Bình Hòa massacre
1966 massacre in South Vietnam
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The Bình Hòa Massacre, (Vietnamese: thảm sát Bình Hoà, Korean: 빈호아 학살) was a massacre purportedly conducted by South Korean forces between December 3 and December 6, 1966, of 430 unarmed civilians in Bình Hòa village, Quảng Ngãi Province in South Vietnam.[1][3] In 2000, however, it was reported that a monument within the village, gave the dates of the massacre as October 22, 24, and 26, 1966 and said that 403 people were killed by the South Koreans.[4]
| Binh Hoa Massacre | |
|---|---|
 Quảng Ngãi Province | |
| Location | Bình Hòa village, Quảng Ngãi Province, South Vietnam |
| Date | December 6, 1966 |
| Target | Bình Hòa villagers |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 422[1]–430[2] |
| Perpetrators | South Korean forces |
The district was in the operational area of the Blue Dragon Brigade.[5] Most of the victims were children, elderly and women.[6] More than half the victims were women (including seven who were pregnant) and 166 children.[1][7] The South Korean soldiers burnt down all of the houses and killed hundreds of cows and buffalo after the atrocities.[1] A number of the survivors of the massacre joined the Viet Cong and fought against the United States and its Allies, one of which was South Korea.[1][8] South Korean forces were also accused of conducting a similar massacre in Binh Tai village within the same year.[9][10]
The massacre was discussed when British journalist Justin Wintle visited Vietnam in the late 1980s, where the report on the massacre was disclosed to Western media.[8]: 12
Damage in Quang Ngai Province
The estimated number of civilians killed by the ROK military in Quang Ngai Province, including Binh Hoa Commune, during the Vietnam War is as follows:[11]
| Hyeon | Location | Estimated date of occurrence | Dead | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binseon Hyun | Binh Duc Sa | October 9, 1966 - March 26, 1967 | 151 | |
| Binh Hoa Sa | December 3, 1966 - December 6, 1966 | 430 | Place of "Hate Memorial" | |
| Binh An Sa | Early 1967 | 65 | ||
| Binh Quyen Sa | Early 1967 | 30 | ||
| Binh Hoang Sa | Early 1967 | 30 | ||
| Suntin Hyun | Con Lum Village | August 14, 1966 | 82 | |
| Phuc Binh Village | October 9, 1966 | 68 | ||
| Binh Bac Village | October - November 1966 | 300 | ||
| Dian Nien Village | November 13, 1966 | 112 | ||
| Binh Loc Village | November 13, 1966 | 40 | ||
| Ha Tai Village | November 26, 1996 | 20 | ||
| Son Chau, Son Loc Sa | December 1966 | 200 | ||
| An Binh, Dong Nhan Village | Late 1966 | 46 | ||
| Minh Trung Village | Late 1966 | 30 | ||
| An Tinh, Khanh Van Village | August - September 1967 | 30 | ||
| Khung Loc Village | September 30, 1969 | 40 | ||
| Son Kim Sa | Unknown | 100 |
Citizens' Peace Tribunal
On April 22-23, 2018, several civil society organizations in South Korea, including the Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation, held the Citizens' Peace Tribunal for the Investigation of the Truth about the Massacre of Civilians by the Korean Army during the Vietnam War.[12] In this Citizens' Peace Tribunal, Nguyen Thi Thanh, a survivor of the Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacres, and Nguyen Thi Thanh (with the same name), a survivor of the Ha My massacre, appeared as plaintiffs and sued the South Korean government for damages.[citation needed] The court of the Citizens' Peace Tribunal accepted their claims, ruled for compensation according to the State Compensation Act, and recommended that the South Korean government conduct a fact-finding investigation.[13][14] The Citizens' Peace Tribunal is a mock trial and has no legal binding force, but was considered significant in declaring the massacre as a universal human rights issue. The Citizens' Peace Tribunal argued that a special law was needed to eliminate the statute of limitations.[15] In addition, Minbyun is currently in the process of filing a lawsuit requesting the disclosure of the Central Intelligence Agency's data that investigated the Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat massacre in 1968.[16] The National Intelligence Service initially refused to disclose the information on the grounds of "diplomatic disadvantage," but when it received a court order to disclose it, it again refused to disclose the information on the grounds of "personal information."[17]
In popular culture
The Binh Hoa massacre was featured in the Korean documentary The Last Lullaby on the subject of Korean atrocities in South Vietnam.[18]
