Bakseongnae

On December 21, 1948, over 100 residents of Jocheon-eup (town) were massacred here at Bakseongnae village in what is known as the “Surrender Incident.” This tragic event involved the mass shooting of individuals who had been promised forgiveness if they confessed to their past crimes.

During the 'era of madness' (after November 1948), the 9th Regiment conducted a “surrender operation” targeting the residents of Jocheon-myeon (township) villages. The punitive force threatened the villagers by saying, “If you surrender, you will be forgiven, but if your crimes are discovered later, you will not escape execution. We already have a list of those involved.” This threat, in fact, confirmed the absence of any “list of those involved,” but many terrified residents surrendered nonetheless.

The execution site is currently located near Bakseok Bridge. If you head 20 meters north from the bridge, you will find Bakseongnae. No traces of the tragic events remain at the site.

Survivors Kim Taejun and Lee Mansik testified about the voluntary surrender incident. Kim recounted that he believed he could survive by surrendering voluntarily, admitting he had given 15 won to the guerrillas. The other surrendered villagers did not realize they were being taken to an execution site. They were led to Bakseongnae, where they were executed, and their bodies discarded by the riverside. Lee survived by falling onto other corpses despite being shot in the right torso. When the soldiers looked away, he managed to escape from Bakseongnae.