Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities

The Sinchon Museum of United States War Atrocities is located in Sinchon County, North Korea, and is dedicated to the Sinchon Massacre, a mass murder of North Korean civilians during the Korean War.[1]

The Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities.
Grave of the 400 mothers and children

History

Main article: Sinchon Massacre

The Sinchon Museum of United States War Atrocities remembers the deaths of over 35,000 people in a series of events occurring from October 17 to November 7, 1950 when the area was occupied by the United States.[1]

The Institute for Korean Historical Studies, summarized in a Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation report, concluded that both Communists and anti-Communist vigilantes were engaging in wholesale slaughter throughout the area, and that the 19th Infantry Regiment took the city and failed to prevent the secret police that came with them from perpetuating the civilian murders, but did not participate themselves. Furthermore, when Communists retook the city, the population was again purged.[2][3] Other sources have concluded that the "massacre" was caused by a local rivalry that used the fog of war as a pretense.[4]

The museum complex consists of several buildings, an air raid shelter, and a gravesite. The museum is housed in the former Sinchon County Party Committee building. Photographs, paintings, and artifacts are displayed in 16 rooms in the main hall and in 3 rooms in hall number two.

Alleged American war atrocities against the Korean people is a primary theme of the museum. Chronicled are the events from the General Sherman incident, Christian missionary activities, the post-World War II occupation of Korea, and the Korean War.

North Koreans touring the museum.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "50th Anniversary of Sinchon Museum Observed". Korean News. Japan. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ Institute for Korean Historical Studies. 《사진과 그림으로보는 북한현대사》 p91~p93
  3. ↑ The Truth About the Sinchun Massacre
  4. ↑ Review: Hwang Sok-yong, The Guest (Seven Stories Press, 2005)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities.

Coordinates: 38°21′17″N 125°29′15″E / 38.35472°N 125.48750°E