Cho Chang-ho (Korean: 조창호; October 2, 1930 – November 19, 2006) was a South Korean military officer who served South Korea, during the Korean War.
Cho Chang-ho 조창호 | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1930 Pyongyang, Heian'nan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 19 November 2006 (aged 76) Seoul, South Korea |
| Service |  Republic of Korea Army |
| Years of service | 1950-1951, 1951-1994 (as POW) |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles / wars |
|
| Cho Chang-ho | |
| Hangul | 조창호 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Cho Chang-ho |
| McCune–Reischauer | Cho Ch'angho |
Cho Chang-ho is known as the first South Korean POW to escape from North Korea after the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953.[1]
Early life and education
editCho Chang-ho was born in Pyongyang, Heian'nan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan. His family moved to Keijō (Seoul) in 1936. and he graduated from Gyeonggi Commercial High School and entered Yonsei University in 1950.
On 25 June 1950, with the outbreak of Korean War, he entered the Republic of Korea Army in October 1950 and became an ROK Army officer in April 1951.
Korean War
editIn May 1951, he took part in the Battle of Hanseok Mountain at Inje County and became a POW of the Chinese Army before being deported to North Korea.
He was interned for 43 years in North Korea. After being released from a concentration camp for good behavior in August of 1964 and assigned to the Hwa-Poong coal mines in North Pyongyang province, he married. The couple divorced after having three children in five years, as the constant surveillance and North Korean demand that they spy on each other made the marriage very difficult[2]
Escape
editIn October 1994, he escaped from North Korea by crossing the Yalu River to China and was helped by some ethnic Koreans in returning to South Korea. He tried to persuade his children to go with him to China, but they did not want to leave North Korea.[2]
In South Korea, he devoted the rest of his life to the repatriation effort of other POWs.
In 2006, he attended United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and testified about the POW issue.[3]
Death and legacy
editIn 1995, Cho Chang-ho published his autobiography: "돌아온 사자" ("a returned dead person").
Cho Chang-ho died on 19 November 2006.
Cho's children left behind in North Korea are believed to have been arrested and sent to a labour camp.
In popular culture
editCho Chang-ho has been depicted on-screen by Cha In-pyo in the South Korean movie Albatross