[KS] Mu Chong

[Balazs Szalontai]

Dear Mr/Ms. Hong-Schunka,

please excuse me for not having replied earlier. (I have been quite busy with 
my dissertation in recent weeks and months.) I think you are completely right 
in stressing that Mu Chong was not executed during the war. In fact, no one 
of the Hungarian diplomats who wrote the report in question had been in North 
Korea in 1950-51, whereas the reports from that time do not say anything about 
Mu's execution. Although Hungarian reports are usually quite reliable, I had 
strong doubts with regard to this particular one, and this is why I eventually 
asked the list members. I guess Professor Lankov's explanation is the closest 
to the truth.

May I ask you about the main subjects of your research? Nevertheless, I would 
not like to disturb you in any sense.

Best regards,
Balazs Szalontai (male) 


it seems that Mu Chông must have been alive at least until 1955, ie. until
Pak Hônyông's execution, and that his banning or execution should have taken
place between 1955 and August 1956 (The P'awôl chongp'a accident).  Also, I
doubt whether North Korea could afford to execute Mu (a commandent of the
infantry division) during the war. Maybe the best person to ask is Prof. Sô
Tae-suk. Good luck and please keep me also informed.

Soon Mi Hong-Schunka
Institute for East Asian Studies
Munich University




----- Original Message -----
From: "Balazs Szalontai" <HPHSZB01 at phd.ceu.hu>
To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 2:43 PM
Subject: [KS] Mu Chong


> Dear All,
>
> I have a question concerning the death of Mu Chong, a prominent member of
the so-called Yan'an faction in North Korea. In secondary literature it is
usually stated that Mu, having been dismissed at the end of 1950 because of
the KPA's serious setbacks, went to China and died there (supposedly from
natural causes). However, a Hungarian archival document written in 1965,
which describes the history of the Korean Communist movement from the
beginning to 1964, states that Mu Chong "and some others" were executed "a
few months after the outbreak of the war." Is there any way to know which
version is closer to the truth?
>
> Yours sincerely,
> Balazs Szalontai
> Central European University
> Department of History
> e-mail: hphszb01 at phd.ceu.hu 
>
>
>
>