"I want to return the secretly buried bodies of young children to their families"… A victim turned murderer, and the atonement of a man in his 70s serving a life sentence [Kkokko-mu]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The program "Kkokko-mu" shed light on the horrific human rights abuses at Yeonghwasuk and Jaesaengwon, detention facilities known as the precursors to the Hyeongje Welfare Center.

Episode 245 of SBS's "Tales That Follow Each Other" (hereinafter "Kkokko-mu"), broadcast on the afternoon of the 22nd, was titled "The Murderer's Letter – Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon." Actors Joo Hyun-young and Bong Tae-gyu, along with singer Dean, participated as listeners to reveal the confession of a life prisoner who has been serving his sentence for 36 years. In doing so, "Kkokko-mu" proved its formidable power by ranking first in both nationwide ratings and the 2049 demographic among educational and variety programs in the same time slot (based on Nielsen Korea terrestrial broadcast standards).

In March 2025, a letter from life prisoner Shin Gyeong-ho (pseudonym) was delivered to the "Kkokko-mu" production team. He confessed that during his childhood, he lived at Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon, a vagrant detention facility in Busan, where he received training in criminal methods and was deployed for robberies and drug deliveries. While investigating another victim of Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon, "Kkokko-mu" learned shocking facts.

Under the past government's "social purification" policy, the city of Busan outsourced the detention of vagrants under 18 to Yeonghwasuk and those over 18 to Jaesaengwon. Ha Ji-man (Director) Lee Soon-young carried out indiscriminate kidnappings in pursuit of state subsidies paid according to the number of detainees.

The children dragged into the detention facility had their names on the registry manipulated, making it difficult for parents to verify their identities even when they came looking for them. In cramped rooms, they slept sitting up against the floor without lying down, and at night, even using the restroom was prohibited, causing a stench of filth. Military-style roll calls were held every dawn, and violence continued because a decrease in headcount meant a reduction in subsidies. Their only meal was thin corn porridge, and the children suffered from extreme hunger to the point of picking up maggots to eat. Those who attempted to escape were subjected to merciless beatings with pickaxe handles. In response, listener Joo Hyun-young expressed outrage, stating, "It is an environment where humans cannot live."

To reduce labor costs, inmates were given armbands to monitor one another, perpetuating a cycle of violence. Beatings and sexual assaults occurred among the inmates, and the bodies of those who died from malnutrition and beatings were secretly buried by the inmates in nearby reed beds and hillsides. Shocked by such horrific conditions, Bong Tae-gyu exclaimed, "It is hell."

Subsequently, in 1969, Father Aloisius, an American priest operating a relief hospital near Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon, exposed the facility's appalling conditions after learning of them. As a result, Lee Sun-yeong (Director) was arrested but released after six days. Then, after Father Aloisius led a petition campaign with 100,000 citizen signatures, the outsourcing contract with the city of Busan was canceled in 1971, cutting off state subsidies as well.

However, Lee Sun-yeong (Director)'s malicious acts did not stop. He taught children pickpocketing, burglary, and drug delivery, transforming the facility into a "criminal academy." In 1976, Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon's corporate license was revoked, but Lee Soon-young received only a fine of 300,000 won as punishment. Later, Lee Soon-young died of an underlying illness, and the property he had accumulated through illegal activities passed to his family.

Victims who left the facility were stigmatized as persons of unknown identity and were subjected to torture or dragged to the Hyeongje Welfare Center and Samcheong Education Centers. In particular, the Hyeongje Welfare Center, cited as one of the worst human rights abuse facilities, is known to have directly copied Yeonghwasuk's operational methods. Dean said, "If it were me, I think I would have had no hope," expressing deep sorrow by adding, "It is too pitiful and heartbreaking."

Mr. Shin, who had sent a letter to the "Kkokko-mu" production team, was currently continuing his imprisonment after committing murder following a dispute with a neighboring shop, having served multiple prison terms before that. He conveyed to the "Kkokko-mu" production team that while he does not seek any forgiveness, he wishes for the bodies secretly buried at Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon in the past to be exhumed and returned to their families.

Finally, Bong Tae-gyu emphasized the importance of remembering tragic history by stating, "We must not forget incidents like this," while Dean also expressed deep bitterness and sorrow over the disaster caused by the authorities' neglect and the facility's malicious acts, saying, "If Yeonghwasuk Jaesaengwon had never existed in the first place, there would have been no need to tell this story."

"Kkokko-mu" is a program where three storytellers study on their own and convey what they have felt to their respective "story friends" one-on-one in the most everyday settings. It airs every Thursday at 10:20 p.m. on SBS.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original