Korean People’s Army under the Soviet Union crossed the 38th parallel
On June 25, 1950, the Korean People’s Army under the Soviet Union crossed the 38th parallel separating North and South Korea. Unprepared, the Republic of Korea’s army was quickly overtaken and pushed back to Pusan. Ten days after the invasion, President Harry S. Truman ordered that American troops be deployed to Pusan to hold back the communists. While the US did not see a strategic advantage of having soldiers in Korea, it was committed to the war on communism with the Cold War having begun five years prior. With the US having a military presence in South Korea, an assault was coordinated against Inchon to take back Seoul from the North. The incursion was a success and resulted in the capture of over 130,000 North Korean soldiers who were brought to POW camps near Pusan.
In 1951 with the compounds becoming overcrowded in Pusan, the UN ruled that POW camps were to be opened on Geoje Island, a small fishing island off the south coast of Korea. Prisoners were transported to the island in trucks, interrogated, and then separated into prisons by ethnicity and military rank. Because American soldiers saw the North Korean and Chinese captives as sub-human, conditions inside the camp were abhorrent. Prisons were packed to five times their designed occupancy, tents were riddled with filth and disease, and brutal fights were commonplace. “I found the whole place a living hell. I was in fear constantly” said private John Maggio, a soldier stationed at the camp in 1951-52. Leaders rose inside the compounds, creating weapons, flags bearing the red star, and other propaganda items to garner support for their cause. Prisoners who opposed them were beaten and killed but were ignored by guards, leading to more unrest and feelings of control to the captives. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Horrible living conditions and increasingly high tensions between American captors and communist prisoners brought about the conflict which, near the end of the war, resulted in prisoners demanding choice in repatriation as not to be harmed upon return. These disagreements ultimately prompted the cease-fire and signing of the Armistice. Furthermore, the entry into the war by the United States and its treatment of POW begs the question; was it ethical for the US to enter the war for its gain?
Mistreatment of POW and Violence on Geoje Island
In the camps, the large number of prisoners and conflicting beliefs between them and their captors led to inhumane treatment. Prisoners were subjected to both mental and physical torture. In POW camps, Americans paraded the prisoners around naked to humiliate and dehumanize them. Women were sent to brothels and babies were roped together and dragged. The dead and sick were buried in mass graves with no markings. To combat these conditions, strikes organized by the prisoners became prevalent. Fearful of widespread unrest, some guards eventually gave in and began following demands of the prisoners, giving them a sense of superiority. This psychological boost to the prisoners lead to more demands and developed into rioting and violence. Until the Geoje riots of 1952 and the capture of General Dodd, there was no public knowledge of the severity of mistreatment. Because the majority of the focus was on the conflict between North and South Korea, little attention was paid to Geoje.
Although primarily seen in prisons, violence was also prevalent between guards over racial tensions. White guards often quarrelled with blacks, Hispanics, and Korean guards, sometimes provoking brawling and knife fights. Gambling became a common distraction from tensions between guards but also led to more neglect towards the prisoners.
Propaganda Victories and Subsequent Riots
Beginning in late 1951, prisoners began using handmade propaganda to garner military and political support inside the prisons with the final objective of taking over the entirety of Geoje island. Pro communism posters were hung on walls, and military paraphernalia was created to determine rank and role inside the prison walls. The prisoners had effectively become an independent military. This quick rise in unity by the prisoners was in full due to neglect by their captors. Because of its conditions and unimportant view by the Americans, Geoje island was controlled by the deadbeats of the army. Those who were seen as unessential in Pusan were sent to Geoje to maintain control, but quickly lost interest and ignored the actions of the prisons.
This pattern of neglect finally took its toll on the camp when in early 1952, the first major riot took place. During a screening of the prisoners by the UN, an uprising was initiated that resulted in the death of one American and seventy-five prisoners. Riots kept up over the subsequent months and climaxed on May 7, 1952, during a negotiation between General Dodd and the prisoners of Compound 76 which contained the camps most radical prisoners. Upon preparing to finish negotiations, prisoners captured Dodd and held him for ransom under threat of his death. The following day, the island flooded with over 15,000 UN troops and heavy military machinery. On the 10th, Dodd was released and, to the dismay of the UN, had signed a document in which the prisoners were granted their requests.
This major victory by the prisoners shed light on the incompetence of the Americans in the war and highlighted the issue of repatriation. After the release of Dodd, evidence came to light that Americans were forcing prisoners not to repatriate and instead immigrate to other countries to cover up the conditions at the camps. These oppositions on repatriation later became a significant part of peace talks in 1952-53 between America, China, and Russia.
Repatriation Disagreements and the Armistice
Nearing the end of the war, prisoners protested mandatory repatriation, especially those held on Geoje island. China and North Korea demanded that all prisoners be sent back to their country of origin while the UN insisted that all POWs should have a choice in the matter. During peace negotiations beginning in late 1951, China and North Korea asserted that all prisoners of war be returned to their home countries. South Korea opposed these terms as many of North Koreas soldiers were South Koreans who were forced to enlist in the KPA after the split at the 38th parallel. China, however, stayed persistent as they knew that if repatriation was not mandatory, much of their army would not return.
After two years of disagreement on this issue, the death of Stalin reopened negotiations. The new powers in Russia, although still reluctant to negotiate with the West, agreed that an armistice was necessary. To be convinced of Russia’s sincerity, Operation Little Switch began in April of 1953. During this month-long operation, 5,800 Chinese and Korean prisoners were sent North while 600 UN prisoners were sent South. The President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, wholeheartedly disagreed with the negotiations with communists, fearing that a prisoner exchange would only help them rebuild their army and invade once again. Harsh opposition in the following weeks led him to change his mind begrudgingly and on June 8, negotiations were accepted.
Following final peace talks, the Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, officially declaring a cease-fire and the creation of a demilitarized zone on the 38th parallel. Operation Big Switch, the final prisoner exchange, was undertaken in August. The UN returned 75,823 communist prisoners, and the Communists returned 12,773 men. The remaining 22,604 who declined repatriation were handed over to the UN and subsequently sent to Taiwan, India, or stayed in South Korea.
Although primarily seen in prisons, violence was also prevalent between guards over racial tensions. White guards often quarrelled with blacks, Hispanics, and Korean guards, sometimes provoking brawling and knife fights. Gambling became a common distraction from tensions between guards but also led to more neglect towards the prisoners.