THE KOREAN WAR

By July 1949 all the occupation forces of both the United States and the Soviet Union had been withdrawn, each leaving some men in advisory capacities. The peninsula was about to suffer one of the most destructive wars of modern times. In June 1950 when combat broke out, the South Korean army had fewer than a hundred thousand men, equipped with only small arms. The North Korean forces, however, stood at about 135,000, including a tank brigade. Hence, the North had the advantage of training and equipment, while the South was unprepared to ward off the invasion.

On June 28 the capital city of Seoul fell to the North Korean forces, who overwhelmed the South Korean army. The battle would seesaw across the 38th parallel until an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.

With 43 percent of Korea’s industrial facilities smashed and 33 percent of its homes destroyed, much of the population, including the brothers, now lived as refugees. Homes were devastated, personal property gone. Constant alertness meant life. Several of the brothers died, caught by the strafing from aircraft of either army. A few, including those who took refuge in the Society’s property, were shot to death in cold blood by the soldiers. However, the survivors never quit their commission to preach the Kingdom as the hope of the world. They never stopped sowing the seeds of truth.

In the first few days of the war, most of Seoul’s population was trapped in the city. The brothers knew they would be forced into the People’s Volunteer Army if they did not flee south. Brother Park Chong-il and Ok Ung-suk hid in the city until July 5 and then slipped across the Han River in an effort to reach a “safe” area south of Seoul. They passed scores of dead bodies, disabled tanks, and devastated buildings along their escape route, but the closer they got to the battle lines, the harder it was to keep out of sight of the North Korean soldiers.

As a result of U.S. General MacArthur’s Inchon landing on September 15, 1950, the city of Seoul was freed from North Korean rule, until the war pendulum would once again swing the other way. Brother Park returned to Seoul on October 1, 1950, and decided to go from house to house, interested in what the people’s response would be. He found them tense and afraid.

After two and a half months under South Korean rule, on December 24, 1950, the South Korean government ordered all Seoul’s inhabitants, except those of draft age, to evacuate the city once again.

Just 11 days later, January 4, 1951, the North Korean and Chinese soldiers reoccupied the city.

The war now swung in the other direction, and by March 31, 1951, the UN forces had again reached north to the 38th parallel. Seoul once more was under UN command.