Abductee: Kim Dong-hwan
Recorded Date: January 14, 2006


Profile of Abductee

Date of birth: September 27, 1901
Place of birth: Gyeongseong, Hambuk, North Korea
Last address: Cheongwoon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Date of Abduction: July 23,1950
Place of abduction: Political Security Bureau
Occupation: Writer, Publisher, Lyricist
Education/Career: Jeongdong Middle School / Journalist, Dong-A daily and Chosun Daily
Dependants: Wife, son and daughter / Cohab, 2 daughters
Appearance/Personality: decent looking / mild character


Profile of Testifiers

Name: Kim Young-sik (born in 1933)
Relationship: 3rd Son
Type of Witness: Indirect witness


Summary of the Abduction

- The abductee, who was living together with wrtier Choi Jung-hee in Donam-dong, moved to his own house at Cheongwoon-dong for refuge when the war broke out.
- On July 23, Hwang Chung-Song, a university alumnus, came and encouraged him to surrender himself, saying, “Choi Jung-hee has joined the Literary Union, after surrendering herself to the Political Security Bureau and is now acting freely,” at which, the abductee went out with Hwang, joined by Choi at a place in Cheongjin-dong, proceeded to the Political Security Bureau at Eulji-ro to surrender and was abducted.
- Being a well-known writer, it is likely that he had been targeted for abduction to North as a part of the so-called “Plan to invite competent intellectuals to North.” It is also presumed that the North Korean regime wanted to take advantage of his good connections with influential people. Mr. Kim Dong-hwan (pen name of Pain) became famous with his “The Night at the Border,” the first epic in Korea, and contributed greatly to the development of Korea’s literature.


Description of Abduction

Q. Please describe how he was abducted.
We lived in our house at Cheongwun-dong, Jongno-gu, while my father lived at Donam-dong with his cohab Choi Jung-hee. He gave us living expenses each month. When the war broke out, he came to us, immediately. Staying only in the master bedroom, he felt uneasy not having information on the outside world. My mother was very busy soliciting money needed for living from acquaintances.
While I was gone to school, a man named Mr. Hwang Chung-Song, an old friend of my father's, came to my father at Cheongwoon-dong and conveyed to him a message from Choi Jung-hee that she was free after having surrendered herself and urging him to do the same to the Political Security Bureau.
He left home saying to my mother, “I am going out briefly.” That was July 23, 1950. According to Choi Jung-hee’s autobiography, my father met her at Cheongjin-dong and went to Political Security Bureau located at the National Library building together. There, he was taken to somewhere. She was shocked at this and asked “Did you not say that when he surrenders, he would be free man?” The answer was “We have to ask him a few questions.” She received no information on him, since then.

Q. You were about 17, then, the age good for being forced into the so-called ‘Voluntary Soldier’?
They began drafting young men into North Korean army after about 20 days from the start of the war. One day I went downtown for some business and I saw North Koreans gathering young men by force and taking them to some place to force them into ‘Vsoldier’. I thought I should get away this and I hurried back home by back lanes and hid under the floor of an acquaintance nearby. I narrowly escaped it.


Reason behind the Abduction

Q. What do you think the reason for his abduction?
They needed competent persons from South Korea, whom they could use for propaganda and negotiation (hostage) purpose. They abducted South Korean technicians to use them for improving their low level technology. In any case, it is obvious that they did on specific purposes, and, in particular, Premier Kim Il-sung ordered bringing South Korean men of ability.

Q. Your father was born in North Korea, wasn’t he?
I don’t think where he was born mattered. Rather, they took it more seriously that my father had cooperated with the Japanese government, in my opinion. They were much more articulate in liquidating pro-Japanese matter than South Korea was. In addition to my father’s being a good writer, he had many acquaintances, which was useful for persuading others into them.

Q. There is no record that he was active in literary work in North Korea.
According to Mr. Cho Chul’s article, they had my father write a letter of self-examination and literary works but he refused to do so with the excuse of his bad health.


News after the Abduction

Q. Any information, since then?
Korean Critiques Society published a book on October 21, 1989, “What happened to the literary men in North Korea either abducted or went north, afterwards,” which gave some information on Lee Kwang-soo, Kim Dong-hwan and Kim Oek. It said that these men were abducted after they lost the chance to escape, went through much ordeal and some of them have either died or missing. It was ascertained that Kim Oek and Kim Dong-Hwan were ousted to a collective camp in the Cheolsan area in Pyeongbuk, in early 1958 and December 1958, respectively, but no more information since then. Considering their age and the nature of the North Korean regime, their being still alive is not likely. This told us that he was alive until December 1958.
Another record was provided by Mr. Cho Chul, a North Korean defector in 1962, who had been active at “Peaceful Reunification Committee in North Korea,” which gave some information on the trail of several hundred people either abducted or went north on their own.
Also, writer Pak Gye-joo, when he was in Japan in 1961, found my father’s name among others in “North Korean Who’s Who,” which was published by Journal in Japan. Mr. Pak ascertained to us that my father was alive at least until 1961.