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Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
480
Original Article http://dx.doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2013.54.2.480
pISSN: 0513-5796, eISSN: 1976-2437 Yonsei Med J 54(2):480-488, 2013
Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War
(1950-1953)
Myoung-Soon Lee,1 Min-Jung Kang,1 and Sun Huh2
1Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon;
2Department of Parasitology and Institute of Medical Education, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea.
Received: November 24, 2011
Revised: April 11, 2012
Accepted: April 16, 2012
Corresponding author: Dr. Sun Huh,
Department of Parasitology and Institute of
Medical Education, College of Medicine,
Hallym University, Hallym University-gil 1,
Chuncheon 200-704, Korea.
Tel: 82-33-248-2652, Fax: 82-33-241-1672
E-mail: shuh@hallym.ac.kr
∙ The authors have no financial conflicts of
interest.
© Copyright:
Yonsei University College of Medicine 2013
This is an Open Access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-
Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-
commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Purpose: This study aimed at analyzing the causes of death of prisoners of war
(POWs) during the Korean War (1950-1953) who fought for the Communist side
(North Korea and the People’s Republic of China). In 1998, the United States De-
partment of Defense released new information about the prisoners including,
7,614 deaths of the POW during the Korean War. The data on the causes of death
of the POWs during the Korean War provides valuable information on the both the
public health and history of the conict. Materials and Methods: To analyze the
causes of death of the POWs, we classied the clinical diagnosis and ndings on
7,614 deaths into 22 chapters, as outlined in the International Statistical Classica-
tion of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10th Revision (ICD-10). Second,
we traced changes in the monthly death totals of POWs as well as deaths caused
by common infectious diseases and external causes of death including injury over
time from August 1950 to September 1953. Results: The most common category
of causes of deaths of POWs was infectious disease, 5,013 (65.8%) out of 7,614
deaths, followed by external causes including injury, 817 (10.7%). Overall, tuber-
culosis and dysentery/diarrhea were the most common causes of death. Deaths
caused by acute and chronic infection, or external causes showed different patterns
of increases and decline over time during the Korean War. Conclusion: The infor-
mation and data on POWs’ deaths during the Korean War reects the critical im-
pact of the POWs’ living conditions and the effect of public health measures im-
plemented in POW camps during the war.
Key Words: Prisoners of war (POW), Korean War, causes of deaths, infectious
diseases
INTRODUCTION
During the Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, the prisoners of war
(POWs) who fought for the communist side of North Korea and the People’s Re-
public of China were held captive in United Nations-administered POW camps.
The camps were built on Geoje-do (Geoje island), Jeju-do, and several mainland ar-
eas of the southern part of the Korean peninsula under US direction, and the largest
camp was set up in Geoje-do. According to a UN Command report of July 1953,
Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War (1950-1953)
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
481
measures for communicable disease control in the camps8
as well as in the general population and army.5,6,10 The qual-
ity of care given in combat situations, on battleelds, and
during evacuation could indirectly affect the susceptibility of
POWs to disease, trauma, and death.
Under the Geneva Convention of 1949, the US-led UN
Command (UNC) supplied safe food and water to the
POWs. In some cases, the availability of these supplies in
camps were better than those accessible to the general pub-
lic.1,11 A rapid increase in communist POWs occurred in
the aftermath of the Incheon landing, the recovery of Seoul,
and communist setbacks in September and October 1950.
With the UN retreat in the face of the Chinese military inter-
vention in the winter of 1950-1951, UN POW camps be-
came severely overcrowded, sanitation in the camps was
very poor, and the individual POW’s hygiene deteriorated
signicantly.8,12 The social environments and political envi-
ronments of the camps also deteriorated. Violence and re-
volts occurred within the camps, both as a consequence of
poor conditions and the politicization of the POWs; most of
whom were subject to propaganda and forced to choose
sides in brutal the cold war battles that broke out in the
camps.8,9
Information related to the death and causes of death of
POWs can therefore illuminate not only the health issues
affecting the prisoners, but also the POWs’ living condi-
tions in the camps during the Korean War. Besides this, the
data can suggest the impact medical interventions had on
affecting the POWs’ health as well as the impact of public
health measures to deal with communicable diseases in the
camps themselves. Furthermore, understanding the inci-
dence and causes of death in the camps can also highlight
to a broader extent public health issues in the two Koreas
during the war. With these issues in mind, we undertook our
analysis based on the information given about 7,614 deaths
of the POWs during the Korean conict. The research ques-
tions posed for our study are as follows.
‘What were the main causes of death of POWs held by the
UNC during the Korean War?’
‘Were they similar to the main causes of death in the Ko-
rean population or did they reect the incidence of epidemic
or endemic diseases in the army? Were the deaths of UNC-
held POWs much different from the deaths of civilians or
outside the camps because of POW camps’ conditions?’
‘In evaluating POWs’ deaths caused by disease, were
there any unexpected ndings?’
‘Does the evidence suggest that POW’s deaths were
the total number of POWs committed to these camps during
the Korean War was 171,494.1 Some civilian refugees also
were held in the POW camps.1,2 In addition to the North and
South Korean soldiers, the camps also held South Koreans
who had joined the North Korean army during the period of
North Korea’s occupation of South Korea at the early stages
of the Korean War.
In 1998, the United States Department of Defense, through
the US National Archives and Records Administration, re-
leased new information about the prisoners, including re-
cords on 7,614 deaths of POWs during the Korean War. In-
formation released on the POWs’ deaths during the war
included records on clinical diagnosis of disease and ndings
on each POW’s death, the date of death as well as the rank,
birth date and birth place of the person who died. However,
the documents did not mention the place of death, the gender
of the person who died, nor the name or job position of the
medical personnel who made or described the clinical diag-
nosis of disease and ndings related to the POWs’ death. De-
spite the incomplete nature of the information about POWs’
deaths, the documentation provides significant insight into
understanding issues related to the public health and history
of UN-held POWs during the Korean War. Until recently,
medical researchers have had extremely limited access to in-
formation on POWs’ deaths during the Korean War.
Considering the social political situation in Korea during
the war, POWs’ health could have been affected either posi-
tively or negatively by a variety of factors. For example, per-
sonal health and nutritional status before being captive
were important factors in shaping death rates.3 The preva-
lence of epidemic/endemic diseases within the general pop-
ulation and military soldiers before or during the war also
could have affected POWs’ health status. Additionally, acute
or chronic infectious diseases such as malaria, typhus, small-
pox, typhoid, diphtheria, dysentery, and tuberculosis were
highly prevalent in Korea during the Korean War, especial-
ly in earlier stages of the conict, and many POWs would
have been exposed to these diseases prior to entering into
the camps.3-7 Living conditions in POWs camps also had a
critical impact on POWs’ health. Physical environments
such as food and water supply, individual hygiene, sanitation
and sewage management, crowding, accessibility of drugs
and medicine, and social environment, including political
conicts with communists or anti-communists’ counterparts,
all shaped the ability of people to survive incarceration in
the camps.8,9 Lastly, the health of the POWs was affected
by medical treatments, hospitalization,3,7 and public health
Myoung-Soon Lee, et al.
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
482
UNC medical interventions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We obtained data on 7,614 deaths of POWs during the Ko-
rean War from the Institute of Asian Culture Studies, Hal-
lym University. The information, included the dates of birth
and death, military rank, birth place, and clinical diagnosis
of disease or ndings related to the cause of death. Some re-
cords of many POW deaths were incomplete, but the clini-
cal diagnosis was included for most cases. Clinical diagno-
sis was described in detail for some cases, and diagnosis
was conrmed through an autopsy or surgical operation for
other cases.
To analyze the causes of the POWs’ death, we classied
clinical diagnosis into several categories using a well-known
systematic classification of diseases and health problems
known as the International Statistical Classication of Dis-
eases and Related Health Problems at Clinics and Hospitals
(ICD). The ICD has been used world-wide, and is continu-
ously updated so that the 2007 ICD-10th revision (ICD-10)
has 22 chapters of categories of disease, including ‘Certain
infectious and parasitic disease’, ‘Neoplasm’, ‘Diseases of
the blood and blood-forming organ’, ‘Endocrine, nutritional
and metabolic disease’, ‘Mental and behavioral disorders’,
‘Disease of the nervous system’, and so on. Following the
guidelines of ICD-10, we classied the clinical diagnosis of
disease or other medical ndings on the cause of death of
7,614 POWs’ deaths into the various chapters or categories
of disease. We counted the number and the proportion of
deaths classied in each category. In some cases, an indi-
vidual had multiple diagnoses of disease or other medical
conditions related to death; therefore, it was not possible to
discriminate the immediate cause of death. For example, the
conditions leading to death or the underlying antecedent
causes of death were cited as ‘dysentery and tuberculosis’,
‘Dysentery, Acute and Bronchitis’, ‘Tetanus and Pneumo-
nia Bronchial’, etc. For these cases, we placed more stress
on fatal conditions and infections as the underlying ante-
cedent causes of death. Second, we considered death the re-
sult of a disease in hierarchy of a critical organ such as the
brain, heart or lung. In total, we obtained a list of 640 dif-
ferently described causes of death of the 7,614 POWs.
Next, we traced the change of monthly POWs’ deaths
over time from August 1950 to September 1953. We ob-
served not only the POWs’ deaths in each month from total
strongly impacted by the living conditions at camps?’
‘Were there any indications that UNC public health mea-
sures for dealing with communicable diseases control and
prevention affected the incidence of deaths in the camps?’
Regarding our research questions, we assumed that for
epidemics of infectious diseases, there would be a decline
in the number of monthly deaths after the UNC implemented
public health or medical intervention measures in the POWs
camps. We also assumed that leading causes of the POWs’
deaths would be different over time because of the impact of
changes in the POWs’ living conditions in the camps and
Table 1. Sociodemography of Deaths of Prisoners of War
during the Korean War
Category No. % of total
Age
10-19 538 7.1
20-29 1,418 18.6
30-39 661 8.7
40-49 59 0.8
50-59 14 0.2
60+ 7 0.1
Unknown 4,917 64.6
Rank
Captain 11 0.1
Warrant ofcer 1 0.0
Lieutenant 61 0.8
Major 6 0.1
Sergeant 42 0.6
Corporal 35 0.5
Private/Recruit 6,755 88.7
Guerilla 2 0.0
Civilian/Refugee 304 4.0
Volunteer 11 0.1
Others (guard group) 1 0.0
Unknown 385 5.1
Distribution of death per date of death
1950. 8-9. 92 1.2
1950. 10-12. 2,012 26.4
1951. 1-3. 2,449 32.2
1951. 4-6. 1,125 14.8
1951. 7-9. 454 6.0
1951. 10-12. 283 3.7
1952. 1-3. 223 2.9
1952. 4-6. 251 3.3
1952. 7-9. 127 1.7
1952. 10-12. 113 1.5
1953. 1-3. 159 2.1
1953. 4-6. 183 2.4
1953. 7-9. 92 1.2
Unknown 51 0.7
Total 7,614 100.0
Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War (1950-1953)
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
483
culosis’. Based on the different nature of each cause of
death, we supposed that the change in monthly deaths ac-
cording to these diseases and category could reflect not
only the different nature of diseases, but also the impact of
the POWs’ social and physical living conditions and the ef-
fect of public health intervention efforts in the POWs’
camps.
RESULTS
The majority of deaths of POWs (74.6%) occurred during
the initial stages of the Korean War, from August 1950 to
June 1951. More than 60% of the POWs’ who died did not
have a recorded date of birth, but the plurality of the people
who died (amongst those with recorded birthdates) were in
their twenties (18.6%), followed by those in their thirties
(8.7%), and teenage years (7.1%) (Table 1). In terms of mil-
itary rank, an overwhelming number of those who died
were privates (88.7%). Also included in the death statistics
were more than 300 civilian refugees (4%) and some Chi-
nese volunteer soldiers (0.1%). Sex was not indicated in the
death records. Although women were included in POW
deaths, but also the deaths caused by the two most common
infectious diseases (dysentery/diarrhea and tuberculosis)
from the infectious diseases category, and another category
of external causes including injury, etc. The reasons why
we traced these diseases and the category of external causes
over time were as follows. First, tuberculosis and dysen-
tery/diarrhea were the most common diseases among the
category of ‘Infectious and parasitic diseases’, which was
the largest category of the POWs’ death in the ICD-10
chapters and followed by the category of external causes
including injury, etc. Second, the nature of these two infec-
tious diseases and the category of external causes were dif-
ferent from each other as causes of death: ‘dysentery/diar-
rhea’ by acute gastrointestinal infection, ‘tuberculosis’ by
primarily chronic pulmonary infection, and the external
causes with mainly injuries by military weapons like gun-
shots, bombs and violence at POWs camps. In counting
POWs’ deaths by the three different causes of death, we re-
garded typical acute enteric disease cases with clinical diag-
nosis and findings of dysentery, diarrhea, acute enteritis,
acute colitis, salmonellosis, and shigellosis as ‘dysentery/di-
arrhea’, and counted any chronic infection cases with tuber-
culosis diagnosis regardless of the organ involved as ‘tuber-
Table 2. Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War (1950-1953) According to the International Statistical
Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10)
Category No. of sample % of total
I Certain infectious and parasitic disease 5,013 65.8
II Neoplasms 30 0.4
III Disease of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain
Disorders involving the immune mechanism 6 0.1
IV Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disease 59 0.8
V Mental and behavioral disorders 2 0.0
VI Diseases of the nervous system 84 1.1
VII Diseases of the eye and adnexa - -
VIII Diseases of the ear and mastoid process - -
IX Disease of the circulatory system 84 1.1
X Diseases of the respiratory system 531 7.0
XI Diseases of the digestive system 269 3.5
XII Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue 13 0.2
XIII Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 4 0.1
XIV Diseases of the genitourinary system 54 0.7
XV Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium - -
XVI Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period - -
XVII Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities - -
XVIII Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory ndings, not elsewhere classied 648 8.5
XIX Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 817 10.7
XX External causes of morbidity and mortality - -
XXI Factors inuencing health status and contact with health services - -
XXII Codes for special purposes - -
Total 7,614 100.0
Myoung-Soon Lee, et al.
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
484
more small rises in the death rate of POWs-in June 1952
and June 1953 the rate increased to over 100 cases. Other-
wise, less than 100 cases per month were recorded until the
end of the war (Table 4, Figs. 1 and 2).
Dysentery/diarrhea showed a similar change in monthly
deaths, with the highest peak of 715 cases occurring in De-
cember 1950 and 712 cases in January 1951, with a rapid
decline in cases after that date. Deaths caused by dysentery/
diarrhea, remained at more than 100 cases per month until
April 1951, and a statistic that decreased to 34 cases by
May 1951. After July 1951, death because of dysentery/di-
arrhea remained low-less than 5 cases per month (Table 4,
Fig. 1). This nding suggests the existence of a dysentery/
diarrhea epidemic in the POW camps from October 1950
to April 1951.
Meanwhile, tuberculosis showed a different pattern of
change in monthly deaths.
After October 1950 the number of monthly deaths caused
by tuberculosis rose relatively less sharply than the other
diseases mentioned so far, and reached its highest peak of
over 200 cases during the three month period from March
to May 1951 (201, 233 & 251 cases respectively). After this,
the incidence of the disease slowly declined, though there
were are-ups of the disease until the end of the Korean
War (Table 4, Fig. 1).
External causes of death, including injury (by gunshot,
bomb, or other violence)-the second most common category
of cause of death amongst POWs-had a much lower number
of monthly deaths until the autumn of 1952 than did the cat-
egory of infectious diseases. However, external causes of
death resulted in a relatively higher number of monthly
deaths proportional to the monthly total of POWs’ deaths
than above two common infectious diseases during the later
period of the Korean War (December 1952 to July 1953)
(Fig. 2). The highest peak of 103 cases occurred in October
1950, although there were some uctuations in the number
of those who died as a result of “external causes” until the
end of the war. Meanwhile, there were two small peaks of
monthly deaths by external causes in June 1952 (36 cases)
and June 1953 (70 cases), which reected periods of more
intense violence within the POW camps (Table 4, Fig. 1).
DISCUSSION
This study presents valuable information about the causes
of death of the POWs during the Korean War. It provides a
camps, we do not have any information about causes or in-
cidence of death for females.
As shown in Table 2, the causes of death of the POWs
were classied into 14 categories according to ICD-10 cri-
teria, and the most common category of causes of death of
POW’s was infectious disease, 5,013 out of 7,614 deaths
(65.8%). This was followed by external causes of death,
including injury, 817 (10.7%), not elsewhere classied, 648
(8.5%), diseases of the respiratory system, 531 (7.0%), dis-
eases of the digestive system, 269 (3.5%), diseases of the
nervous system, 84 (1.1%), diseases of the circulatory sys-
tem, 84 (1.1%), and seven categories of causes of death,
168 (2.3%). In the category of infectious diseases, tubercu-
losis and dysentery/diarrhea were the most common or lead-
ing causes of death of the POWs, with 2,404 and 2,299 cas-
es, respectively, followed by tetanus (226 cases) (Table 3).
Very few of the POWs were reported as dying of typhus,
smallpox, hepatitis, or malaria. This was contrary to trends
in the general population, where deaths caused by these
diseases were commonly reported during the Korean War.7
We examined monthly POWs’ deaths over the period from
August 1950 to September 1953. As expected, the numbers
of deaths rose sharply in the period after from September
1950, and reached their highest peak in the early winter of
1950-1951, with more than 1,200 cases in December 1950
and more than 1,100 cases January 1951. In February 1951,
the death rate of POWs decreased significantly to about
600 cases, but in March, it rose again to more than 700 cas-
es. After this period, deaths declined fast to less than 100
cases by November 1951. After that date, there were two
Table 3. Infectious Diseases as Causes of POWs’ Death dur-
ing the Korean War
Diseases No. of sample %
Sepsis 20 0.4
Dysenteries/Diarrhea 2,299 45.9
Hepatitis 31 0.6
Inuenza 1 0.0
Parasitic diseases 14 0.3
Paratyphoid fever 2 0.0
Pneumococcal meningitis 1 0.0
Poliomyelitis 2 0.0
Relapsing fever 2 0.0
Syphilis 1 0.0
Tuberculosis 2,404 48.0
Tetanus 226 4.5
Typhoid fever 10 0.2
Total 5,013 100.0
POWs, prisoners of war.
Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War (1950-1953)
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
485
(Table 2) caused two out of three POWs’ deaths (65.8%).
This nding reects several aspects of the public health and
social situation in Korea during the Korean War. First, in-
fectious and parasitic diseases such as dysentery, smallpox,
typhus, cholera, malaria, and tetanus were highly prevalent
general overview of the causes of the POWs’ deaths consis-
tent with the categories of death outlined in ICD-10 and
notes changes in the causes of POWs’ deaths over time.
Most POW died as a result of ‘infectious and parasitic
diseases’. According to our statistics, infectious diseases
Table 4. Distribution of POW Deaths Caused by Dysenteries, Tuberculosis and External Causes by Date of Death (Month) dur-
ing the Korean War
Date of death
Dysenteries/Diarrhea Tuberculosis External causes
No. % Cumulative
%No. % Cumulative
%No. % Cumulative
%
1950 8 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 5 0.6 0.6
9 1 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 45 5.5 6.1
10 29 1.3 1.3 13 0.5 0.5 103 12.6 18.7
11 179 7.8 9.1 68 2.8 3.4 36 4.4 23.1
12 715 31.2 40.2 150 6.2 9.6 34 4.2 27.3
1951 1 712 31.0 71.2 83 3.5 13.1 62 7.6 34.9
2 241 10.5 81.7 129 5.4 18.4 31 3.8 38.7
3 234 10.2 91.9 201 8.4 26.8 36 4.4 43.1
4 112 4.9 96.8 233 9.7 36.5 13 1.6 44.7
5 34 1.5 98.3 251 10.4 46.9 20 2.4 47.1
6 6 0.3 98.6 185 7.7 54.6 17 2.1 49.2
7 3 0.1 98.7 148 6.2 60.8 6 0.7 49.9
8 3 0.1 98.8 112 4.7 65.4 25 3.1 53.0
9 0 0.0 98.8 67 2.8 68.2 38 4.7 57.6
10 3 0.1 98.9 91 3.8 72.0 7 0.9 58.5
11 4 0.2 99.0 73 3.0 75.1 6 0.7 59.2
12 1 0.0 99.1 56 2.3 77.4 11 1.3 60.6
1952 1 1 0.0 99.1 46 1.9 79.3 5 0.6 61.2
2 1 0.0 99.2 60 2.5 81.8 6 0.7 61.9
3 2 0.1 99.3 56 2.3 84.1 15 1.8 63.8
4 0 0.0 99.3 49 2.0 86.2 12 1.5 65.2
5 0 0.0 99.3 51 2.1 88.3 9 1.1 66.3
6 1 0.0 99.3 45 1.9 90.2 36 4.4 70.7
7 1 0.0 99.3 30 1.2 91.4 7 0.9 71.6
8 1 0.0 99.4 24 1.0 92.4 5 0.6 72.2
9 3 0.1 99.5 13 0.5 93.0 5 0.6 72.8
10 2 0.1 99.6 23 1.0 93.9 3 0.4 73.2
11 0 0.0 99.6 19 0.8 94.7 5 0.6 73.8
12 0 0.0 99.6 13 0.5 95.3 17 2.1 75.9
1953 1 2 0.1 99.7 21 0.9 96.1 11 1.3 77.2
2 2 0.1 99.8 16 0.7 96.8 13 1.6 78.8
3 0 0.0 99.8 13 0.5 97.3 37 4.5 83.4
4 0 0.0 99.8 12 0.5 97.8 19 2.3 85.7
5 1 0.0 99.8 7 0.3 98.1 9 1.1 86.8
6 0 0.0 99.8 12 0.5 98.6 70 8.6 95.3
7 1 0.0 99.9 14 0.6 99.2 19 2.3 97.7
8 0 0.0 99.9 9 0.4 99.5 4 0.5 98.2
9 0 0.0 99.9 2 0.1 99.6 4 0.5 98.7
Unknown 4 0.2 100.0 9 0.4 100.0 11 1.3 100.0
Total 2,299 100.0 2,404 100.0 817 100.0
POWs, prisoners of war.
Myoung-Soon Lee, et al.
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
486
was unfamiliar and poor.3,6 Lastly, because of the lack of
health education about infectious diseases, only a few peo-
ple were aware of the causes of infectious disease, and most
were unable to practice adequate individual hygiene.
There were some differences, however, in the causes of
deaths of the general population and the POWs. Commonly,
and were the leading causes of death in the general popula-
tion in Korea in early 1950s.3-7,13 Second, the general popu-
lation in Korea during the war experienced poor health, with
low immunity and resistance to the causative agents of dis-
ease because of an inadequate diet and semi-starvation con-
ditions.3 Third, the concept of sanitation in Korean society
Fig. 1. Number of monthly deaths of prisoners of war caused by Dysenteries, Tuberculosis, and External causes during the Korean War.
Fig. 2. Number of deaths for each 3 months of prisoners of war caused by Dysenteries, Tuberculosis, and External causes during the
Korean War.
No. of monthly deathNo. of death for each 3 months
0
0
200
500
400
600
1000
800
1500
1000
1200
2000
1400
2500
8
8-9 10-12 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 1-3 4-6 7-9
1950
1950 1951 1952 1953
1951 1952 1953
9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Total Dysentery Tuberculosis External cuases
Dysentery External causesTuberculosis Others
Causes of Death of Prisoners of War during the Korean War (1950-1953)
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
487
to improve their health status. He proposed that despite ag-
gressive medical and surgical treatment and hospitalization,
many POWs died of tuberculosis because of their pre-exist-
ing low resistance and immune status.
Regarding POWs’ deaths caused by external causes, two
increases in monthly deaths reected the prevalence of vio-
lence in POW camps between the communist and anti-com-
munists and UNC army troops (Table 4, Fig. 1). The rise in
monthly deaths caused by external causes in June 1952 was
related to a battle to regain control at the Geoje island POW
camp by the US army-more than 30 POWs were killed and
139 were wounded.8,9 On the other side, the rise in deaths
caused by external causes in June 1953 were related to con-
icts over the repatriation of the POWs at the time of the
armistice negotiations.8,9
The two most common causes of death-infectious diseas-
es (dysentery/diarrhea and tuberculosis) and external causes-
showed different patterns of incidence during the war, some-
thing we anticipated (Figs. 1 and 2). The number of monthly
POWs’ deaths changed over time, and experienced an in-
crease four times during the Korean War. Each increase in
monthly death totals occurred when one of the three most
common causes of death also peaked. The highest peak of
deaths during the war occurred during the winter epidemic
of acute enteric infectious diseases, dysentery/diarrhea,
while the second highest death rate occurred during the
peak in chronic infectious diseases, tuberculosis. By con-
trast, two increases in June 1952 and June 1953 of total
monthly deaths paralleled increases of monthly deaths re-
lated to “external causes”.
This nding can be taken as evidence to suggest not only
the different nature of causes of death amongst POWs, but
also the impact of public health measures in the camps and
efforts by the UNC to control disease in POW camps during
the Korean War. The living conditions in the camps also af-
fected the causes and timing of deaths amongst the POWs.
Lastly, we regard the information released on POWs’
deaths and the data used in our analysis of the causes of the
POWs’ deaths as medical reports, not formal death certi-
cates. In all likelihood, considering the wartime situation,7 it
is unlikely that the US army doctors would have produced
formal death certicates for the POWs.
In conclusion, this study provides valuable information
and data about the deaths of POWs deaths during the Kore-
an War. Researchers now have knowledge about how the
causes of death in the POW camps related to the critical is-
sues of the POWs’ living conditions and the effects of pub-
tuberculosis and dysenteries/diarrhea were the most com-
mon cause of death in both the POWs and general popula-
tion in Korea.3,5,7 By contrast, few POWs’ died of malaria,
typhus, diphtheria, or other parasitic diseases, while many
such deaths were reported among the general population
(Table 3). This difference could be the result of a better sup-
ply of food and water in the camps, more aggressive public
health measures amongst a conned population, and better
access to medical treatment at the POW camps, compared
with the general population.
Regarding the period of recorded deaths, the majority of
POWs (74.6%) died in the earlier stages of the Korean War,
between August 1950 and June 1951, before the war was
stabilized (Table 1). Several factors negatively inuenced
the health of the POWs during this period. Among possible
factors, we have highlighted the role of living conditions.
However, Garnkel12 (1954) put particular emphasis on the
impact of the sudden overcrowding of the POWs camps,
since overcrowding could allow infectious diseases to spread
rapidly, exacerbate sanitation problems at the camps, and re-
sult in a decline in individual hygiene. Garnkel12 explained
in this way the 1950-1951 winter epidemic of acute enteric
infectious diseases (dysentry/diarrhea), which had been un-
controlled for several months, despite aggressive UNC
public health measures and medical intervention. During
the winter epidemic, more than 4,000 POWs were hospital-
ized of dysentery and more than 600 POWs died each
month.7 Our nding of a sharp rise in the monthly deaths
caused by acute infectious diarrheas in early stages of the
Korean War, as shown in Fig. 1, would to some extent sup-
port his view.
We observed that tuberculosis was a cause of POWs’
deaths for a longer period than was dysentery and diarrhea
(Table 4, Figs. 1 and 2). Dysentery/diarrhea declined rapid-
ly after the winter of 1951, and the epidemic was controlled
in few months. Leedham3 explained that many deaths
caused by tuberculosis were due not only to the high preva-
lence of the disease and, but also to the lowered health and
nutritional status of the population in general, which brought
a low degree of resistance to tuberculosis. In the early 1950s,
the prevalence of tuberculosis in the general population was
6.5% and the mortality rate was 300/100,000. Leedham3 re-
ported that the incidence rate of tuberculosis for POWs in
the calendar year of September 1, 1951-August 31, 1952 was
43/100,000, and aggressive treatment with segregation and
hospitalization of more than 3,000 POWs was done. These
POWs received good medical care and a high calorie diet
Myoung-Soon Lee, et al.
Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 54 Number 2 March 2013
488
ical Center, Washington D.C.
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mand. Washington D.C.: United Nations civil affairs activities in
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RG407 Box 1359 Book XII.
5. United Nations Command. Civil assistance and economic affairs,
Korea. Washington D.C.: United Nations Command; 1954.
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lic health measures in POW camps during the war. Our
analysis provides insight into POWs’ health and living con-
ditions during the war and, from an ecological perspective,
highlights the multiple factors that shaped the individual
and society during the Korean War.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We greatly appreciate the support given to this project by
the Institute of Asian Culture Studies, Hallym University,
Chuncheon 200-702, Korea. The Institute provided us with
the invaluable data on the causes of death of prisoners of
war during the Korean War (1950-1953). Our research was
supported by the Hallym University Research Fund, 2010
(HRF-2010-038), and the principal investigator of the proj-
ect is Sun Huh.
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