Samchung re-education camp

The Samchung re-education camp was a South Korean concentration camp set up during the early 1980s under the rule of military dictator Chun Doo-hwan. More than 60,000 people—with estimates up to almost 100,000 people, many of them innocent civilians—were arrested without warrants and faced violent treatment in such camps.[1] The camp was located in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.[3][4]

Samchung re-education camp
Indoctrination camps, labor camps
Coordinates38°06′N 127°05′E
LocationYeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Operated byGovernment of South Korea
Operational1980–1981
Number of inmates60,000–100,000+ (peak)[1]
Killedat least 339 [2]
Samchung re-education camp
Hangul
삼청교육대
Hanja
三清教育隊
Revised RomanizationSamcheong Gyoyukdae
McCune–ReischauerSamchung Kyoyuktae

History

In August 1980, under the South Korean military junta, Samchung served as a prison camp for critics of the new military regime and people considered to be a "social ill".[1] This included participants of the notable Gwangju Uprising.[3]

Within a span of six months, more than 40,000 people, many of whom had clean criminal records, were forced into hard labor or faced physical violence by the military, with some of them dying due to ill-treatment.[5]

There were four categories in the camp, A, B, C and D. Each letter corresponded to the severity of treatment an interned person would receive in the camp, with A being the most severe and D the least.[1]

See also

References
  1. "S. Korean junta punished civilians with military camp in early 1980s: Report".
  2. ""진상규명도 안됐는데 삼청교육대 복무자가 총리라고?"". 내일신문. 16 February 2015.
  3. Jung, Dae-ha (18 May 2021). "Documents reveal Gwangju Uprising protesters were sent to Samchung Reeducation Camp". english.hani.co.kr. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  4. "National Human Rights Commission of Korea Recommended Equal Compensations for Foreign Victims of "Samchung Re-education Camp"". Hurights Osaka. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. Stokes, Henry Scott; Times, Spec Ial To the New York (1981-09-20). "Seoul Said to Hold 15,000 in Camps Without Trial". The New York Times.
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