Hong Sa-ik

Hong Sa-ik
Born	(1889-03-04)4 March 1889 Anseong,Gyeonggi Province,Joseon
Died	26 September 1946(1946-09-26)(aged 57) Manila,Commonwealth of the Philippines
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1914–1946
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Fourteenth Area Army
Battles/wars	World War II Philippines campaign (1944–1945)

Hong Sa-ik
Japanese name
Kana	ホン・サイク
Transcriptions Romanization Hon Saiku
Alternative Japanese name
Kana	こう しよく
Transcriptions Romanization Kō Shiyoku
Korean name
Hangul	홍사익
Hanja	Hồng tư dực
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Hong Saik McCune–Reischauer Hong Saik

In thisKorean name,the family name isHong.

Hong Sa-ik(Korean:홍사익;4 March 1889 – 26 September 1946),also known by the Japanese reading of his nameKō Shiyoku(Hồng tư dực),was a lieutenant general in theImperial Japanese Armyand the top-rankingethnic Korean in Japanto be charged withwar crimesrelating to the conduct of theEmpire of JapaninWorld War II.

A graduate of theImperial Japanese Army Academy,Hong was placed in command of the Japanese camps holdingAllied(primarily U.S. andFilipino) prisoners of war in the Philippines during the latter part of World War II, where many of the camp guards were of Korean ethnicity.

Hong was held responsible for all the atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese Army prison guards against Allied POWs in Philippines, and was hanged in 1946.

Early career

Hong, a member of theNamyang Hong clan,was born in 1889 to ayangbanfamily inAnseong,Gyeonggi Province,Joseon.In 1905, when theEulsa Treatywas signed, he entered themilitary academyof theKorean Empire.With the abolition of the academy in 1909, he transferred to Japan's Central Military Preparatory School(Lục quân trung ương tuổi nhỏ trường học,Rikugun Chūō Yōnen Gakkō)as a government-financed student along withCrown Prince Yi Unon the orders of dethronedEmperor Gojong.

Soon after, he advanced to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. At that time, there were several students from the Empire of Korea enrolled at the military academy, and with the 1910 annexation of Korea by Japan, a few left the Academy to join the movements for Korean independence, but most followed the lead ofJi Cheong-cheon,who argued that they should leave to fight only after having studied and developed their skills. A few, such as Hong, attempted to stay aloof from either movement, and largely parted ways with their classmates.

In 1914, Hong graduated in the 26th class of the Academy and was commissioned as a lieutenant into the Imperial Japanese Army, and in 1923 graduated from theArmy War College.However, despite this, he secretly maintained his friendship with Ji and other anti-Japanese activists in the Korean Liberation Army, and even supported Ji's family with his own funds, an action which could have put Hong himself in danger if he made even a small mistake.

Rising through the ranks

Hong as a Major

With the implementation of thesōshi-kaimeipolicy, Hong was under strong pressure to change his Korean name to a Japanese-style name, but he ignored the pressure and in the end did not change his name and kept his surname as Hong.

Hong continued to demonstrate exceptional ability and was rapidly promoted through the ranks, eventually rising to the rank oflieutenant general.From 1939–40, he was with theChina Expeditionary Army.From 1940–41, he was assigned to the 1st Depot Division, and in 1941, he became the commander of the IJA 108th Infantry Brigade as a major general.

In March 1944, he went to the Philippines to command allprisoner-of-war camps.He was promoted tolieutenant generalin October of the same year, and remained in the Philippines under the 14th Area Army until the cessation of hostilities.

Trial and execution

After the war, Hong was tried inManilabefore a military tribunal by the Allies over the conduct of his prison guards while he was commandant.The Manila tribunal sentenced Hong to death as a war criminal on 18 April 1946.He was executed by hanging on 28 September 1946. Hong, who converted to Christianity while in custody, asked a clergyman to read Psalm 51 from the Bible in his final moments.

Hong (right) at his war crimes trial in 1946

Later views

After Korea regained its independence, Hong's family became the target of blame and ostracism by various factions in Korea. His eldest son, Hong Guk-seon, graduated from Japan'sWaseda Universityand afterwards worked in theBank of Chōsen,but was removed from his position on the orders ofSyngman Rhee.He and his mother, Hong's widow, later emigrated to the United States.

See also

• Chinilpa

Bibliography

• Yamamoto, Shichihei (October 2006).Hồng tư dực trung tướng の 処 hình (The execution of General Hong Sa Ik).Japan: Chikuma Shobo.
• Ammenthorp, Steen."Kou, Shiyoku".The Generals of World War II.Retrieved6 June2017.