Roy Chung
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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"
, ''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. Chung

North 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