Family tragedy indicative of S.Korea’s remaining war wounds

Posted on : 2010-06-23 12:11 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Kim Gwang-ho is waiting for the government to apologize for state crimes committed against his father and grandfather
 the president of the National Korean War Surviving Family Members’ Association shows a picture of his grandfather and father’s documents at his home.
 
the president of the National Korean War Surviving Family Members’ Association shows a picture of his grandfather and father’s documents at his home.  

As he told his story, fifty-eight-year-old Kim Gwang-ho’s eyes became bloodshot. “When I look back the lives of my late grandfather and father, all I can do is sigh,” he said.

The tragedy experienced by Kim’s family could be called a condensed version of modern Korean history, going from the violation of national sovereignty and Liberation to war and on to military dictatorship. His great-grandfather, Kim Jong-il (b. 1861, date of death unknown), was a wealthy man in the Gimhae region. When a severe drought struck the region in the late 19th century, he used his own fortune to aid the people, earning him a commendation from Emperor Gojong.

His son Jeong-tae (1895-1950, awarded a National Medal in 1990) suffered through a prison sentence after taking part in the March 1 Independence Movement. The official record of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) states that Kim Jeong-tae “distributed Taegeukgi flags and manifestos to the crowd and held a Manse demonstration on a market day at Jinyeong Village, Hagye Township” in Gimhae County, now Gimhae City. The record also notes, “For this crime, he was given a one-year, six-month sentence by the Daegu Court of Review and endured the hardship of imprisonment.”

But the ministry’s record is silent regarding Kim Jeong-tae’s death. In June 1949, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War, independence activists were accused of being members of the Bodo Yeonmaeng, (National Guard Alliance), a “re-education” body where leftist sympathizers were assigned on the pretext of protecting them from execution. The activists were subjected to arrest and eventual execution.

In March of 1946, the year after Liberation, pro-Japanese and right-wing forces (Daechang Citizens’ School) held separate March 1 commemoration events from the nationalist and left-wing forces (Jinyeong Middle School) in Jinyeong Village. Kim Gwang-ho’s grandfather, an independence activist and man of high repute in the region, naturally gravitated toward the Jinyeong Middle School side, a decision that earned him the hatred of local right-wing forces.

When the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, preliminary detentions began for all Bodo Yeonmaeng members across the nation. While Kim Gwang-ho’s grandfather was not a member, it is presumed that he was singled out by right-wing youths, who dragged him off and executed him at Nabat Ridge in Saengnim Township, Gimhae County.

“My grandfather was a nationalist who took part in the March 1 movement, and he had no connection with the Bodo Yeonmaeng,” said Kim Gwang-ho. “I think there were a lot of massacres that took place out of personal enmity amid the chaos of war.”

At the time, however, South Korea was under the iron-fisted rule of the Rhee Syngman dictatorship. Kim’s father Yeong-uk (1923-2005) had nowhere to turn for help. After he spent about a decade living like a dead man, the world changed with the revolution of April 19, 1960. At around the same time, people began clamoring for an investigation into the massacres of innocent people that took place in locations such as Geochang, North Gyeongsang Province.

In Gimhae as well, some had voiced the belief that the remains of those killed in connection with the Bodo Yeonmaeng incident should be gathered and buried.

“My father, who was well off, was made ‘director of the funeral committee for the good citizens slaughtered in the Gimhae-Changwon region,’ and paid for digging up the remains,” Kim explained. Some 272 bodies were found, but only one of them was identified: Kim’s grandfather, who had a gold-capped tooth. Kim’s father began taking part in earnest in investigative activities as secretary-general for the National Association of Surviving Family Members of Innocent Massacre Victims.

But the “spring of 1960” came to a close a year later when the military coup took place on May 16, 1961.

“I remember the day my father was carried off like it was yesterday,” said Kim. “I was hiding in Busan’s Yeongdo District with him after the arrest order was issued.” The detectives leapt up on the floor of the one-room rental unit and began blindly beating Kim’s father, yelling insults and saying, “Do you know what a tough time we had trying to catch you?” At the time, Kim was a second grader in elementary school. Decades later, he still has a clear memory of the black combat boots the detective was wearing.

Kim’s father was charged with “special anti-state activity” in violation of Article 6 of the Special Act for Punishment of Special Crimes, which was hastily enacted after the May 16 coup. The verdict left behind by the revolutionary court (military tribunal) at the time stated, “In the national emergency situation of war... in spite of the inevitable sacrifice of left-wing elements in situations such as the Bodo Yeonmaeng incident... should a controversy be generated due to activities by surviving family associations and other groups, not only will ordinary citizens feel skepticism about the national policy of anti-Communism, but popular sentiments will also deviate from government policy.”

When Kim’s father asked the prosecutor, “What crime is it to bury my father’s remains?” the prosecutor reportedly replied, “It is a crime to bury Reds.” In January 1962, Kim’s father was sentenced to seven years in prison by the revolutionary court, and he was released two years and seven months later.

After that, Kim’s family began to collapse. The released father, perhaps because of the aftereffects of torture, was unable to do difficult work. Kim and most of his seven brothers and sisters were unable to attend high school. One older sister was divorced for being from a “Red family.” The pain continued for another decade afterwards. Whenever any espionage incident took place, large or small, Kim’s father was dragged off and returned half-dead.

“We get a call from some place at the market merchants’ association where we worked,” Kim recalled. “They say, ‘He’s out.’ So the whole family takes a taxi from Busan’s Oncheonjang to Nampo-dong and races over. We find our father sprawled out somewhere in the harbor, wrapped in a straw mat. We went through that more than twenty times.”

In his later years, Kim’s father took on the role of president of the National Surviving Family Association for the Investigation of Civilian Massacres and worked feverishly to create the Framework Act on Clearing up Past Incidents for Truth and Reconciliation. In May 2004, he attended a memorial to mark the 24th anniversary of the Gwangju democratization struggle. He fell down on a staircase and lost consciousness.

“Even after he entered a vegetative state, I would say ‘Father, they said the Framework Act passed,’ and he would grip my hand tightly and let out a moan,” Kim said.

Kim’s father passed away on Dec. 1, 2005, the day the Framework Act was passed by the National Assembly.

The year 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Kim is now preparing for another struggle.

“I would like to hear a true apology for the things the state did to my grandfather and father,” he said.

The injustices suffered by many have been resolved with the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRCK), but the state does not appear to have yet comforted the wounded hearts of the people of South Korea. Kim has followed in his father’s footsteps to become president of the National Korean War Surviving Family Members’ Association.

“What meaning is there in the 60th anniversary of the Korean War when they just set off fireworks without any true reconciliation?” he asked.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

 

 

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