HÀ NỘI — South Korean journalist Koh Kyong Tae will host a photo exhibition on the massacre committed by South Korean soldiers in Quảng Nam Province during the American war in Việt Nam.

The exhibition will be held on September 9 at the Art Link Gallery, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea.

Some 20 photos taken by Corporal J. Vaughn and written material on the attack by the American army at Phong Nhất-Phong Nhị Village, Điện Bàn District in Quảng Nam Province, which were made public by the United States government in 2000, will be the highlight of the exhibition.

Journalist Tae, born in 1967, used to work as the editor-in-chief of the Hankyoreh 21 weekly, among the first newspapers in South Korea to publish news of the massacre of ordinary people perpetrated by South Korean soldiers during the American war in Việt Nam.

The photo story is based on events from February 12, 1968, when South Korean soldiers attacked Phong Nhất-Phong Nhị Village. Corporal J.Vaughn and his comrades from the US Marines subsequently took over the area, where they found 74 people killed and 17 others injured. Many of the victims were women and children.

Vaughn took photos of the corpses, noted some simple captions under the photos and sent them to top leaders. His report and other similar reports were sealed with the “highly confidential” mark and preserved as top secret at the US national archives.

Some 32 years later, in 2000, these secret documents were made public.

Since then, Tae has returned to the village six times to visit those victims still alive, as well as family members who recognised pictures of their loved ones who died in the massacre. They provided him with more details of the incident.

Tae published a book titled "February 12, 1968”, with all the stories. The book was printed by publisher Hankyoreh.

The photo exhibition titled “Story of Phong Nhất - Phong Nhị Village” in Seoul is on until October 1. — VNS