hankyoreh

Year of birth: 1955

Date of the massacre: Nov. 9, 1966 (solar calendar)

Description of the massacre: The South Korean soldiers came into our village. After searching all the houses, they rounded up the villagers and killed them. I barely managed to run away in the confusion. I was 11 years old at the time. While I managed to save my own skin, I watched at a distance as the Korean soldiers killed my relatives and my family, including my own mother.

My mother Hồ Thị Tư (31 years old at the time) was holding her youngest child in her arms. The Korean soldiers shot and killed her and the child. On that day, ten of my family members and relatives were killed. My mother; my three younger sisters Nguyễn Thị Hoa (9), Nguyễn Thị Rực (7) and Nguyễn Thị Rỡ (5); and even my grandmother Trần Thị Reo fell victim to the butchery.

The Korean soldiers seized as many of the villagers as they could find, gathered them together and slaughtered them. They had them assemble in a large air raid shelter and massacred them there with gunfire and hand grenades. When one of the old people they were taking with them couldn’t walk anymore, they shot him dead on the spot. Phạm Thị Phương, a resident of our village, lost his right leg and his left eye because of a grenade thrown by the Korean soldiers. He also sustained injuries on his left arm and leg. A total of 68 villagers were killed on that day, 47 of whom were women and children.

Since my mother and siblings had been killed in the massacre, I was a war orphan. Joining my maternal grandfather, I began working as a cowherd and was barely able to support myself. Life was hard, and for a long time I also dealt with anger and bitterness over the deaths of my mother and siblings. Craving revenge, I signed up for the army at the age of 18.

What I want from Korea: Even now, bitterness runs deep inside me. At the very least, the Korean government needs to apologize for killing many civilians, including my family. On a personal level, I’d like some financial support so I can rebuild the family grave.