Yongsan-gu Publishes Booklet on 'The Korean War and Yongsan Base'

Utilizing Primary Sources Collected by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)... Covering the History of Yongsan Base from Post-Liberation to the Korean War Period

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yongsan District Office (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) has published 1,000 copies of the booklet titled "Tracing the History of Yongsan Base: The Korean War and Yongsan Base."

This is the final volume of the Yongsan Base history trilogy, following "Tracing the History of Yongsan: AD 97~1953" (2014) and "Tracing the History of the Lost Dunjimi Old Village within Yongsan Base" (2017).

The contents are arranged in the order of Chapter 1: Yongsan Base under the Liberation Government (August 1945 ~ July 1948), Chapter 2: The Establishment of the Republic of Korea Government and Changes in Yongsan Base (May 1948 ~ June 1950), Chapter 3: Yongsan Base as a Historical Site, and Chapter 4: The Korean War and Reconstruction of Yongsan Base (June 1950 ~ November 1953).

Chapter 1 covers the entry of the U.S. 24th Corps led by Major General John Reed Hodge into Seoul immediately after liberation in 1945, the return of Japanese troops, the stationing and activities of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division headquarters under the 24th Corps at Yongsan Base (Camp Seobinggo), and other daily affairs.

Notably, Chapter 1 introduces the U.S. 7th Infantry Division detention center (formerly Yongsan Prison during the Japanese colonial period) and the incarceration documents of Kim Du-han, known as the "General's Son," which were created in 1948 by the U.S. military government’s military tribunal. These documents are being publicly disclosed for the first time, making them significant.

At that time, Kim Du-han was sentenced to death by the U.S. military government trial for the Daehanmincheong incident (where the right-wing terrorist group Daehan Democratic Youth Alliance kidnapped and murdered left-wing activists in 1947), but after the establishment of the Republic of Korea government in August 1948, he was specially pardoned by former President Syngman Rhee.

Chapter 2 introduces the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Korea in 1948, except for the U.S. 5th Regiment Combat Team (RCT), and the establishment of the United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea (KMAG) in 1949.

It also briefly reviews the history of the Republic of Korea’s 7th Division (first commander Colonel Lee Joon-sik) and the Capital Defense Command (first commander Colonel Kwon Joon), both established in Yongsan in 1949. Both initial commanders were independence activists during the Japanese colonial period.

After the U.S. 7th Infantry Division withdrew from Yongsan Base, the Ministry of National Defense and Army Headquarters, which were located in Euljiro, Jung-gu at the time, moved to the U.S. 7th Infantry Division headquarters building (former Japanese Army headquarters building) within Yongsan Base in 1949.

Kim Cheon-su, head of the History and Culture Research Office at Yongsan Cultural Center and author of the book, emphasized, "Yongsan Base is not just a place marked by the history of foreign armies such as the Japanese or U.S. forces, but a site where the early footsteps of the Korean military and countless lesser-known stories of modern history are buried. During the park development project, we should not hastily finalize space and building plans but rather reflect and contemplate with a long-term perspective."

Chapter 3 tells the stories of two figures who passed through Yongsan Base between 1949 and 1950: Ahn Doo-hee and Park Chung-hee.

Ahn Doo-hee, an army artillery lieutenant who assassinated Baekbeom Kim Gu in June 1949, was handed over to the Army Headquarters Intelligence Bureau and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Central High Military Tribunal. In November of the same year, his sentence was reduced to 15 years, and while serving his sentence at the Itaewon Army Prison within Yongsan Base (formerly Yongsan Prison during the Japanese colonial period), his sentence was suspended due to the Korean War.

Park Chung-hee also had ties to Yongsan Base. In February 1949, after being sentenced to death by the High Military Tribunal on charges of leftist activities, he was released with the help of Baek Sun-yeop, then head of the Army Headquarters Intelligence Bureau, and worked at the Army Headquarters Intelligence Bureau in Yongsan Base as a civilian. There, he first met Kim Jong-pil, a graduate of the 8th class of the Korea Military Academy.

The final Chapter 4 can be considered the main body of the book. It thoroughly introduces the damage and conditions of Yongsan Base during the Korean War, the deployment plans of the U.S. 8th Army at Yongsan Base by the United Nations Command (Tokyo Far East Command), the U.S. 8th Army Engineer Staff’s restoration plans for Yongsan Base, and the restoration process from 1952 to 1953.

The author utilized primary sources (U.S. military documents) collected from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as well as maps, drawings, photographs, and other visual materials to help readers fully understand the base restoration process, known as the "Yongsan Project."

The current form of Yongsan Base was created during this time. The contributions of the Korean Service Corps (KSC), who worked alongside the U.S. military, are also noteworthy.

Seongjang Hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District, said, "The years-long research on the history of Yongsan Base has been compiled into three volumes. Compared to previous works that mainly dealt with the Japanese military base construction during the colonial period and the relocation of indigenous residents, this book focuses on the historical changes during the post-liberation and Korean War periods."

He added, "In fact, the local government accomplished what the central government could not. We will share the organized contents with residents and support the district’s efforts in the park development project."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.