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Hello, Grace -
I am not sure I can help you on the specific information you want. I am a Korean War veteran, but I was not in Korea during the war. The issue of civilian massacres is interesting because it is rarely discussed. I believe the figure of 1 million plus Koreans were killed in the 37 months of the war. Many of the civilians were just in the way of the war and suffered as a result. Some of the killings were a result of the political power shifts as the North Koreans came south early in the war and as power shifts occurred in the South. Therefore, you had North Koreans killing South Koreans through mistrust and you had South Koreans killing South Koreans as the central government shifted back and forth early in the war. Nearly all of this horror was due to mistrust as the political spectrum shifted back and forth. Blame is hard to pinpoint. I read a book recently where this issue was discussed in length, but I have forgotten the author's name (it was a she). And then, there was the war and the South Koreans suffered badly there because they were ill-prepared for war. American casualties were high in the first year of the war for the same reason. The North Koreans and Chinese (who entered the war later) really had high casualties and this, in part, was a reason for the truce talks. All told, it was a very brutal conflict and, although we Americans talk about Americans losses a lot, the number of civilian (Korean) losses is staggering.
Les Bishop, Commander, Antietam Chapter 312, Korean War Veterans Association
I am not sure I can help you on the specific information you want. I am a Korean War veteran, but I was not in Korea during the war. The issue of civilian massacres is interesting because it is rarely discussed. I believe the figure of 1 million plus Koreans were killed in the 37 months of the war. Many of the civilians were just in the way of the war and suffered as a result. Some of the killings were a result of the political power shifts as the North Koreans came south early in the war and as power shifts occurred in the South. Therefore, you had North Koreans killing South Koreans through mistrust and you had South Koreans killing South Koreans as the central government shifted back and forth early in the war. Nearly all of this horror was due to mistrust as the political spectrum shifted back and forth. Blame is hard to pinpoint. I read a book recently where this issue was discussed in length, but I have forgotten the author's name (it was a she). And then, there was the war and the South Koreans suffered badly there because they were ill-prepared for war. American casualties were high in the first year of the war for the same reason. The North Koreans and Chinese (who entered the war later) really had high casualties and this, in part, was a reason for the truce talks. All told, it was a very brutal conflict and, although we Americans talk about Americans losses a lot, the number of civilian (Korean) losses is staggering.
Les Bishop, Commander, Antietam Chapter 312, Korean War Veterans Association