earticle

영어

There have been tens of thousands of unwritten partisans in the Korean War which has affected Korean society and its modern history. Most disturbance under the United States’ military occupation was suppressed at the level of public peace and order. However, a ‘rebellion’ against the state and a ‘mop-up’ towards rebels occurred sharply since the Yosun incident in the latter part of 1948. However, before October 1948 there already existed ‘field and mountain’s bands’ of the South Korean Labor Party. Jiri Mountain became the main location of partisan activities. It was not the only area for the partisans movement, but it was an important base for activities. Finally all of the partisan activities ended up there. Partisans’ organizations and activities went through a dramatic three-phased change before and after the period of the Korean War. The first activities of partisans after the Yosun incident were entirely local. The movement in the latter part of 1949 was temporarily enhanced affected by outside intervention, but it almost died out because of the mop-up in the winter season. The Korean War became a turning point for the partisan movement. When the People’s Army of North Korea withdrew in September 1950, partisan troops in each province were reorganized and six provincial parties of the Korean labor party in South Korea set up their bases in the mountain area. Partisan troops of the Gyeongsang Namdo provincial party, the earliest of the provincial parties’ to activate, used Jiri Mountain as its stronghold. Yi Hyensang’s unit, which was activating on Jiri mountain before the Korean War, retreated northwards at the end of September 1950. Yi’s unit reorganized itself in Hupyeong, Gangwon province, and then marched southwards under the name of ‘South Army (Nambugun)’. ‘South Army’ was the first and last to be active in the partisan movement. Their movement was active without a break from April 1949 until the latter part of 1953 when it became extinct. The ‘South Army’ attempted to unify whole partisan troops in South Korea under its leadership. A unified and large-scaled partisan troop showed furious activities for a while. Its unification period lasted from August 1951 until the end of that year. However, the change in the partisan activities raised by the unification decided the destiny of many partisans. They were weakened rapidly by the hit of the following mop-up, so called ‘Operation Rat Killer’, in that winter season. Partisan activities after the Korean War were tied to North Korea’s mobilization policy during the war. Therefore the tactics changed according to the development of the war. Similar to the partisan’s offensive in the latter half of 1949, there was a big gap between the aim of North Korea’s leadership in the war and the partisans’ objective situation. This situation could not be solved until the last part of the war. The partisan’s problems were alike before and after the war. This consequentially led to the political failure and loss of a socialist movement force in South Korea. The ‘South Army’ and other partisan groups’ histories after the mop-up in the winter of 1951 need to be written using more independent research. Many partisan activities during the Korean War wholly have not been reported. This topic needs research and its history re-written. The partisan movement should be also be observed microscopically. I expect to approach this subject more closely and write more about the partisans by following researches.