanghae Province.

The location of Sinchon in South Hwanghae Province.

The Sinchon Massacre (Korean: 신천 양민학살 사건,^[1] Hanja: 信川良民虐殺事件,^[1] Sinchon civilian Massacre^[1]) was a mass murder of civilians alleged by North Korean sources to have been committed primarily by South Korean military forces under allowance from the U.S. Military between 17 October and 7 December 1950,^[1] in or near the town of Sinchon (currently part of South Hwanghae Province, North Korea). The event place during the second phase of the Korean War and the retreat of the DPRK government from Hwanghae Province.

North Korean claim

North Korean sources claim that approximately 35,000 people were killed by American military forces and other supporters during the course of 52 days, which would have been about a quarter of the population of Sinchon.^[3] Jack Willey of The Militant claimed that according to "Ri Song Jin, a witness to the massacre, imperialist forces tortured many Korean patriots in the basement of the Sinchon church at the beginning of the occupation, then buried the dead and near-dead bodies in a trench.^[4]" The Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities was established in 1958 and displays remains and belongings of those who are claimed to have been killed in the incident.^[5] Kim Jong-il visited the museum in 1998, and Kim Jong-un visited in November 2014 to "strengthen the anti-U.S. lessons for our military and people... and to powerfully unite the 10 million soldiers and people in the battle against the United States".^[6] In July 2015, Kim Jong-un visited again with senior military official Hwang Pyong-so, revealing a major expansion of the Sinchon massacre museum.^[7]

NGO claims

In a report prepared in Pyongyang, the non-governmental but allegedly Communist-affiliated International Association of Democratic Lawyers lists several alleged incidents of mass murder by U.S. soldiers in Sinchon,^[8] alongside claims that the American troops had beheaded up to 300 North Koreans using Japanese samurai swords and that the US Air Force was using bacteriological warfare in Korea.^[9]:156 Relying on oral testimony from North Koreans, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers report claims that the Sinchon massacre was overseen by a General Harrison or Halison, an apparent reference to William Kelly Harrison, who they allege personally conducted many atrocities. Their report claims that Harrison took photos of the massacre. There is no evidence to confirm their testimony, and Harrison was reportedly shocked by the claim.^[10] Other reports also concluded there was no Harrison in the area at the time, and that it was either a pseudonym or a false claim.^[11]

According to Dong-Choon Kim, a former Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Sinchon massacre was carried out by "right-wing security police and a youth group."^[12] Sunghoon Han also states that "right-wing security units" were responsible for the killings.^{[9]:157–158, 166–167} South Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong's "The Guest," based on interviews with a Korean Christian pastor, also addresses the Sinchon massacre.^[9]:153

Further reading

• Jong-yil Ra "Governing North Korea. Some Afterthoughts on the Autumn of 1950". Journal of Contemporary History Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul., 2005), pp. 521–546 doi:10.1177/0022009405054570

See also

• List of massacres in North Korea
• List of massacres in South Korea
• Massacre in Korea, a painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the Sinchon massacre
• Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities

References