Yeosun Incident in a Village : Focusing on Deuksil Village, Johwa-ri, Yulchon-myeon

The Yeosun Incident, which began with the uprising of the 14th National Army on the night of October 19, 1948, remains a deep wound in the eastern part of Jeollanam-do even after 70 years have passed. Under the martial law declared for the first time since the establishment of the Korean government, numerous local people were killed by the Korean military and police in the name of finding suspected criminals. The Yeosun Incident was suppressed through a genocide, and since then, the residents of eastern Jeollanam-do have lived in the world for a long time, branded as ‘reds.’Since the “Special Act on the Investigation of the Facts of the Yeosu-Suncheon 10·19 Incident and the Restoration of the Honor of Victims” passed the National Assembly on June 29, 2021, discussions on the Yeosun Incident have been actively conducted in academia. However, since most of the Yeosun Incident in the eastern part of Jeollanam-do is the subject of research, it is far from the actual damage pattern at the village level. As there is no paper systematically identifying the damage at the small village level, the Yeosun Incident in the village is in a situation where it will be homogenized, deleted, or excluded in a wide range of local history.The damage caused by the Yeosun Incident shows similar patterns in any village, but it also shows specificity due to the complex and subtle stories inherent in the village. Therefore, in order to properly reveal the truth of the Yeosun Incident, it is necessary to look into the village. By clarifying the cause of the damage of the Yeosun Incident, focusing on Deuksil Village, this paper intends to expand the scope of the investigation to the Myeon and City units, and ultimately provide a clue to the Yeosun Incident in the eastern part of Jeollanam-do.At that time, Deuksil Village, called ‘Moscow’ in Yulchon-myeon, was driven to death by many residents during the suppression process. Deuksil Village had a deep emotional valley from neighboring Yeoheung Village and Japanese colonial era. The potential socio-economic conflict between the two villages was pushed forward and turned into murder in the wake of the state violence committed during the Yeosun Incident. However, it cannot be said that tragedy was mass-produced simply because they were left-wing villages and right-wing villages. It can be said that several complex conflict factors that cannot be explained only by thought or religion exploded at once due to the Yeosun Incident. Deuksil Village and Yeoheung Village in Japanese colonial era were opposed due to differences in pre-modern thinking and modern religious views, and after liberation, the conflict between left-wing intellectuals and Christian right-wingers was added, and the confrontation was expressed as hostility in the wake of the Yeosun Incident.Deuksil Village is a special case of the Yeosun Incident in that many victims occurred during the suppression of the Yeosun Incident due to the secret accusations of right-wing figures in Yeoheung Village. However, since secret accusations by right-wing Christians in Yeoheung Village were made not only in Deuksil Village but also throughout Yulchon-myeon, the specificity of Deuksil Village can be seen as converging into a universal pattern of damage throughout Yulchon-myeon. In addition, this damage cannot be said to be unique to Yulchon-myeon, considering the fact that the identification of assistant offenders was made at the Suncheon Buk Primary School as a Christian. Therefore, Deuksil Village’s specificity can dismantle the universality of the existing Yeosun Incident damage pattern and establish itself as a universal name.The micro-historical research on the unit of ‘village’ began with a sense of problem that the experience of the large unit of the eastern part of Jeollanam-do did not match the experience of individual villagers. However, the initial problem consciousness was reversed as the village was repeatedly investigated. Rather, there was a possibility that it would be possible to approach the overall character of the Yeosun Incident by identifying the uniqueness of the experience of the ‘village’.In the future, I will expand the subject of investigation and research beyond Deuksil Village to the entire Yulchon-myeon. I will do my best to ensure that the investigation is conducted when those who can testify about the Yeosun Incident are alive. In the case of Jungheung Village in Sinpung-ri, it is urgent to investigate immediately as the village has turned into an airport site and residents have been scattered.There is no data on the damage of the Yeosun Incident in one village, so I have no choice but to rely on the testimony of the villagers. Since over 70 years have passed, there may be distortions in the residents’ memories, so I continue to try to get closer to the facts through cross-verification.Investigation of small village units can enrich case studies of macroscopic local history. In addition, categorizing the types of damage by village will serve as the basis for revealing the truth of the Yeosun Incident. I believe that by looking into the history of a village from the perspective of ‘the village is history’, it will be possible to gradually expand and develop into a wide range of local history research. I hope that the small narratives experienced by the local people will be gathered to reinforce the truth of the Yeosun Incident.