COMMUNIST NORTH KOREA WAR LEAFLETS

During the Korean War, (1950-1953), the North Koreans and their Chinese "volunteer" comrades produced and disseminated a great number of psychological warfare leaflets with propaganda text attacking both South Korea and its allies. America was a prime target. Numerous leaflets depicted the problems of American minorities back in the United States (this was also a ploy used by the National Liberation Front a decade later in Vietnam). Other leaflets told the Americans of the good treatment they would receive in a North Korean prison camp. In general, the quality of the leaflet, the inarticulate language used, and the political rhetoric made most of the leaflets laughable and unsuccessful.

A John Hopkins University 1951 "Operations Research Office" paper on North Korean propaganda says:

As is to be expected, the North Korean propaganda machine follows closely the pattern of the Soviets, where propaganda is a function of the government and is a component part of the government organization of the state. Being a function of the Communist Party, the Party alone determines and controls the propaganda, even exercising this civilian control over army-conducted psychological warfare activities. Intelligence reports that North Korean consolidation propaganda, though conducted by the military to a large extent, is totally subject to control by the Party Committee in each province or town. Only in straight combat propaganda both the enemy soldiers and enemy population does the North Korean military propaganda apparatus exercise its own discretion in the implementation of Party policies. The Party alone, however, controls the domestic propaganda output, even by the People’s Army to its own soldiers…Note: Propaganda to the non-Korean elements of the UN forces by the North Korean is in the hands of a specially constituted sub-organization of the Party’s Central Committee, which maintains its own facilities for the implementation of the central policy.

Perhaps one of the most important reference documents in regard to Allied PSYOP in Korea is the declassified secret technical memorandum, US Psywar Operations in the Korean War, written by George S. Pettee under the auspices of the Operations Research Office (ORO) of the Johns Hopkins University. Only 200 copies were printed of the working paper which attempted to assess the past operations and effectiveness of US psychological warfare and possible means for gaining an increased effect. This is an early paper, dated 23 January 1951, so the data covers only the very 205 days of the war that started on 27 June 1950 and would continue until 27 July 1953. In regard to Communist propaganda Pettee says:

The conduct of psywar by the enemy has been marked by his usual highly professional skill in revolutionary propaganda and agitation. The enemy psywar operation differs from the American in many respects, and is far more elaborate and intensive in the aggregate. The enemy has attempted, with his resources, to copy our methods of production and dissemination, He has done so only on a small scale however, and has in general relied upon other methods, especially agitation and internal propaganda, for which his resources are ample and highly developed. Enemy psywar uses posters and other media in great variety and with high skill in areas under enemy control. The enemy uses radio fairly heavily, speaking in Korean to both North and South Koreans. Forty six different enemy leaflets for military propaganda have been found in the first six months of the war.

Stephen E. Pease lists five themes of the North Korean propaganda in Psywar – Psychological Warfare in Korea 1950-1953, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1992. He first says concerning the North Korean occupation of South Korea:

Every aspect of the (Communist) consolidation program must be supported with a planned and deliberate PSYWAR program. Propaganda must reflect long-range objectives and avoid easy short-range objectives if they differ from the long-range plan.

He then lists five major propaganda themes aimed at the South Koreans, "The emancipation of women, the emancipation of labor from capitalism, a youth program, redistribution of land, and nationalism and the Communist ideal." Other themes aimed at the Americans included the profits made by big business while the soldier fought at the front, the loneliness of the soldier’s wife and children, questions about why the Americans were fighting in a Korean civil war, claims that South Korea and the United States instigated the war, alleged letters to family members found on the bodies of dead GIs, Korea for the Koreans, and even various types of Christmas cards and greetings.

Chung Yong Wook discusses Communist themes in “Leaflets, and the nature of the Korean War as Psychological Warfare,” The Review of Korean Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2004:

 

1. Propaganda of the nature of the war, and the cause and objective support by North Korea (The invasion of American Imperialists, the theory regarding Syngman Rhee being a mere puppet, the favorable alliance between Korea and China, the war as a venture for economical gain only for the war mongers who are monopolistic capitalists, unification war, racist war, righteous war, civilian war (87 leaflets).
2. Demanding cease-fire, blaming the impeding or delaying of the proceedings regarding the cease-fire negotiations (18 leaflets).
3. Revealing war crimes (9 leaflets)
4. Supporting anti-war concepts and peace (14 leaflets).
5. Advertising the superiority of its own regime and ruling system (7 leaflets).
6. Blaming discrimination and racial treatment within the US troops (5 leaflets)
7. Supporting desertion or surrender (42 leaflets).
8. Motivating soldiers to feed homesickness, elevating their concerns for the safety of their families and their fears of the potential destruction of their families, suggesting that they return to their homes (41 leaflets).
9. Guaranteeing good treatment for POWs and compensation (27 leaflets).
10. Advertising broadcast schedules and request for correspondence exchange (2 leaflets).
11. Instigating inner conflict and encouraging conflict between South Korean troops and US troops (24 leaflets).

Stanley Sandler discusses the Communist leaflets in Cease Resistance: It’s Good for You: A History of U.S. Army Combat Psychological Operations. He says:

The enemy's leaflets ranged from the professional to the pathetic, although they were usually superior to their loudspeaker messages. Lacking air power, these leaflets were often distributed by farmers or even small boys carrying their propaganda in nondescript sacks, although the excellent Communist mortar leaflet shells were occasionally employed for short-range delivery.

The North Koreans also used the radio as a media of propaganda. Pease mentions that they disguised their war plans by calling for open elections in Korea a week before they invaded the South. During the war, they constantly called for peace talks in an attempt to confuse the United Nations Command. They broadcast reports of imaginary victories on the land and in the air. In February 1952, the North Koreans started a radio and newspaper campaign claiming that the United Nations Forces were using germ warfare. The claims were obvious fabrications, but some third-world countries gave them limited credence.

The North Koreans even propagandized their own troops. Korean Lieutenant No Kum-Sok, who would later fly to the west with his MiG-15 fighter, told me how he heard about the war:

Sunday, June 25, 1950, is a day I can never forget. It was the day that the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea at 0400.  I was at North Korean Naval Academy. We were taken to a mountain on that fateful day and had several hours of infantry combat training by crawling on rough mountain terrain with the heavy type “A” Russian rifle. As an ardent anti-Communist, I hated being in the communist military academy. Once enrolled, there is no way to resign. Resignation is considered treason.

After we returned from the mountain, soaking wet with sweat, we lined up in front of the mess-hall. A serious looking political officer stood in front of us and reported the outbreak of the war. He said South Korean troops had invaded all along the north of the 38th Parallel and advanced 2 to 4 kilometers early that morning.  The North Korean People’s Army counterattacked the invaders and advanced 40 to 50 kilometers south of the border by noon. The fighting was continuing and the enemy troops were retreating in disarray.

I could not believe that the weak South Korean Army had started the war and was being defeated so badly. I began to wonder who really started the war. North Korean daily propaganda has repeated ever since that South Korea invaded North Korea by the order of the United States. Even today, all North Koreans believe that South Korea invaded North Korea. 

Like Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally, the North Koreans had their own female radio propagandist, the infamous Seoul City Sue. She first went on the air about 10 August 1950. She would read the names of dead American troops while jingling their dog tags as soothing music played in the background. She was later identified as Mrs. Anna Wallace Suhr, wife of a Korean newsman, a former missionary schoolteacher in Korea from 1930-1938 who married a Korean national and later became politically active in what became North Korea. She was never as popular as the WWII broadcasters, probably because her Communist bosses did not allow her to play popular American music.

On 13 August 1950 Sue announced that USS Sicily with its “Black Sheep” squadron of Marines would be wiped out to avenge the people of Free Korea. The North Korean People’s Army had sentenced any Marine that they captured to death. It would be a slow, cruel death in response to the American use of napalm on their people. She told the ship and crew to go home because the fight in Korea was none of their affair.

A retired Marine officer told me that after the 1st Battle of the Naktong on 17-18 Aug 1950:

She announced that the 5th Marines were mustering in a telephone booth. Sad thing, she was a hell of a lot more correct than I'd guess she dreamed of being.

Time of 21 August 1950 mentioned that U.S. 1st Cavalry troops near the Naktong River listened to a North Korean station and heard the “brassy blare” of a John Philip Sousa march:

It was followed by the honeyed words (in English) of a woman announcer, urging the boys to "go back home to your corner drugstores" and boasting of fantastic North Korean successes, “Already there are 6,000 U.S. dead”… A veteran master sergeant complained: “Hell, Tokyo Rose used to entertain you. This babe's just a bore. Now if she'd only play some Benny Goodman or something like that, she'd get some listeners.”

On another occasion Sue announced that North Korea has killed over 1,000 American UDT members (Frogmen) during a two-week period. At the time Underwater Demolition Teams 1 and 3 with less than 100 American personnel, were the total number of frogmen in all of Korea.  

Sue was also mentioned in an Air Force drinking song sung to the music of “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover.” The 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Songbook lists the chorus of the song as: 

Seoul City Sue, Seoul City Sue,
Your hair is black, your eyes are too
I'd swap my honey cart for you.
Seoul City Sue, Seoul City Sue,
No one smells of Kimchie,
Like my sweet Seoul City Sue.

Sue was also mentioned by Corporal Radar O’Reilly in one episode of MASH. Radar mentions that there is nothing on the radio but Seoul City Sue, so he will read a letter from his mother to the troops.

The North Korean and Chinese propaganda radio messages were broadcast in English and Korean while their leaflets were written in English, Korean and Spanish (for American soldiers of Puerto Rican descent). Sue was not the only female propagandist on the communist airwaves. There was also “Peking Polly,” who spoke a very formal and well-educated English and chastised American pilots for the “promiscuous bombing of schools and strafing of farmers.” Peking Polly went on to have a long career and there are reports of her haranguing American Army and Navy forces well into the 1960s.

It is interesting to note that the North Koreans still hold to these lies. One North Korean propaganda site on the Internet still says, "In the period from January to March 1952 when they began an all-out germ war the U.S. aggressors dropped various germ bombs a total of 804 times over 169 places in alpine, coastal and mountainous areas of the north. One fourth of the planes involved in air raids on the North Korea participated in the germ war. Some days their number reached 480 planes. The U.S. aggressors brutally killed POWs of the Korean People's Army by using them as guinea pigs for germ weapon experiment. They committed serious crimes to use a chemical weapon. They made 33 poison-gas bomb attacks against various areas of the North Korea from Feb. 27 to Apr. 9, 1952. They used at least 15 million napalm-shells. Their planes dropped even food, leaflets and false money containing poisonous substance. They also unhesitatingly killed POWs of the KPA by using them as guinea pigs for a poisonous substance test. The U.S. aggressors massacred POWs of our side as they pleased during the Korean War in gross violation of the publicly recognized international laws and war law and regulations. They staged such farces as "voluntary repatriation," "private interview and screening" and "petition for release" in a bid to detain POWs of the KPA by force. They mercilessly killed everyone who did not comply with their demands."

Sandler mentions the North Korean use of loudspeakers and their unsophisticated messages: "You have expended all your left-over equipment from World War II. It will start costing you to continue," "You should play it safe and stay inside," and "You are merely tools for capitalist gain." In one case the Communists even used a sexy female voice that said, "Come on over and surrender. I will give you a good time." He quotes one entire loudspeaker script:

Now we can achieve peace even though we are firing at each other. Now is the time to lay down your arms. Your big man, General Clark, and our big man should get together. How can we have peace when your planes and our planes bomb each other? The Chase National Bank had $2,700,000,000 and now has $5,400,000,000. This is an increase of 3 billion dollars. It is a shame to travel 5,000 miles to fight a war, which is not yours. We are spending money; the bigwigs are making it. There should be no more war. Then everyone could go to school and grow up to be an intelligent person.

Mark R. Jacobson mentions a Chinese loudspeaker message in his PhD thesis, Minds then Hearts: U.S. Political and Psychological Warfare during the Korean War, 2005, Ohio State University.

Hello my G.I. friends. Good morning. This is your regular morning broadcast courtesy of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army. G.I. friends, this is the dawn of the ten-hundredth and twentieth day of the forgotten war; what your politician chose to call a police action, a minor affair, which has already caused you more casualties than your war of independence. G.I. friends, you want peace. We want peace. We too are young; we too have to leave our homes to fight on foreign soil. Why? Shown your stubborn generals haggling at Panmunjom that you will no longer fight for a line on the map. Show them that you want peace just as we want peace. Lay down your arms and we will lay down ours.

Maj. Gen. Raymond E. Mason Jr. writing under the pseudonym Allan Reed Millett mentions Communist Chinese propaganda in his book Their War for Korea: American, Asian, and European Combatants and Civilians, 1945-1953, Brassey's Inc., Dulles VA, 2002. Discussing how the Chinese saw themselves he says:

Gallant if simple peasants and workers of the Renmin Zhiyuanjun (Chinese People’s Volunteers) endure crushing and cowardly artillery fire and air strikes and close with the Americans (or “puppet” South Koreans) and win the battle because of their moral superiority. The enemy is craven, eager to surrender, and without honor or unit pride. The common American soldier is a poor white, a Latino, or an African-American slave laborer who has been sent to the war designed by Japanese and American capitalists eager to reestablish the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere and destroy the Chinese revolution. This army of mercenaries and ignorant conscripts cannot stand against the ardor of the Chinese soldier, whose spirit will always prevail over Western firepower.

Locked in battle, the U.N. troops howled like wolves, gibbered like monkeys, bleated like sheep, fought like cornered rats, and died like dogs. Whether the allusions were born in barnyards or astrological calendars, the portrait of the enemy provides not just the obligatory dehumanization, but stresses the fact that Chinese soldiers were stoic comrades who suffered in silence and willingly sacrificed their lives for their squads. In one tale, a Chinese soldier burns to death silently so he will not reveal his squad’s assault position. The Chinese authors became especially rhapsodic when large, hairy Americans surrendered to gallant Chinese youths half their size.

The mention of “Japanese” in the propaganda message is interesting. The Communist sometimes used the threat of the hated Japanese in the rumors that they used as a form of propaganda. Jacobson says:

Far East Command found it difficult to quickly counteract significant rumors such as those in December 1950 that MacArthur had landed 250,000 Japanese troops at Inchon to help fight the Chinese…Within forty-eight hours a large portion of the Korean population was convinced the rumors were correct….

In general, the Communist propaganda was not very good. The PSYOP commander of the Eighth Army in Korea (EUSAK) stated, "The Communist leaflets were a waste of effort, extravagant and exaggerated. They mirrored a communist picture of America, but not America."

The Army Information Digest of 6 January 1951 quotes what it believes to be the first and possibly only Communist leaflet that was air-dropped in July 1950:

Dear Conscientious officers and sergeants! Do surrender as soon as possible with all the men under your command. Dear Friends! Be relieved and surrender.

An example of the U.N. troops fighting the war for the profit of American big business is North Korean leaflet number 914155. It depicts GIs looking to walk a path identified as "The way leading to your home." The leaflet pictures two hands. One has the flag of the United States on the sleeve and holds a pistol. The other has a dollar sign on the sleeve and releases more troops into Korea. At the upper left a child asks "When’ll papa be home, mum?" Text at the top of the leaflet is "WHO BLOCK UP THE ROAD FOR YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR DEAR HOME?"

Another example of this theme of profit is in the form of an all-text letter written by a T. Campbell of Liverpool to his son at the front. The title of the leaflet is “British Soldiers! DON’T RISK YOUR LIFE FOR YANKEE DOLLARS! 

Some of the leaflet text is: 

Let the American millionaires and their gangster-politicians do their own fighting. 

Son, I hope you are alright. I am glad you are out of danger being a prisoner. The other soldiers are having a rotten time and still there is no sign of the government breaking with America who are the course of all the trouble. They are going to cause a world war and England is just doing what they want them to do.

Another leaflet numbered 615129 depicts U.N. troops squeezed out of a toothpaste tube and into a cannon where they are fired northward, only to leave the barrel as skulls. The text is "You are being forced to become cannon fodder for the aggression of Korea by Wall Street warmongers. Oppose the aggressive war and surrender to the People’s Army. This only can give you a new life and happiness."

An example of a leaflet that lies about both the origin of the war and the air victories of the North Koreans is coded 12528 and depicts U.S. aircraft falling from the sky and crashed on the ground. The text is, "ON 25 June 1950: The US ruling circle thus instigated an aggressive war in an attempt to conquer whole Korea as a stroke." The back of the leaflet continues, "On 25 June 1952: The US ruling circle has lost even the illusion of air superiority like this. The more they try to continue and extend this aggressive war, the longer you will be separated from your loved ones and the harder it will become for you to escape dying for no purpose."

Another leaflet imitated a German WWII campaign that warned of dying in the final days of the war. It showed a clock with the time 11:55 and a dead G.I. The text is "Don’t get killed at five to twelve." The message on the back claimed that the Korean and Chinese peoples wanted to end the war but the U.S. Generals kept it going on. It warned the soldier, "Don’t be a last-minute sucker!"

 

One leaflet taught the GIs How to surrender. It told them that "Tow shong" meant, "I surrender" and guaranteed good treatment from the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces. It copied a photo from Life Magazine showing a soldier kissing his wife goodbye, and added "Leave Korea to the Koreans." This propaganda is similar to the WWII Japanese campaign when they attacked the European colonies and used to theme "Asia for the Asians." The back of the leaflet depicted bodies in a mass open grave and reminded the soldier, " Don’t finish like this! It’s not your war…"

The North Koreans attempted to lower the morale of the American troops by printing a leaflet coded 12504 depicting a mother and crying daughter with the text, "Don’t let your loved ones mourn for you!" Text on the back was in part, "Why are you here, 5000 miles from your homes, risking your lives, killing Korean men and women – even infants – who never harmed America or thought of attacking you? Why?"

“Loved ones” was a reoccurring theme among the Communist leaflets.

The above bright red leaflet depicts a U.S. Air Force member kissing his wife goodbye. The text is:

When will you be able to see your loved ones at all?

What is interesting about this leaflet is the crinkled appearance. This usually indicates that the leaflet was disseminated by artillery shell. The blast of the shell will burn or singe the leaflet and the shock wave will leave that finely crinkled appearance. The back is all text. Some of the message is:

This is no time for mere thinking!

Quite probably you are thinking about how the home folks are going to pass the holidays and meet the New Year.

You should not allow yourself to sink into meditation on this, but launch a home-coming movement for a quick return to your home.

Today I buried My First Born, My Son

This North Korean leaflet depicts a mother at a gravesite and a newspaper clipping on the front. The leaflet title is:

Today I buried my first born, my son…

The newspaper clipping headline is:

Rejects Medal of Son Slain in “Needless” War

The back is all text:

Mrs. Cooper told a reporter her son was studying to be a Catholic priest when drafted and she added: “All countries should be free and at peace with each other. There should be no hatred, whether it be of Communists, colored people or what. There should only be love of man.”

Mrs. Cooper wrote her letter almost a year ago. Since then, thousands of other American families have tasted the fruits of this useless, senseless, Korean War – WHICH NEED NOT CONTINUE FOR A SINGLE DAY.

70% of the American People - the Gallop Poll reports - want, the U.S. to settle differences through peaceful negotiations. That is what the Korean and Chinese people want too.

Another said, "YOUR FOLKS AT HOME NEED YOU. Your dear mother is filling with tears in her eyes. Your pretty and young wife is going to crazy, for she can't stand any longer. Your children are crying and asking where their daddy is now. American officers and soldiers; Do you like to leave your mother, wife and children for the cannon fodders of Truman and MacArthur? Just cease fighting and come over to our line. We guarantee you safe conduct, warm clothes, good food and medical care if you injure, and in the end you'll get home."

 

The North Koreans and Chinese often produced leaflets bearing the signatures of POWs. One depicted a destroyed city on the front with the text, "Even Hitler the civilized savage will shrink from such barbarism as this!" The back was entitled "Appeal to the great powers by prisoners of war for the formation of a pact to establish world peace." Below the appeal were 30 handwritten signatures.

Another leaflet was entitled "Stop and think! What are you doing? It tells of good treatment in the POW camp and lists the names of 78 troops held in captivity.

The North Koreans even prepared leaflets that told the Allies exactly how they were expected to act in a POW camp.

One such leaflet has the following text in English on one side and in Korean on the other. The message says in part:

GUIDE TO PRISONERS OF WAR

But you are required to:

Obey our orders. Otherwise, you will be dealt with in accordance to our military law.

Hand over all weapons and military documents in your possession.

Hand over the following prohibited articles;

Lighters - Flashlights – mirrors – Knives – Drugs – Matches – Explosives…

Another said in part:

More than 400 surrendered American officers and men in a camp in North Korea signed the statement which is printed here. They have asked for it to be sent to America and to the American troops fighting in Korea. They disagree with the war and they believe that most American soldiers as well as the folks back home also want to see it ended. Here is what they say. Read it and see if their opinions are the same as yours.

The Title “Officers and Men” is a common one among enemy leaflets both in Korea and later in Vietnam.  The following four leaflets all use the same title and general theme to encourage American soldiers to quit the war and return home.

Perhaps the most interesting from a design standpoint has the title and partial text:

Officers & Men of the U.S. Forces Came over to the
Korean People’s Army Seeking to Save Their Lives!

The leaflet goes on to tell of the treatment soldiers will receive if they go over to the Communist forces and depicts a handwritten letter from Jackie Caraveau of Company F of the 38th Infantry Regiment.

The leaflet ends with a reminder that American soldiers can listen to Communist radio broadcasts:

Pyongyang Radio Station arranges an English program at 22:15 every Tuesday evening.

The back of the leaflet depicts three photographs of Allied prisoners receiving good treatment and a message from Herbert Romberger of the 38th Infantry Regiment.

Another such leaflet has the title “ Important Message - Turn over ” on the front. When the leaflet is turned over we find the familiar title and partial text:

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE AMERICAN ARMY

At the present time, many of your units have been annihilated by us and you yourselves are encircled or being routed by our powerful forces. It is surely a pity that you came to Korea to fight for the Bankers of Wall Street, but further resistance is both futile and unwise. It can mean nothing but useless sacrifice...

The message ends with the usual offer of safe conduct by the Korean and Chinese People’s Armies.

A third leaflet has a longer message in regard to peace negotiations and the foolishness of being killed at the last moment. It says in part:

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE “UN FORCES”

Probably you are quite sure that the armistice negotiations at Kaesung will be brought to a success without fail, and you will be able to return to your dear parents and families at home.

Your folks will be of one mind with you too. The “UN delegation” however, is hatching a plot to bring the Kaesung armistice negotiations to a rupture by every possible lawless act in their power and to expand the war in Korea…

The fourth leaflet is just a small piece of paper with the text in English on one side and in Korean on the other.

Officers and men of the U.S. armed forces!

Surrender, and you will not be killed.
We treat POWs well.
Lay down your arms and come over to us!

General Political Bureau
Of the Korean People’s Army.

This leaflet code # 144 depicts a soldier's mother reading his last letter. The text of the hand written letter reads:

Dear Mom,

        I miss you so much, oh mom, I didn't know how I loved you so, but I'll prove it when this useless war is over -- I'm writing this letter in a foxhole, so don't scold me if it isn't so neat as I did when I was kid and came home with mud on my feet.  The Captain just gave us orders & mom we have to carry it through. I'll finish this letter the first chance I get but for now  I'll just say I love you. 

Below the handwritten letter is additional text that reads:

This is an unfinished last letter received by an American Mother from her son that was killed in Korea.

Soldier's don't get killed in this useless war. Don't let this happen to your dear motrher at home who is praying day and night for your safety.

DEMAND PEACE, STOP THE WAR, so that you can go home and dispel the gnawing anxiety which is tearing your mother's heart.

THEME - BIG BUSINESS THE REAL REASON FOR THE WAR

The Communists liked to tie the war effort to profit. Another all-text leaflet is entitled “BIG BUSINESS IS SCARED OF PEACE.” The leaflet is signed by “The Korean People’s Army” and “The Chinese People’s Volunteers.” Some of the text is:

When the peace talks began, the value of shares fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

They’ve made plenty out off the bloodshed in Korea.

Net corporate profits after tax in the first quarter of this year were at an annual rate of $24 billion or 50% above the first quarter of 1950. This was an all time peak.

We find this Communist attack on big business used over and over. It is one of their favorite themes.

Another example of the same sort of propaganda has some of the following text:

To Every American Soldier and Officer in Korea

Maybe you think this war has something to do with the “United Nations,” but everyone else knows that Washington has stolen the UN flag and draped it around your shoulders to conceal its real motives…

THERE’S MONEY IN WAR

For some. And that’s why the Wall Street Bankers are trying to launch a Third World War. For others, war can only mean death and mutilation…

The leaflet goes on to attack Wall Street, General MacArthur and ends with a “Tow Shong” safe conduct offer.

Leaflet # 117 shows two pictures on the front. The first photo is of two men and two women in swim suits sitting at a table with drinks by a pool in Florida. The text under the photo is:

Mr. Moneybags in Florida this Christmas.  

The second photo is of GI's marching over the mountains through the snow. The text under the photo is:

Where are you? In Korea? You risk your life, Big Business rakes in the dough.

This leaflet is depicted in a U.S. Army Korean War film on psychological warfare. The narrator states that this photograph was originally stolen from a magazine ad for cigars, (and note that one man is smoking a cigar) and goes on to say that the liquor glasses were later added by the North Korean Communists. If you look at the glass in the hand of the man at the right it does appear to be drawn.

Leaflet # 145 asks the questions:

Why are they throwing a monkey wrench in the peace talks?
Why are you still in Korea?
Why do they want this war - and more war?

The leaflet goes on to explain the answer to these questions by stating:

THE REAL REASON

If the international situation had not taken a turn for the worse this spring, we would be inclined to take a serious view of the business outlook. - The Journal of Commerce

Only increasing arms outlay seems likely to prevent a marked business setback.
- Moody's Investment Service

The U.S. government is delaying the truce negotiations in order to gain time for creating a situation of strength. - James Van Fleet, U.S. Army Commander

Don't let them make a monkey out of you!
Get together to stop this senseless war!

THEME - SAFE CONDUCT PASS

The text on the above Safe Conduct Pass reads:

BEARER, regardless of nationality or rank, is to be treated in accordance with our policy of leniency to prisoners of war and escorted to the nearest local headquarters of the Korean People's Army of the Chinese People's Volunteers. He is to be guaranteed:

1. Security of Life
2. Retention of all personal belongings
3. Freedom from maltreatment or abuse.
4. Medical care if wounded or ill.

KIM IL SUNG
Supreme Commander Korean People's Army
PENG TEH-HUAI
Commander, Chinese People's Volunteers

Demand peace – Stop the War

A second version from the same series of surrender leaflets is printed in red and blue and folded twice. The front depicts a dove of peace and the text in English, Chinese and Korean:

Demand peace – Stop the War
Safe Conduct Pass
Headquarters, Korean People’s Army
Headquarters, Chinese People’s Volunteers

The back depicts five Allied prisoners of war playing cards and the text:

Playing cards – a favorite POW recreation.

When opened, the inside is all text in English Chinese and Korean with the same text as the leaflet above.

Another safe conduct pass bears the message on the front written in Korean and Chinese at the left and English at the right. The message is:

SAFE CONDUCT PASS

The BEARER, regardless of his military rank or nationality, is hereby unconditionally guaranteed freedom from personal injury, maltreatment or abuse. He will receive medical treatment if necessary and will retain all personal possessions.

ISSUED BY
THE KOREAN PEOPLE’S ARMY
THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S VOLUNTEER FORCES.

The back of the leaflets bears a long message in English that says in part:

LET THE WARMONGERS DO THEIR OWN FIGHTING

In a Christmas party arranged by one of the Chinese volunteer units, an American prisoner named Glaseaw said:

We are Christians! Yet today our hands are smeared with Korean blood. We have slaughtered peaceful civilians and bombed old people and children. We have committed crimes. AND WHO MADE US DO IT? IT WAS TRUMAN, DU PONT AND THE REST; THEY CARE ABOUT NOTHING BUT MONEY…

Another leaflet is almost identical on the front but bears a different propaganda message on the back. The message says in part:

American officers and soldiers:

The all-out offensive of “back home before Christmas” boasted by MacArthur has been smashed already. You are now driven out of Pyongyang and Seoul and…

You are facing a situation worse than that of three months ago. In front of you there are heroic and powerful Korean People’s Army and Chinese Volunteers. At the back of you, there are thousands upon thousands of Korean brave guerrilla troops and numerous indignant Korean people…

THEME - LEAVE KOREA TO THE KOREANS

This leaflet shows a GI returning home to his wife or girl. The top of the leaflet reads "LEAVE KOREA TO THE KOREANS" a popular theme used by the North throughout the war. The text at the bottom of the leaflet reads: "Photo of G.I. just back from Korea.  YOU TOO BELONG BACK HOME!" 

The reverse of this leaflets depicts a handwritten letter from a GI's wife along with a message. The text on the back reads:

"ARMISTICE TALKS GIVE PEOPLE NEW HOPE Your folks are longing you will soon be home--safe and sound. This is what they are writing--"

My Dearest Darling,

Well sweet, first of all let me tell you that I love you with all my heart. Oh it was with such joy we heard the news of cease fire talk in Korea and there is a great hope in our hearts that soon you'll be home, darling please be back quickly to care for me and our lovable baby.

I'm terribly waiting for a letter in your home. I'm praying for the day when I can see you walking in the door to me. I had a dream last night that I saw you quite clearly running towards me. I don't know why we have to have war. I wish you'll never leave me again. I know you can have your old job if you left the army. I need you dear, my life is empty without you.

Your everloving wife

The best way home is real peace in Korea. And the first step to real peace is to fix the 88th parallel as the military demarcation line between both sides for the establishment of a demilitarized zone.  

THE KOREAN PEOPLE'S ARMY
THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S ARMY

The front of leaflet # 141 shows a GI holding a rifle and asks the   questions: "Who is breaking the law? and Why are you still in Korea?"   The reverse of the leaflet is all text and reads:

There is only one International Law on Prisoners of War

Who Is Breaking The Law?

The Geneva Convention which the U.S. signed says (in Article 118):

Prisoners of  war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities

The London "Times" one of the most conservative newspapers in the world wrote on May 6:

For nearly 200 years it has been accepted that belligerents should return their prisoners of war when hostilities have ceased.

The Chinese and Koreans stick to the law. They want all POWs to go home. The U.S. refuses on the phony pretext of 'voluntary repatriation' which has never before been heard of.

It was to protect prisoners against such tricks that the law was made in the first place. That is why the Geneva Convention also says (in Article 7):

Prisoners of war may in no circumstances renounce in part or in entirety the rights secured to them by this convention.

The illegal trick is the only thing that keep you from going home too. Everything else in the Peace Talks has been agreed on.

Demand That All POW's Go Home. Demand Peace So You Can Go Home Too".

THEME - LIFE OF A POW IS BETTER
THAN DYING IN AN UNJUST WAR

The uncoded leaflet above describes how life is in a Chinese People's Volunteer Forces POW Camp. The leaflet states that there are already thousands of POWs, and that they are being treated fairly, given medical treatment is needed, and are allowed to write home to let family know that they are safe. The leaflet also reports that many American and British prisoners have already been freed and sent home.

Another brown monotone leaflet shows the treatment that the prisoner can expect in a North Korean or Chinese prison camp. A white dove is depicted at the top along with a photograph of happy Allied prisoners eating at a bountiful table. The text is:

 

First class treatment.

 

Come and join us fellow soldiers. In the fight for peace. Live and let live!

A second photograph below depicts a graveyard and a skull. The text is:

 

Six feet of Korean earth!

 

A similar brown monotone leaflet depicts a group of black prisoners of war. One plays an accordion, a second plays a guitar. The leaflet is signed by the “Central Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army.” The text is:

 

Sing-song in a P.O.W. Camp

Surprisingly, very few leaflets targeted African-American troops. The Chinese and North Vietnamese would produce dozens of racially divisive leaflets in the 1960s, but the North Koreans showed little interest in attacking that “soft underbelly” of America. There is one known case of six American prisoners released on 7 January 1951 and sent back to their own lines carrying three North Korean leaflets. The very odd text is:

COLORED MEN OF U.S. FORCES. FIND THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE!

YOU MUST LIVE. YOU MUST GO HOME AGAIN. Your family is awaiting your return. How sad were it when your death be informed to them. Who will support your family’s lives after your death? You are now defeated on every front and are surrounded in many areas by brave Korea People’s Army and voluntary Army of China. You continuous fight brings nothing else but worthless death in a strange land.

YOU MUST HAVE YOUR JUST RIGHT TO ENJOY FREEDOM AND EQUALITY.

You certainly remember that you have been mistreated with racist discrimination and in slave life. American capitalists are plotting to colonize Korea by military intervention. We should cut this chain.

HATE WAR AND COME OVER TO KOREAN’S PEOPLE’S ARMY. IF YOU WANT TO FIND THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE.

Korean People’s Army will treat you very well and send you home soon.

Another crude leaflet in the form of a handwritten letter claims to be from Corporal Francisco Oliveras Padilla. Some of the text is:

Your buddy says chinese treat war prisoners good.

Here is what your buddy Francisco says about the Chinese treatment.

Miguel,

I write you from a Chinese hospital very far from the front line. I was very afraid, but everything passed when I met the Chinese soldiers at their lines. They were so kind with me that I was surprised. They offered me cigarettes and hot water.

I thought that the Chinese were very bad men, that killed the prisoners, but this is nothing but lie. When we reached to their lines they gave me the first aid to the wound in my leg…

PFC Dave Schroeder's camp in the punchbowl.

Private First Class Dave Schroeder was an assistant BAR man (Browning automatic rifle) in Company B, 17th Infantry, 7th Infantry Division during the winter of 1951-1952. In late December 1951 on the north rim of the punch bowl, he engaged a North Korean patrol that was attempting to hand-deliver surrender leaflets. The “punchbowl” was a large circular valley ringed by steep mountains on three sides. It lay east of “Heartbreak Ridge” along the Kansas line just south of the 38th Parallel. The next morning he found one of the leaflets. It had a huge bloodstain covering a third of the paper but he cleaned it off and carried it for the remainder of the war.

The leaflet purports to be correspondence between a group of 28 American prisoners-of-war to the Central Committee of the US-British Prisoners of War Peace Organizations, in Pyongyang, North Korea, and their Answer back to the prisoners. The leaflet was obviously prepared while the peace talks were going on. The text is very long. Some of the more interesting comments from the POWs are:

We all know now that this is an unjust and aggressive war.  This war should have been settled be the North and South Koreans. We have no business in it. We cannot see why our government is wasting so much money, men and materials and won’t achieve an armistice at the 38th parallel and withdraw our troops from Korea. We are willing to act in accordance with the platform of your committee, and do everything in our power to bring peace and settle this Korean problem.

We are all eagerly hoping to be accepted into the Peace Organization so we can join the fight for peace in Korea.  We would like to see and end to this war at the earliest moment so that all the prisoners could return to their wives and families and stop this needless killing and waste of materials

Peace is our goal, for that is the only way for us POWs to get back to our families.

Naturally, the Communist-front organization welcomes the soldiers and is thrilled to have them as peaceful allies. Some of the long reply, including one of the longest run-on sentences I have ever seen is:

Your decision to leave the camp of the aggressors and join the ranks of the peace fighters is wise and just. You realized before it was too late, the uselessness in suffering unendurable hardships one the battlefield and risking death or permanent injury in waging war on a peace loving people and it shows you are cognizant of the fact that this is an unjust war, being fought solely for the personal gain of the imperialists in the U.S.A. and Great Britain, the stalling tactics and ridiculous demands of the U.S. delegation at Keasong clearly prove  that they are bent on securing Korea as a base for further acts of aggression in Asia.

The aims and objectives of our organization are very clear.  We are striving for a peaceful settlement of the Korean conflict and for the establishment of a lasting world peace.

At the bottom of both sides of the leaflet is a reminder that troops can listen to the Communist radio:

Pyongyang radio arranges an English program for you at 22:15 every Tuesday evening.

The 38th Regiment of the Second Infantry Division took terrible looses in Korea. The “Korean War Project” estimates 2,074 casualties during the length of the war. On 27 August 1951, the date that the men who signed the North Korean leaflet allegedly surrendered, 62 soldiers were lost.

CHRISTMAS CARDS & LEAFLETS

A multicolored card depicting ringing bells and holly with the English text "Merry Christmas" on front. The back of the card is blank except for the code number 120 preceded by two Chinese characters that read "propaganda sheet." The card unfolds to reveal text at the left reading :

Whatever the colour, race or creed, all plain folks are brothers indeed. Both you and we want life and peace, if you go home, the war will cease. Demand Peace! Stop the War!

Text at the right reads "Greetings from the Chinese People's Volunteers / Korea 1951." The folded card is 95 x 120 mm. This card is also known in a monotone (lilac) version.

This Christmas Leaflet code # 156 depicts a Mrs. Christine Brown reading one of the two letters she received from her husband Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Brown, who is a prisoner of war in Korea.

The text reads:

"It is comforting to know that whether returned to us or not, he is in good hands", said the wife of a POW when she heard that her husband was captured.

Christmas will be happy in the family. The families of POWs are not in torment every moment. Their hearts at ease. They know their dear ones are out of danger, are in good hands and well treated. They receive letters from them regularly, see their photos in newspapers and hear there voices over the radio.  MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, they know their dear ones will be repatriated right after the armistice is signed, while other Americans GIs and British, Turkish, Puerto Rican, Greek, Dutch, French soldiers who are still in the front will have to stay in Korea, keeping vigil with the bleak mountains until the U.S. Government makes up its mind to leave Korea to the Koreans.

This undated Christmas leaflet coded # 118 has two pictures.   The first a photo, show a cold and sad GI. with the text below:

Frozen rations eaten on the run, any moment he may have to run again to fight or die - and so may you.

The second picture shows a Thanksgiving feast with a smiling family preparing to sit down to a wonderful turkey dinner. The text accompanying this picture reads:

Christmas - Home - Happiness. Those who love you want you want you back home, safe and sound. FIND A WAY OUT! It's No Disgrace to Quit Fighting in This Unjust War!

Christmas handkerchief

The Communists did not limit themselves to propaganda messages on paper leaflets. On rare occasions they produced their propaganda on cloth as we see in this Christmas handkerchief. This item was found by Sergeant Paul Foster of the 180th Infantry Regiment / 45th Infantry Division (Thunderbirds) in a mailbox sometime in 1951. Apparently a North Korean agent or soldier placed it in the mailbox to be found by the Americans. Attached to the cloth was a pin with the text:

Democracy
Stop the War

The images on the cloth depict a group of six family members, a white dove of peace, an American, Korean, and Chinese soldier with arms around each other in friendship, and pictures of a Wall Street boss, the girl friend, a soldier and a civilian. The text around the borders, in the four corners and in the center of the brightly colored handkerchief is:

Demand Peace! Stop the War! It is no disgrace to quit fighting in this unjust war. Withdraw all foreign troops from Korea. Leave Korea to the Koreans. From the Chinese People's Volunteers - Korea1951

Those who love you want you back home – safe and sound. Peace. Let all the peoples be friends. Merry Christmas.

How would it be to get back into civvies? Why fight for him? Why not go back to her? It’s no disgrace to quit an unjust war!

A Belgian Army soldier, whose unit was attached to the American Third Division during 1951 and 1952 found the handkerchiefs placed by the Chinese between the lines:

The handkerchiefs hung, among many others, from a tree in the center of an open valley. After several days of observation without any signs of the tree being watched, I left the safety of the entrenchment and retrieved a handful of them. I distributed them to my fellow soldiers and kept one for myself. I brought it home to Belgium and my sister-in-law hung it in a frame on the wall and it remains still intact in the same frame.

Another full-color Christmas card from the Communist Chinese shows a candle and holly leaves and has the text "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Chinese People's Volunteers." This card is undated so there is no way to tell when it was disseminated. Text on the back says:

Dear Soldiers,

It is Christmas and you are far from home, suffering from cold not knowing when you will die. The big shots are home, enjoying themselves eating good food, drinking good liquor, why should you be here risking your life for their profits? The Koreans and the Chinese don't want to be your enemies. Our enemies and yours are those who sent you here and destroy your happiness. Soldiers! Lets join hands! You belong back home with those who love you and want you back, safe and sound. So we wish you.....

Another leaflet is coded # 157. The front of the leaflet depicts of a woman resting her head on her arms thinking about her husband or boyfriend. The text on the front reads: "Darling I will dream that you are coming back to me this Christmas. I can't think of a Christmas without you."

The photo on the reverse of the leaflet shows several dead American soldiers and a letter. The text beside the photo states: "Found on the body of a dead GI -- Julius J. Davis, Pfc., 9th Co., 15th Regt., 3rd Div. Serial No. US544061551." The inclusion of the name of the soldier, his serial number and unit, provides credibility to the letter.

The text of the handwritten letter on the reverse reads:

Friday, July 25th 1952. 12:50 pm

Darling,

    As I lie here in your room, my thoughts are out there with you wherever you are. It may sound funny, and its hard to understand, but wherever you are no matter how far away, part of me will be there too. Darling since I've been home I 've felt so close to you. Every time I go to the closet to get a dress, and I see your suits and coats hanging in there, something comes over me and I get weak in my knees and I just have to stop a while and close my eyes. I guess it is all a part of being in love and being separated from the one you love.

They wonder why I don't eat. In the first place I don't have the appetite and haven't had much of an appetite for almost a year. Shall I tell you why?  Yes baby, I know nothing will affect your appetite. But I'm different you affect practically every part of me. The physical, mental and spiritual sides too.

Goodnight darling, I will dream you are coming back to me this Christmas. I can't think of a Christmas without you.

I wish I could fall asleep tonight in your arms. Wouldn't we both be happy?

As Ever,

Many leaflets used the theme of the unhappy wife or mother at home. A red monotone leaflet coded 127 depicts three officers trying to present a medal to a white-haired mother. The title is “Give us our son, not a medal.”

An interesting Communist leaflet in the form of a cartoon looks a lot like WWII Axis propaganda. The style is so odd for the North Koreans that I was suspicious of it at first glance. However, it was found with other leaflets that do appear to be genuine, so I am going to assume that this item was produced by North Korea for American troops. The leaflet depicts a wealthy American with a blonde on his lap. Banknotes and coins are on the table beside him and he holds a glass of champagne. Text at the left of the vignette is:

YOUR WIFE OR SWEETHEART?

The back is all text in a bright red ink:

GALLANT AMERICAN SOLDIERS…

You are fighting a losing battle. (You are retreating you know.) While you shed your blood and endure unnecessary hardships, your wives and sweethearts are being entertained by your war-mongering, capitalistic leaders! Save your life. Come over to our lines. Cease this useless resistance and we will return you to your loved ones.

IT MAY NOT BE TOO LATE!

Eisenhower – Stevenson Leaflet

I decided to add this leaflet because of the interesting portraits of Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson on the front. Eisenhower was both a 5-star general and the President of the United States. Stevenson was an unsuccessful presidential candidate who later achieved fame when he stood up at the United Nations and accused the Soviet Union of placing intercontinental ballistic missiles in Cuba. This North Korean leaflet attempts to convince the American military that neither politician speaks for them. On the front the text is:

Who Represents You
?
Eisenhower    Stevenson

The back is all text and says in part:

What do they say on the Korean War?

EISENHOWER:

I do not have any prescription for bringing the thing to a decisive end…

STEVENSON:

The only completely satisfactory solution would be total victory… the price of that is high and involves the risk of extension of hostilities and world war.

Do Either of Them Want Peace - Like You?

Write “PEACE” on your ballot. Talk peace!

The Cold War - 20 Years Later

Twenty Years later, North Korea continues to disseminate propaganda to South Korea.

This unnumbered leaflet depicts American big business making money on the blood of American GI's. The text on the back of the leaflet reads:

AMERICAN GI'S, DO YOU THINK OF
YOUR FATE FOR THE MORROW

U.S. GI's in South Korea!

        You are now standing arms in hand, on the soil that belongs to Koreans, an alien land thousands of miles away from your own land, the United States.

        For what purpose and for whom do you waste your dear youth in the land of other people?

        The rulers who have sent you to South Korea are clamoring about "communist aggression" which never exists, and about "protection of the Free World," a jargon bankrupt long ago, to cover up their aggressive crimes.

        But, you may see yourselves the stern reality that your occupation is prejudicial to the national interests of all Koreans.

        Owing to your occupation the Korean people have been undergoing the tragedy of national split over 20 years and owing to your occupation large numbers of South Koreans are suffering misfortunes and hardships.

        Isn't it clear that the occupation of South Korea by the U.S. army has nothing to do with the defense of the United States?

        The "protection of the Free World" and so forth on the lips of your administrators are nothing but a smokescreen for concealing their wild ambition of aggression on Korea.

        Don't be fooled!

        And, be aware that your occupation of South Korea itself is the source of the war in Korea and the intolerable challenge to the Koreans!

        When a war breaks out, it will bring you nothing but death. The crushing defeat the U.S. forces sustained in the Korean war, and the miserable tale of the armed spy ship "Pueblo" and its crewman -- these are more that sufficient to prove this.

        Why should you die?

        Each of the corpses of the American GI's who fall in the battlefield is the very source of profits for the U.S. ruling circles and the Wall Street warmongers.

        American GI's! Rise up and demand the withdrawal of the U.S. troops. If you do not want to die a dogs death in an alien land for a few dollars as American mercenaries fighting against the Korean people!

        If you want to live a life worthy of a human being with true human reason, refuse to level your guns at the innocent Koreans and return at once to your dear parents, wives, and children! Resolutely oppose the aggressive schemes of the present rulers of your country!

        This is the only way for you to save your lives and secure happiness.

We have illustrated a very small percentage of the leaflets disseminated by the North Koreans and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.  The author is always interested in hearing about others. Interested readers are encouraged to write to him at sgmbert@hotmail.com .

© 5 January 2006