Dead Men Sentenced to Death Twice More

Last night I saw Silmido. Man, it reminded me of The Dirty Dozen. The (true) story is: the North sent a platoon (31 men) of commandos to Seoul in January 1968 to kill then-president/dictator Park Chung Hee (he was later assassinated by a cabinet member in 1979). Their plan was thwarted, but the South wanted revenge so they set up an ultra-secret crack team of 31 (always have copy, it seems) of their own. But, they didn't recruit from the general infantry or even the armed forces at all. The members of Unit 684, as it was called, were criminals on death row who (they found out afterwards) were already known as dead to the world and, thus, would not be missed if they failed (or if they succeeded).

The 31 went through extensive and brutal training on Silmido (Silmi Island) but 31 real special forces members plus a commander. For 2 years they prepared themselves physically and mentally to 'slit the throat of Kim Il-Sung' (the leader of NK at the time, and father of the current dictator, Kim Il-Jung). The time to leave and complete their mission came and they set out to Pyongyang...but at the last moment it was cancelled. The Minister of Intelligence had changed and relations had thawed between the two Koreas (I wonder what catastrophe would have befallen this place if they had succeeded). With no reason to be, Unit 684 was to be terminated.

The story goes on a ways from there, and everyone knows it..which may have been the point of the South Korean government. Imagine if a foreign power (and hated enemy) sent a team to kill President Bush or John Major...how could they just let it go. But, as in this case, how could they let it happen? This sacrificing of deathrow inmates makes sense from a political point of view. The South got to show that they were ready, willing and able to go after Kim Il-Sung, but, in the end, it would have probably put the Peninsula back in to a brutal and devastating war.


Silmido and The Dirty Dozen: the true story is more unreal than fiction.

At least The Dirty Dozen achieved their mission...but it was just a story, maybe based on Silmido, who knows?