From Saviors to Rapists: G.I.s, Women, and Children in Korean War Films

The Associated Press' September 29th, 1999 report on the alleged massacre of Korean civilians by U.S. soldiers during the Korean War shed newlight on what has long been considered a "forgotten war." According to the survivors, over the course of three days in late July 1950 U.S. soldiers machine- gunned hundreds of villagers (mostly women, children, and old men) huddled underneath the railroad bridge near Nogun-ri, 100 miles southeast of Seoul1. Their account was corroborated by the testimonies of ex-GIs interviewed by the AP. The massacre supposedly took place because of the U.S. troops' fear of North Koreans infiltrating South Korean refugee groups. The Nogun-ri report fueled further claims of American civilian killings at other villages throughout the country, including Masan, Tanyang and Iksan. The U.S. government recently admitted the existence of the Nogun-ri killing and offered $1 billion for monument-erection and $750,000 for school scholarships.