The Brain Drain of the Korean War

I just started to re-read Son Jung-mok's five volume magnum opus 'The Story of Seoul's Urban Planning' the other day.

Part of the reason I wanted to re-read these books is because a single reading is simply not enough time to absorb all of the facts, figures and history contained in this collection that details Seoul's rapid development in the 50 year period following the Korean War.

It's my hope that over the course of my re-reading I can share some lesser known history with my dear readers, starting from today.

Most casual observers of history know that the Korean War was bloody and destructive. Enormous number of soldiers and civilians died as a result of the war. Seoul was destroyed - over 30% of buildings from personal homes and schools to banks and government buildings were obliterated either from bombing, fire or a combination of the two.

At the outset of war, Seoul had a population of around 1.5 million, 1.4 million of which resided north of the Han River. After North Korea attacked, 400,000 citizens immediately fled by crossing the Han and heading south. By December of 1950 that number increased to 800,000.

Over 95,000 Seoulites (i.e. non-military civilians) were lost between 4 am on 25 June 1950 until the armistice was signed nearly three years later on 27 July 1953.

The term 'lost' includes casualties as well as those who were slaughtered, abducted, and unaccounted for. There were 29,628 civilian casualties; 8,800 Seoul citizens who were slaughtered; and 20,738 civilians who were kidnapped by the North Koreans.

Before reading this work, I never heard or thought about any potential abductions, so after seeing that stat I was immediately curious who was targeted. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that the elites of South Korean society were the main targets of  the abductions: university professors, doctors, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, businessmen, and journalists occupy a large portion of the list of those who were abducted.

It didn't help that the elites were clustered in the Jongro and Central districts of Seoul. But it is mind blowing to think that over 32% of all lawyers (there were barely 100 lawyers at the time) in South Korea were abducted at once, literally overnight, by the North Koreans never to be seen again.

That fact makes the story of South Koreas rapid development after the war all the more amazing. And goes to show that "ordinary" people can accomplish outsized results.