Roy Chung
Encyclopedia
Roy Chung is widely believed to be the fifth of six United States Army
servicemen to have defected to North Korea
after the Korean War
.
n immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1973. According to his father Soo-Oh Chung, he had joined the Army to get Army education benefits. He disappeared and was reported AWOL on June 5, 1979 while serving with his unit near Bayreuth, West Germany
(about 30 miles from the borders of Czechoslovakia
and East Germany). After 30 days he became classified as a deserter
. He was 22 and a Private First Class
at the time.
Two months after his disappearance in Europe, North Korea's official propaganda station Radio Pyongyang (now Voice of Korea
) announced his defection, stating that he "could no longer endure the disgraceful life of national insult and maltreatment he had to lead in the U.S. imperialist aggressor Army."
The other five men who disappeared into North Korea did so by directly crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone
.
In 2004, filmmaker Nicholas Bonner (co-creator of the documentary Crossing the Line) reported that he heard Chung had died of natural causes.
and the Pentagon
at the time stated that they had no reason to doubt North Korea's claims of defection, and made no major inquiries into the matter because Chung had no access to classified information and was not a security threat. However, Chung's family and Korean-American groups strongly believed that he had been abducted, and was not a defector, as widely believed. They compared his disappearance to several documented abductions by North Korean agents, most notably the kidnap of actress Choi Eun-hee
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
servicemen to have defected to 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...
after the 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...
.
Life and disappearance
Chung was not an American citizen; he and his family were South KoreaSouth 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...
n immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1973. According to his father Soo-Oh Chung, he had joined the Army to get Army education benefits. He disappeared and was reported AWOL on June 5, 1979 while serving with his unit near Bayreuth, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(about 30 miles from the borders of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and East Germany). After 30 days he became classified as a deserter
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
. He was 22 and a Private First Class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
at the time.
Two months after his disappearance in Europe, North Korea's official propaganda station Radio Pyongyang (now Voice of Korea
Voice of Korea
Voice of Korea is the international broadcasting service of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Korean, Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese, and Arabic...
) announced his defection, stating that he "could no longer endure the disgraceful life of national insult and maltreatment he had to lead in the U.S. imperialist aggressor Army."
The other five men who disappeared into North Korea did so by directly crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
.
In 2004, filmmaker Nicholas Bonner (co-creator of the documentary Crossing the Line) reported that he heard Chung had died of natural causes.
Responses: defection or abduction?
Officials 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...
and the Pentagon
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagram is an example of a self-intersecting pentagon.- Regular pentagons :In a regular pentagon, all sides are equal in length and...
at the time stated that they had no reason to doubt North Korea's claims of defection, and made no major inquiries into the matter because Chung had no access to classified information and was not a security threat. However, Chung's family and Korean-American groups strongly believed that he had been abducted, and was not a defector, as widely believed. They compared his disappearance to several documented abductions by North Korean agents, most notably the kidnap of actress Choi Eun-hee
Choi Eun-hee
Choi Eun-hee is a South Korean actress. She began her film career in 1947 in the film A New Oath. For the next 20 years, she was one of the biggest stars in Korean film and led the Shin Film company along with her husband, the director Shin Sang-ok.In 1978, Choi and Shin, who she had recently...
.
See also
- List of American and British defectors in the Korean War: the 21 Americans and 1 Briton who refused repatriation during Operation Big SwitchOperation Big SwitchOperation Big Switch was the repatriation of all remaining prisoners of the Korean War. Ceasefire talks had been going on between Communist and UN forces since 1951, with one of the main stumbling blocks being the Communist insistence that all prisoners be returned home, with the UN insisting that...
in 1953 (to remain in ChinaChinaChinese 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...
) - Larry Allen AbshierLarry Allen AbshierPrivate Larry Allen Abshier of the U.S. Army was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War.-Defecting:...
(1943–1983) of Urbana, IllinoisUrbana, IllinoisUrbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, deserted in May 1962 at age 19 - James Joseph DresnokJames Joseph DresnokJames Joseph Dresnok is an American defector to North Korea, one of six American soldiers to defect after the Korean War. He was featured on the CBS magazine program 60 Minutes on January 28, 2007, as the last United States defector alive in North Korea and was the subject of a documentary film...
(born 1941) of Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, deserted on August 15, 1962 at age 21 - Jerry Wayne ParrishJerry Wayne ParrishCpl. Jerry Wayne Parrish of the U.S. Army was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War....
(1944–1996) of Morganfield, KentuckyMorganfield, KentuckyMorganfield is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County...
, deserted in December 1963 at age 19 - Charles Robert JenkinsCharles Robert JenkinsCharles Robert Jenkins is a former United States Army soldier who lived in North Korea from 1965 to 2004 after deserting his unit and crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone.-Military service and desertion:...
(born 1940) of Rich Square, North CarolinaRich Square, North CarolinaRich Square is a town in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States of America . The population was 931 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, deserted on January 5, 1965 at age 24 - Joseph T. WhiteJoseph T. WhiteJoseph T. White born in St. Louis, Missouri, was a private in the United States Army who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982. A member of 1/31st Infantry, he shot the lock off one of the gates leading into the Korean Demilitarized Zone and was witnessed surrendering to North Korean troops...
(1961–1985) of St Louis, Missouri, deserted in August 1982 at age 20