Roy Chung
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Roy Chung (), born Chung Ryeu-sup (), was a soldier who is widely believed to be the fifth of seven
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
soldiers to have defected to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
after the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.


Life and disappearance

Chung and his family were
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1973. According to his father, Chung Soo-oh, he had joined the Army to get education benefits. He disappeared and was reported
AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
on June 5, 1979, while serving with his unit near
Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
(about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the borders of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
). After 30 days he became classified as a
deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
. He was 22 and a Private First Class."South Korean, Who Joined U.S. Army, Reportedly Defected to North Korea"
, ''The Washington Post''. September 13, 1979. Joe Ritchie and Jaehoon Ahn. A28. Two months after his disappearance in Europe, North Korea's international broadcasting service ''Radio Pyongyang'' (now ''
Voice of Korea Voice of Korea () is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. Until 2002 it was known as Radio Pyongyang. The int ...
'') announced his defection, stating that he "could no longer endure the disgraceful life of national insult and maltreatment he had to lead in the U.S. imperialist aggressor Army." The other five men who disappeared into North Korea did so by directly crossing the
Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korea, Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It wa ...
. In 2004, filmmaker Nicholas Bonner (co-creator of the documentary '' Crossing the Line'') reported that he heard Chung had died of natural causes.


Claims of abduction

Chung's family and
Korean-American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...
groups believed that he had been abducted and was not a defector, as widely believed. They compared his disappearance to several documented abductions by North Korean agents, most notably the kidnapping of
actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
Choi Eun-hee. Officials of the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
and
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
at the time stated that they had no reason to doubt North Korea's claims of defection. They made no major inquiries into the matter because Chung had no access to classified information and was not a security threat.


See also

*
List of American and British defectors in the Korean War This list names the 22 United Nations soldiers and prisoners of war (one Briton and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States after the Korean War in favour of remaining in China, and their subsequent fates. A ...
: the 21 Americans and 1 Briton who refused repatriation during Operation Big Switch in 1953 (to remain in China). * Larry Allen Abshier (1943–1983) of
Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...
, deserted in May 1962 at age 19. *
James Joseph Dresnok James Joseph Dresnok (, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defector to North Korea, one of seven U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War. After defecting, Dresnok worked as an actor in propaganda films, some directed by ...
(1941–2016) of
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, deserted in August 1962 at age 21. * Jerry Wayne Parrish (1944–1998) of
Morganfield, Kentucky Morganfield is a home rule-class city in Union County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 3,285 as of the year 2010 U.S. census. Name The city was named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Mor ...
, deserted in December 1963 at age 19. *
Charles Robert Jenkins Charles Robert Jenkins () was a United States Army desertion, deserter, North Korean prisoner, and voice for North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, Japanese abductees in North Korea. Driven by fear of combat and possible service in th ...
(1940–2017) of
Rich Square, North Carolina Rich Square (also known as Richsquare) is an American town of 894 people in Northampton County, North Carolina. History Quakers were some of the earliest settlers in Northampton County, being established there by the early 1750s. The congrega ...
, deserted in January 1965 at age 24. * Joseph T. White (1961–1985) of
St Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, deserted in August 1982 at age 20.


References


External links


Department of Defense article mentioning Pfc. Chung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Roy 1957 births 2004 deaths People from Seoul Year of death uncertain American defectors American expatriates in North Korea United States Army soldiers South Korean emigrants to the United States