Roy Chung (born Chung Ryeu-sup) is widely believed to be the fifth of six
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
soldiers to have defected to
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
Life and disappearance
Chung and his family were
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
n immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1973. According to his father, Chung Soo-oh, he had joined the Army to get education benefits. He disappeared and was reported
AWOL
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
on June 5, 1979, while serving with his unit near
Bayreuth,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
(about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the borders of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
). After 30 days he became classified as a
deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
. He was 22 and a
Private First Class.
["South Korean, Who Joined U.S. Army, Reportedly Defected to North Korea"](_blank)
, ''The Washington Post''. September 13, 1979. Joe Ritchie and Jaehoon Ahn. A28.
Two months after his disappearance in Europe, North Korea's international broadcasting service ''Radio Pyongyang'' (now ''
Voice of Korea
Voice of Korea () is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. Until 2002 it was known as Radio Pyongyang. The inter ...
'') announced his defection, stating that he "could no longer endure the disgraceful life of national insult and maltreatment he had to lead in the U.S. imperialist aggressor Army."
The other five men who disappeared into North Korea did so by directly crossing the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...
.
In 2004, filmmaker
Nicholas Bonner (co-creator of the documentary ''
Crossing the Line
Crossing the Line may refer to:
Films
* ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate US title for the film ''The Big Man'', by David Leland
* ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate UK title for the film ''Little Woods'', by Nia DaCosta
* ''Crossing the Li ...
'') reported that he heard Chung had died of natural causes.
Claims of abduction
Chung's family and
Korean-American groups believed that he had been abducted and was not a
defector, as widely believed. They compared his disappearance to several documented abductions by North Korean agents, most notably the kidnapping of
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
Choi Eun-hee
Choi Eun-hee (; November 20, 1926 – April 16, 2018) was a South Korean actress, who was one of the country's most popular stars of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, Choi and her then ex-husband, movie director Shin Sang-ok, were abducted to North ...
.
Officials of the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
and
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
at the time stated that they had no reason to doubt North Korea's claims of defection. They made no major inquiries into the matter because Chung had no access to classified information and was not a security threat.
See also
*
List of American and British defectors in the Korean War
This list names the twenty-two United Nations soldiers and POWs (one British and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States after the Korean War in favor of remaining in China, and their subsequent fates. Also ...
: the 21 Americans and 1 Briton who refused repatriation during
Operation Big Switch in 1953 (to remain in China).
*
Larry Allen Abshier
Larry Allen Abshier (1943 – July 11, 1983) was one of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea after the Korean War. He was born in Urbana, Illinois.
Defecting
Private Abshier, a member of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Cavalry, ...
(1943–1983) of
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the 38th-most populous municipality in Illinois. It ...
, deserted in May 1962 at age 19.
*
James Joseph Dresnok
James Joseph Dresnok ( ko, 제임스 조새프 드레스녹, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defection, defector to North Korea, one of six U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War.
After defecting, Dresnok worked as an ...
(1941–2016) of
Richmond, Virginia, deserted in August 1962 at age 21.
*
Jerry Wayne Parrish (1944–1998) of
Morganfield, Kentucky
Morganfield is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The population was 3,285 as of the year 2010 United States Census, ...
, deserted in December 1963 at age 19.
*
Charles Robert Jenkins (1940–2017) of
Rich Square, North Carolina
Rich Square is a town in Northampton County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 958 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Rich Square was first incorporated in ...
, deserted in January 1965 at age 24.
*
Joseph T. White
Joseph T. White (November 5, 1961 August 17, 1985) was a United States Army soldier who defected to North Korea on August 28, 1982.
Life and career
Born to Norval and Kathleen White, he had four siblings and volunteered for the 1980 Reagan p ...
(1961–1985) of
St Louis, Missouri, deserted in August 1982 at age 20.
Notes
External links
Department of Defense article mentioning Pfc. ChungNorth Korea: a guide to economic and political developments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Roy
1957 births
Year of birth uncertain
2004 deaths
Year of death uncertain
American defectors
American expatriates in North Korea
United States Army soldiers
South Korean emigrants to the United States