Evan Hunziker
Encyclopedia
Evan Carl Hunziker was the first American
civilian to be arrested on espionage charges by North Korea
since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War
. He was taken into custody by North Korean police after swimming from China
across the Yalu River
drunk and naked. He spent three months in custody there before being released and returned to the United States thanks to the negotiation efforts of then-New Mexico
congressman
Bill Richardson. However, he committed suicide by firearm in a Tacoma, Washington
hotel less than a month later.
; he spent 12 years stationed in South Korea
with the United States Forces Korea
, and met Hunziker's mother Jong-Nye, a citizen of the country
, while living there. The two later settled in Tacoma, where Hunziker's father worked in a variety of jobs including as a bus driver and cement layer. They had three children. Hunziker's father developed a drinking problem; in 1974, Hunziker's father and mother divorced. After the divorce, Hunziker's mother moved to Anchorage
, Alaska
, where Hunziker spent most of his childhood with various relatives of his mother's. Eventually, Hunziker's mother moved back to Tacoma, where she opened the Olympus Hotel; she took Hunziker with her. Hunziker graduated from Tacoma's Stadium High School
in 1988. He went on to earn a football scholarship and attend colleges in Yakima and South Seattle, but began drinking and using drugs, and did not graduate.
Hunziker later returned to Anchorage, where his mother was running a motel with her boyfriend Kevin Hux. There, Hunziker helped out with the business, often driving guests to and from the airport. His mother later introduced him to a young South Korean woman in the hopes that the two would develop a relationship; they married soon after. However, Hunziker's drug and alcohol problems, combined with his violence towards his wife and his relatives, led to the failure of his marriage in 1993. His mother applied for a restraining order against him in that same year; Hux filed for another restraining order two years later after Hunziker allegedly stabbed him in the face with a pencil and assaulted twelve motel employees and tenants in the space of a month. In another incident, he attempted to forcibly remove his former wife from a hospital, and attacked a nurse when she attempted to intervene. From 1992 to 1996, he was arrested seven times on a variety of charges including assault, malicious destruction, and drunk driving.
Hunziker reportedly converted to Christianity while in jail. Upon his release in 1995, he fled back to Tacoma, hoping to avoid being brought up on pending criminal assault charges that his mother had filed against him. In mid-1996, he decided that he wanted to go to South Korea to find a job as an English teacher and evangelize. He borrowed money for an airline ticket to Seoul, and left the United States in July. In Seoul, he stayed with his cousin Yun Jae-hun. According to his parents, Hunziker could speak Korean
well, and it would be his third trip to South Korea, including the first one during which he met his wife-to-be. From Seoul, he took a trip to China beginning on August 16; he spent one week in Beijing
before proceeding to northeast China
by train.
from Dandong
on the China
-North Korea
border, on a dare from a friend with whom he had been drinking. North Korean farmers found him and called the police. Swedish diplomats were able to visit Hunziker once after his arrest, on September 17; North Korea ignored later U.S. requests that Hunziker be allowed to receive regular visits. The North Korean government did not announce Hunziker's arrest until October 6; analysts suspected they delayed the announcement until a more strategic time in an attempt to divert attention from two international controversies: one regarding the unsolved murder of South Korean consul for the Russian Far East
Choe Deok-geun
, in which North Korean involvement was suspected, and the other about the landing on South Korean soil of a North Korean submarine
containing 26 commandos. On October 8, the North Korean government formally announced that they would charge Hunziker with espionage, a charge which could bring the death penalty
.
Edwin Hunziker called his congressman Randy Tate
in an attempt to learn what, if anything, the government was doing for his son. The younger Hunziker was permitted to send a letter home on October 12; in it, he stated that "I came across the border as a Christian man first and foremost to promote peace, and ... I have not confessed to being a spy". Soon after, he was moved from the hotel where he had been held initially to a detention center; Edwin Hunziker would later recall his son's description of the food, that it "was edible and it was sustainable, but it was lousy food". He reportedly signed several confessions, though under psychological duress
.
. He arrived in North Korea on November 24. According to Richardson, the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York City initially demanded US$100,000 as a bail and fine for the release of Hunziker, whom they considered a spy and an illegal interloper; however, Richardson refused this demand as an unacceptable quid-pro-quo which would imply Hunziker's guilt. Eventually, the two sides settled on payment of $5,000 hotel costs for the period of Hunziker's incarceration. Hunziker's family, rather than the government, paid the amount in question. Richardson stated that the money was not the major trigger for Hunziker's release; rather, he speculated that the North Korean side realized they had made a major mistake by landing a submarine full of their commandos on South Korean soil, and hoped to reduce tensions and regain aid. He also stated that the North Korean military had been opposed to Hunziker's release. Hunziker was first flown to Yokota Air Base
in Japan
for a medical examination on November 27. He had two red marks on his neck, possibly rope burn
s; North Korea claimed he attempted to hang himself while in custody. He arrived back in the United States via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
.
After his release, Hunziker moved back into the Olympus Hotel owned by his mother. He could not return to Alaska due to three outstanding warrants for his arrest by the Anchorage police. According to friends, relatives, and fellow hotel residents, he seemed happy, though untalkative. He often spent his nights in the hotel restaurant; he was found there on the morning of December 18, lying on the bench with a gunshot wound
to the head and his cousin's .357 Magnum
revolver
lying next to him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
civilian to be arrested on espionage charges by North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He was taken into custody by North Korean police after swimming from China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
across the Yalu River
Yalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
drunk and naked. He spent three months in custody there before being released and returned to the United States thanks to the negotiation efforts of then-New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Bill Richardson. However, he committed suicide by firearm in a Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
hotel less than a month later.
Early life
Hunziker's father Edwin Hunziker was a veteran of the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
; he spent 12 years stationed in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
with the United States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea refers to the ground, air and naval divisions of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea....
, and met Hunziker's mother Jong-Nye, a citizen of the country
South Korean nationality law
South Korean nationality law defines who is a South Korean citizen, as well as the procedures by which one may be naturalized into South Korean citizenship or renounce it.-Basic definition:South Korean nationality can be acquired in a number of ways:...
, while living there. The two later settled in Tacoma, where Hunziker's father worked in a variety of jobs including as a bus driver and cement layer. They had three children. Hunziker's father developed a drinking problem; in 1974, Hunziker's father and mother divorced. After the divorce, Hunziker's mother moved to Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, where Hunziker spent most of his childhood with various relatives of his mother's. Eventually, Hunziker's mother moved back to Tacoma, where she opened the Olympus Hotel; she took Hunziker with her. Hunziker graduated from Tacoma's Stadium High School
Stadium High School
Stadium High School is a 100-year-old high school in Tacoma, Washington and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell while it was still a partially...
in 1988. He went on to earn a football scholarship and attend colleges in Yakima and South Seattle, but began drinking and using drugs, and did not graduate.
Hunziker later returned to Anchorage, where his mother was running a motel with her boyfriend Kevin Hux. There, Hunziker helped out with the business, often driving guests to and from the airport. His mother later introduced him to a young South Korean woman in the hopes that the two would develop a relationship; they married soon after. However, Hunziker's drug and alcohol problems, combined with his violence towards his wife and his relatives, led to the failure of his marriage in 1993. His mother applied for a restraining order against him in that same year; Hux filed for another restraining order two years later after Hunziker allegedly stabbed him in the face with a pencil and assaulted twelve motel employees and tenants in the space of a month. In another incident, he attempted to forcibly remove his former wife from a hospital, and attacked a nurse when she attempted to intervene. From 1992 to 1996, he was arrested seven times on a variety of charges including assault, malicious destruction, and drunk driving.
Hunziker reportedly converted to Christianity while in jail. Upon his release in 1995, he fled back to Tacoma, hoping to avoid being brought up on pending criminal assault charges that his mother had filed against him. In mid-1996, he decided that he wanted to go to South Korea to find a job as an English teacher and evangelize. He borrowed money for an airline ticket to Seoul, and left the United States in July. In Seoul, he stayed with his cousin Yun Jae-hun. According to his parents, Hunziker could speak Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
well, and it would be his third trip to South Korea, including the first one during which he met his wife-to-be. From Seoul, he took a trip to China beginning on August 16; he spent one week in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
before proceeding to northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
by train.
Arrest
On August 24, Hunziker swam across the Yalu RiverYalu River
The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....
from Dandong
Dandong
Dandong , previously known as Andong and Antung, is a city in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, which is marked by the Yalu River, and is the largest border city in China. Also, to the southwest of the city, the river flows into Korea Bay...
on the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
border, on a dare from a friend with whom he had been drinking. North Korean farmers found him and called the police. Swedish diplomats were able to visit Hunziker once after his arrest, on September 17; North Korea ignored later U.S. requests that Hunziker be allowed to receive regular visits. The North Korean government did not announce Hunziker's arrest until October 6; analysts suspected they delayed the announcement until a more strategic time in an attempt to divert attention from two international controversies: one regarding the unsolved murder of South Korean consul for the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
Choe Deok-geun
Choe Deok-geun
Choe Deok-geun was a South Korean consular official for the Russian Far East who was assassinated by poison in October 1996....
, in which North Korean involvement was suspected, and the other about the landing on South Korean soil of a North Korean submarine
1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident
The 1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident occurred on September 18, 1996, near the South Korean town of Gangneung. The incident was one of the more serious instances of North Korean espionage involving naval forces....
containing 26 commandos. On October 8, the North Korean government formally announced that they would charge Hunziker with espionage, a charge which could bring the death penalty
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Edwin Hunziker called his congressman Randy Tate
Randy Tate
Randy J. Tate is an American politician and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington....
in an attempt to learn what, if anything, the government was doing for his son. The younger Hunziker was permitted to send a letter home on October 12; in it, he stated that "I came across the border as a Christian man first and foremost to promote peace, and ... I have not confessed to being a spy". Soon after, he was moved from the hotel where he had been held initially to a detention center; Edwin Hunziker would later recall his son's description of the food, that it "was edible and it was sustainable, but it was lousy food". He reportedly signed several confessions, though under psychological duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
.
Release and death
Eventually, New Mexico congressman Bill Richardson, who had a history of negotiating for the release of Americans held by countries with whom the U.S. had poor or no formal relations, arranged to go to North Korea to discuss the matter; he went as a private citizen, but was accompanied by a representative of the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. He arrived in North Korea on November 24. According to Richardson, the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York City initially demanded US$100,000 as a bail and fine for the release of Hunziker, whom they considered a spy and an illegal interloper; however, Richardson refused this demand as an unacceptable quid-pro-quo which would imply Hunziker's guilt. Eventually, the two sides settled on payment of $5,000 hotel costs for the period of Hunziker's incarceration. Hunziker's family, rather than the government, paid the amount in question. Richardson stated that the money was not the major trigger for Hunziker's release; rather, he speculated that the North Korean side realized they had made a major mistake by landing a submarine full of their commandos on South Korean soil, and hoped to reduce tensions and regain aid. He also stated that the North Korean military had been opposed to Hunziker's release. Hunziker was first flown to Yokota Air Base
Yokota Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.The base houses 14,000 personnel. The base occupies a total area of and has a runway...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for a medical examination on November 27. He had two red marks on his neck, possibly rope burn
Friction burn
A friction burn is a form of abrasion caused by friction when a person's skin rubs against a surface. It may also be referred to as "skinning", "chafing," or called by the surface which caused the burn...
s; North Korea claimed he attempted to hang himself while in custody. He arrived back in the United States via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...
.
After his release, Hunziker moved back into the Olympus Hotel owned by his mother. He could not return to Alaska due to three outstanding warrants for his arrest by the Anchorage police. According to friends, relatives, and fellow hotel residents, he seemed happy, though untalkative. He often spent his nights in the hotel restaurant; he was found there on the morning of December 18, lying on the bench with a gunshot wound
Ballistic trauma
The term ballistic trauma refers to a form of physical trauma sustained from the discharge of arms or munitions. The most common forms of ballistic trauma stem from firearms used in armed conflicts, civilian sporting and recreational pursuits, and criminal activity.-Destructive effects:The degree...
to the head and his cousin's .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
lying next to him.
External links
- Associated Press File Photo: Evan C. Hunziker of Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, waves upon his arrival at the Yokota Air Base on the outskirt of Tokyo - Photo of Hunziker's tombstone from Washington Genealogy