Page 100 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

602 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

Government measures and lessons learned concerning
refugees during the Korean War

ChoI KWoNSAM

the korean war and refugees
The Korean War broke out on June 25. 1950 by surprise attack of North Kore-
an army. The war lasted for three years and a month before the two sides agreed to
the cessation of hostilities on July 27. 1953, and uneasy truce survives to this day.
The Korean War unfolded in the broader context of the Cold War under the US-USSR
bipolar system. Triggered by North Korean invasion, the war initially was an intra-national
conflict between South and North Korea. As the world’s two ideologically opposed camps
intervened, however, it developed into a full-blown international war involving troops from
twenty different nations.
The Korean War could be divided into two parts such as from North Korean invasion
until counterattack (1st phase) and from intervention of communist china until truce (2nd
phase). This paper explores the government measures and lessons learned concerning refu-
gees during the Korean War.

status of refugees and government measures

Status of refugees and government measures after invasion
(1 phase)
st
As the war occurred suddenly, the one of the most important problem was to prevent
population unrest and plan appropriate measures against the influx of refugees.
But the Korean government and army didn’t predict the necessities of withdrawal from
Seoul and devised the retreat plans, there were limitations against refugees control system-
atically . Furthermore, as military and polices couldn’t control the refugees movement in
1
vicinity of Seoul area, military transportation operation must be disturbed on the all road.
th
on the other hand, 6 army division planed refugees’s measures in preparations for un-
predictable war. In other word, the population withdrawal plan set up throughout “Division
Operation Order.” 2
The most parts of the roads were very crowded in the mix of munitions to be transported
on the front line and supply vehicle before the fall of Seoul.
As hundreds of thousands of refugees were driven to the city and occupied the entire road,
the transportation vehicle couldn’t move and augmentation forces couldn’t put into to the
front line.
In spite of several government actions for refugees, this measures couldn’t be adapted

1 GHQ. FEC, Evacuation of Refugees and Civilian from Seoul June 1950 and December 1950 to January
1951. 1951(unpublished). p. 2.
2 Institute of Military Compilation History, The Korean War. Volume 1, (Soeul: MND, 1980), p. 633.