May 4 - 20, 1951 - A large number of N Korean POWs arrive. They start to build a huge POW camp on the opposite side of the island. All day long the POWs load sands and pebbles on US Army trucks. Several hundred acres of rice fields are filled in for the camp. I look at every POW per chance to find a friend or a relative. One day, I thought I found my father - but it was a false alarm.
Some refugees do find relatives but the US MP's do not allow any contact. The POWs construct four huge barbed wire enclosures, each of which encloses eight compounds. Some 130,000 Korean prisoners and 20,000 Chinese POWs move in.
May 31, 1951 - US feels out Yakov Malik, the Russian ambassador to UN, for truce talks in Korea. The Soviets are positively interested but Malik recommends that US should deal directly with Mao and Kim Ilsung.
Photo: Civilian internees and female POW's at Koje-do
June. 10, 1951 - Kojedo POW Camps: I am employed as an English translator at the POW camp. A compound consists of 30 to 40 tents, each tent housing 30-60 POWs. Each compound is enclosed by high wire fence with watch towers here and there. The entrance is guarded by 5 to 6 US soldiers. Communist officers are isolated from soldiers. Chinese POW's are separated from N Korean POWs.
There are camps for "civilian internees" - those S Koreans who joined the Korean militia. Female POWs are segregated from male POWs. Each camp is run by the POWs themselves, but communist cadres manage to set 'under-tent' tunnels to control the whole camp.
Officially, Senior Col. Lee Hak Ku is the ranking N Korean POW. Lee was chief of staff of the People's Army 13th Division. On Sept. 21, 1950, Col. Lee walked over to a group of American GI's in sleep and said in fluent English - 'Hello, I surrender, do not shoot!' to the startled Americans. He was ordered to surrender and to organize POWs into effective rear-area "resurrected" Korean People's Army.
Lee was a school teacher before the liberation; he joined the People's Army in 1946. By the time the war broke out, he was a senior colonel (equivalent to an American brigadier general) and chief of staff of the 13th Infantry Division, commanded by Gen. Choe Yong Jin. Choe's incompetence decimated the 13th. At the time of his surrender, the 13th was down to less than 3,000 men, mostly conscripts from South Korea. On the day he surrendered, Choe ordered an all all-out suicide attack on the American line. Lee claimed that he shot Gen. Choe and ordered his men to retreat as best they could.
Unofficially, the ranking POW is Gen. Park Sang Hyon who let himself captured disguised as a private - Jeon Moon Il. Park was an anti-Japanese partisan in Kapsan (my birthplace). He was sent by Kim Il Sung to organize POWs. Col. Lee acts as chief spokesman for the POWs but Gen. Park issues the orders. N Korean agents land at Koje and smuggle weapons and secret instructions from Pyongyang. The N Korean POWs are calling themselves "the reborn" People's Army.
POWs are issued GI uniforms with a large 'POW' in white painted on the back. The POWs modify GI caps into N Korean army caps complete insignia made from cans. The POWs march and exercise as of they were in their regular barracks. They are fed three square meals a day - white rice, meat and vegetables; much better than what the S Korean troops get. All meals are prepared by the POWs themselves. The POWs are pressed into work details digging canals, emptying latrines (contents are carried in 'honey' buckets and buried on the beach) and other 'busy' work.
Female POWs are allowed to keep their babies with them. It is surprising to see so many kids and pregnant women in the camp. The guards claim that male and female POWs copulate through the barbed wire fences. A more likely story is that since most female POWs work as nurses in male POW 'sick' tents, they have plenty of opportunity to be alone with a male POW or a guard.
The Chinese POWs behave quite differently. Whereas the N Koreans do military marches singing the People's Army anthem or Kim Il Sung songs, the Chinese play more artistic songs using musical instruments. They don't do any military march or exercise. The Chinese are more keen on fine tuning their singing or dancing skills than martial arts. Another difference is that many Chinese POW camps fly Chiang's QMT national flag!
Five of my former comrades of the Student Volunteers Army have been working at the camp site (The US CIC has an office here) since January of 1951. I am happy to be reunited with them. They share a tiny room rented from a farmer with two Chinese agents from Taiwan. The agents handle the Chinese POWs. They are fluent in English and Japanese. They say that the Japanese treated Formosans fairly and that they miss the Japanese colonials. It is obvious that these Chinese are Jap lovers.
My work consists of translating POW profiles (name, address, unit designation, educational background, etc.) into English. There are about 15 of us. Our office is an army tent and we share it with American GI's who edit our English. POWs are brought in 15 (one per translator) at a time and fill out a standard form in Korean. We are popular with the refugees looking to see if any of their relatives are POW's. We are not allowed to look through the files but we manage to locate POW relatives now and then. The relatives bring food and family news to us and we smuggle them to the POWs.
American GI's cuss, kick and mistreat the POWs. It is painful to watch our fellow Koreans treated like animals by foreigners - but there is not much we can do. We are treated no better than the POWs. GI's love to play dirty tricks on the gooks. They would throw down a cigarette butt on the floor when a POW is close by. Some POWs stoop down, pick up the butt and puff on it. The GI's take photos and laugh. Another popular trick is to leave candy bars or other tempting items around. When a poor soul grabs it, the GI's pounce on him - "We caught this gook stealing this or that."
June 23, 1951 - United Nations: Soviet ambassador Malik announces that "the Soviet people believe that, as a first step, discussions should be started among the belligerents for a cease-fire and an armistice providing for mutual withdrawal from the 38th parallel." Two days later, Radio Peking announces that China supports Malik's proposal.
June 29, 1951 - Tokyo: Gen. Ridgway sends a radio message to Kim Il Sung:
"As Commander in Chief of the United Nations Command I have been instructed to communicate to you the following: I am informed that you may wish a meeting to discuss an armistice providing for the cessation of hostilities and all acts of armed force in Korea, with adequate guarantees for the maintenance of such armistice.
Upon the receipt of word from you that such a meeting is desired I shall be prepared to name my representative. I would also at that time suggest a date at which he could meet with your representative. I propose that such a meeting could take place aboard a Danish hospital ship in Wonsan harbor."
Photo: N Korean POW's - sub-humans not much more than beasts?
July 2, 1951 - Radio Peking broadcasts Kim Il Sung's response:
"We are authorized to tell you that we agree to suspend military activities and to hold peace negotiations, and that our delegates will meet with yours. We suggest, in regard to the place for holding talks, that such talks be held at Kaeson, on the 38th parallel. If you agree to this, our delegates will be prepared to meet your delegates between July 10 and 15, 1951."
July 8, 1951 - A North Korean female officer Capt. Kim Sung Ja meets US AF Col. Andrew Kinney in an open field - the very first peaceful encounter between the two enemies. The two officers work out detailed protocols for the first full meeting of the two warring armies - who, how and when are spelled out and agreed to in advance.
Photo: Captain Kim and Col. Kinney
The first truce talk is held at Kaesong on July 10, 1951. The communist side is represented by North Korean generals - Nam Il, Li Sang Cho, Chang Pyong San and Chinese generals - Xie Fang (Peng's chief-of-staff) and Deng Hua. Gen. Nam Il is the delegation chief.
Nam Il was born on June 5, 1913 in Russia to a poor Korean farmer. He attended Smolensk Military School and a Russian college in Tashkent. He was chief of staff of a Soviet Army division at end of WW2. Nam died in bed on March 7, 1976.
Li Sang Cho became ambassador to the USSR after the war and took asylum when his Yanan group was purged for pushing collective leadership.
Chang Pyong San, a Yanan general, was also purged.
The other side is represented by Adm. Joy and other military brass including a Korean "associate", Gen. Paek Sun Yup, the commander of ROKA 1st Division.
Rhee Syngman and some elements of MacArthur supporters try to sabotage the talks. US planes "mistakenly" strafe Kaesong, convoys carrying the communist negotiating team, and armed raids across the cease-fire lines. American planes bomb Dadong in Manchuria. The CIA steps up covert operations in China and US aids to Chiang Kai Sek start flowing again. These activities succeed in derailing the talks.
Photo: N Korean and Chinese delegates
August 1951 - The truce talks go on at an agonizingly slow pace. Ground actions and US bombing raids intensify. For the first time, Russian and East European communist allies send military personnel to aid N Korea. Russians man anti-aircraft guns, coastal defense batteries, communications and counter-espionage. Russian pilots fly Mig's. East Europeans man hospitals, security and other rear area duties. The communists strength is over 700,000.
October 1951 - US B29 bombers carry out simulated A-bomb attacks, code-named "Operation Hudson River", on major cities in N Korea. The bombers drop dummy atomic bombs all real except for the explosives. This is intended more a psychological than tactical. It is hoped to keep N Korean leaders guessing when the real thing would come. To counter this challenge, the communists expand their air capabilities to 4,000 planes manned by Chinese, Korean and Russian pilots. On the ground, they dig 776 miles of tunnels, 3,427 miles of trenches - formidable fortifications that will withstand atomic bombs.
Oct. 25, 1951 - The truce talks resume at Panmunjom. POWs are split into pro- and anti-Communist factions and start killing each other. S Korean agents are inserted into POW camps to identify communist leaders who are then eliminated by the guards on various pretexts. Some 6,000 POWs die in camps. Many die in the most cruel ways imaginable - sharp stakes pushed into the anus, beaten to death, suffocated to death, hanged, etc. Bodies are buried under the tents.
Jan. 21, 1952 - My career at the POW camp comes to an abrupt end. All translators have to wear US GI fatigues and the army cap. As we enter our office tent, we leave our cap on a table. The American GI's do the same. All caps look alike. I make the mistake of picking up a wrong cap. The GI's set up a trap for me and I am caught in their trap. They accuse me of stealing the cap and I am fired on the spot.
