Report on the Kando massacre released in Korea

Japanese soldiers attacked the Korean village called Jangam-dong, about 10 kilometers northeast of Longjing, Jilin province in China on Oct. 30, 1920. They beheaded and shot people to death, and set houses and churches on fire, saying they will kill all Koreans who disobey. The incident was called Kando massacre. The following day, a missionary the Canadian Presbyterian Church and the director of the Jechang Hospital in Longjing investigated the horrible site and left it on record.

“When an injured person tried to pick himself up from a pile of bodies, a Japanese soldier stabbed a bayonet into him and let him burn to death in flames,” the report said.

The report containing the testimonies of survivors and letters, which were partially revealed, have been released in Korea for the first time in 100 years. The report is included in “Kando Chulbyeongsa” recently translated by Kim Yeon-ok, professor of the Korea Military Academy. It is a secret document containing the full account of the Kando operation that the Joseon Military Command sent to the Japanese War Ministry in 1926.

“It will be a valuable document for the study of Korea’s independence movement. It contains information about independence fighters and the location of Korean military school near Kando, which the Japanese military obtained from its secret agents,” said the professor. “The report also includes the vivid testimonies of missionaries about the cruelty of the Kando massacre.”


Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com