Newspaper discovers pamphlet by Korean WWII POWs

A copy of the third edition of a newsletter published by Koreans while they were jailed in a prisoner-of-war camp in Hawaii after being captured by allied forces was recently discovered in North Chungcheong Province. The soldiers had been drafted by Japan to fight in World War II.

Before it was found, Korea had only seventh edition copies, in the Independence Hall of Korea and the National Archives of Korea.

The Chungcheong Daily News reported Monday that it had discovered the copy and a roster of about 3,000 drafted Koreans in the process of reorganizing its materials.

The newsletter, titled “Jayuhaninbo,” was a weekly published by Koreans who had been drafted by Japan and ended up in a Hawaii POW camp.

The third edition was dated Nov. 15, 1945. The mimeographed newsletter features 60 handwritten pages composed in a combination of Korean and Chinese characters

The Korean POWs issued seven editions before they were freed at the end of the war. The seventh edition was published on Dec. 12, 1945, after Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945.

The roster, which shows names and birthplaces, is presumed to have been published separately as a supplement to the seventh edition.

Nearly 3,000 Koreans drafted by Japan between 1941 and 1945 are estimated to have been captured by allied forces in the South Pacific region and taken to a POW camp in Hawaii. After the war, 2,719 Koreans were repatriated in two groups ― 2,614 in December 1945 and 105 people in August 1946.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)