THE FIRST RADIO BROADCASTING AND LEAFLET GROUP
The 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group Mascot - "The
Ganders"
Most of the leaflets we will show in this article were prepared by the 1st Radio
broadcasting and Leaflet Group (1st RB&L Group). I have written about this unit in the
past and here is a very short history of their Korean War service.
The recruitment of staff for the first PSYOP Group to be deployed to Korea is mentioned
in a reunion book entitled Psychological Warfare in Korea - 1952 Life and Times of the
First Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group - 50 years Later, Klein, Herguth and
McConaughey, RHP Books, 2002:
The Army, to find enlisted men for jobs that required a university degree, set up a
special classification and assignment unit at Ft. Myer, in Arlington, Virginia. Towards
the end of 1950, orders went out to send all draftees with college degrees to Ft. Myer
after they finished basic training to be interviewed for possible special assignments. It
was through this process that draftees with experience in journalism, radio, advertising
and graphic arts found themselves in the 1st RB&L Group.
The unit was formed in Ft. Riley Kansas. It was created by Fifth Army General Order
#176, April 1951. The first commander was LTC Homer E. Shields, former Chief of Psywar
section of the Sixth Army Group, and later executive officer to General McClure, head of
the Psychological Warfare Division, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force
(SHAEF). General McClure personally selected Shields for this post.
The Group arrived in Tokyo, Japan, on 6 August 1951. They were headquartered on the 6th
floor of Empire House. The enlisted personnel were quartered in the Japanese government
Finance Building on B Avenue in the heart of Tokyo. The Officers were billeted in
Officer's Clubs around Tokyo. The group consisted of three companies.
Paul Linebarger discusses them in Psychological Warfare, Combat Forces Press,
Washington DC, 1954. He says:
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company contained the command, administrative,
supervisory and creative personnel necessary for propaganda operations. The 3rd
Reproduction Company contained intricate equipment and skilled personnel capable of
producing leaflets and newspapers of varying sizes and multiple colors. The 4th Mobile
Radio Broadcasting Company was designed to replace or augment other means of broadcasting
radio propaganda.
Charles H. Briscoe writes about the Group in Veritas, Volume 7, No. 1, 2011. He
says that the Headquarters Company was based in Tokyo, Japan, with the strength of 19
officers, three warrant officers and 111 enlisted personnel.
The Third Reproduction Company was based in Motosumiyoshi, Japan. Its strength was
three officers and 54 enlisted personnel. They were tasked with leaflet production and
were authorized cameras, lithographic plates, printing presses and the use of USAF
aircraft to include C-47s, C-46s, B-26s and B-29s.
4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company organization chart
The Fourth Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company was based in Tokyo, Pusan and Seoul. It
consisted of 16 officers and 99 enlisted personnel. It was authorized various mobile radio
broadcasting systems to transmit Psywar messages in the field in a variety of languages
and dialects.
THE FIRST LOUDSPEAKER AND LEAFLET COMPANY
1st Loudspeaker and Leaflet (L&L) Company patch and Insignia
The few named campaign leaflets that were not printed by the 1st RB&L Group were
printed by the 1st Loudspeaker and Leaflet Company (1st L&L Company). Linebarger says
about this unit:
The Group's junior partner in the conduct of PSYWAR support operations was the
Loudspeaker and Leaflet Company. This unit specifically supported an army in the field
with adequate propaganda support...its targets were smaller, lived under unusual
circumstances, and presented highly vulnerable, rapidly changing propaganda
opportunities..."
In the fall of 1950, the Army’s small Technical Information Detachment of four
officers and twenty enlisted was notified that it was to be changed to a Loudspeaker and
leaflet Company on 1 September 1950. It was put on alert for Korea and sent from Ft.
Riley, Kansas, to Seattle, and then on to Korea, arriving on 4 November 1950. The unit was
reorganized in January 1951 as the First Loudspeaker and Leaflet Company with a complement
of 8 officers, ninety-nine enlisted men, 3 printing presses, 12 loudspeakers, and 27
vehicles, and assigned to a newly created Psychological Warfare Division (PWD) operating
within G-3 of the Eighth Army in Korea. The 1st L&L Company became operational April
1951 and 9 loudspeaker teams were dispatched to divisions in the field. The First L&L
Company prepared leaflets in the field throughout the Korean War, serving until 21
February 1955. According to their records, the leaflets are coded from 8174 to 8759. They
printed 660 different leaflets, 280,663,500 in total. They used three Harris printing
presses and printed about two Korean language leaflets for every one targeting the
Chinese. Remember, this is just the Leaflet Company and does not include the leaflets
prepared by EUSAK and the Group. The Company loudspeaker teams made 14,756 broadcasts to
the enemy. They claim 3,688 prisoners came over as a direct result of their broadcasts.
NAMED LEAFLET CAMPAIGNS
It would appear to be easy to discuss these themes and state exactly who the target was
and the purpose of the leaflet. This is not the case. In some cases where there are
several leaflets, the purpose of the plan and the desired result is changed from one
leaflet data sheet to another. I could guess which is the most correct, but since the
plans may have had more than one purpose, if the sheets state there were two or three
purposes for a specific plan I will combine and list them all. This will not happen often,
but it is possible that as the plan progressed, additional propaganda gains were added to
the desired result.
I should also give credit to Mark R. Jacobson who wrote the 2005 doctoral dissertation Minds
Then Hearts:’ U.S. Political and Psychological Warfare During the Korean War. After
I wrote this article I ran across his dissertation and he covered the named plans in some
depth so I went back and added some additional information to my descriptions.
Cut Sheet for Leaflet 7152
Most of the basic information found in this article comes directly from the data
sheets (cut sheets) prepared for each leaflet. They give complete information about the
leaflets: who printed them; dates, purpose; language; and in some rare cases, the number
printed. The sheet we depict above was for Plan Invader leaflet 7152. Notice that it shows
the First Radio and Broadcasting Group as the printer, gives the date, the title, the
target, remarks and then a complete translation. These sheets were prepared with just
about every Korean War leaflet.
PLAN 52/19
Leaflet 1232
Plan 52/19 was designed to get farmers of Hwang Hao-Do to withhold rice from Communist
collectors. The leaflet is entitled “Hide your rice” and depicts a Korean farmer
and his wife burying their rice. This leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 25
October 1952. Text on the front is:
Farmers of Hwang Hao Do – HIDE YOUR RICE!
DON’T STARVE FOR COMMUNISM!
The back has three panels showing Farmer and wife completing the burial of the rice,
Telling the Communist rice collector that they have none, and giving the rice to
anti-Communist guerrillas. The text is:
Now they won’t find our rice.
How can we pay the tax without a harvest? This is all we have.
Anti-Communist patriots! Here is my humble contribution.
Note: One of the original provinces of Korea. In 1945, Korea was divided into Soviet
and American zones of occupation, and part of the province fell under Communist rule in
the north, the rest under the Republic of Korea in the south. In the above leaflets the UN
is asking those farmers just above and below the border to hide their rice from the
Communists.
Note: An almost identical leaflet was produced coded 1236, dated 30 October 1952,
identical in just about every way but not mentioning the farmers of Hwang Hao-do, but
instead just saying:
North Korean farmers
HIDE YOUR RICE!
The back of this second leaflet has the same text as 1232.
Leaflet 1245
This leaflet depicts a snake wearing a North Korean Army cap squeezing a civilian on
the front and a 3-panel cartoon of Communist troops taking all the food from a farmer on
the back. It was printed by the 1st RB & L Group on 25 November 1952 in the Korean
language. The text on the front is:
THS COMMUNIST SQUEEZE
The text on the back is:
Official Tax
Volunteer Donations
Agricultural instructors – Propagandists – Self-defense squad – Cell
chairman – Appraisal committee and People’s committee.
Farmer’s Reward
He gets a “Hero” certificate. Farmers of Hwang Hao Do, don’t work for
the Communists! Hide your grain!
Leaflet 1249
This plan 52/19 leaflet is called Farmers of Hwang Hai Do – Help the Partisans. Leaflets
1249 and 1250 are almost identical with just a change in color and a minor change in the
wording. This leaflet depicts farmers aiding the partisans fight the Communists. The
leaflet was printed on 1 December 1952 as part of Plan 52/19 designed to induce the
farmers to assist the partisans. The leaflet depicts a South Korean patriot aiming a rifle
at a terrified Communist. The back depicts farmers telling the guerrillas of Communist
movement and partisans attacking a Communist supply train. Text on the front is:
Farmers of Hwang Hae Do Province! The Anti-Communist special forces are fighting to
free you from the Communist oppression.
Text on the back is:
Farmers of Hwang Hao-Do
Protect the partisan and he will protect you.
The identical image appears on leaflet 1252. The leaflet was produced by the 1st Radio
Broadcasting and Leaflet Group on 1 December 1952. The text on the front is now:
Farmers of North Korea!
The partisan is fighting for your freedom from Communist domination.
The back of the leaflet has two cartoon panels where farmers are depicted giving
information to partisans so that they can attack a North Korean supply movement of cattle
and other goods. The text is:
Farmers of Hwang North Korea
Protect the partisan and he will protect you.
The same image appears on Leaflet 1253, but it is blue instead of red. The main
difference in the text is that it does not mention Hwang Hao Do, but on the front simply
addresses “farmers” and on the back says “North Korean farmers.” The
leaflet was prepared by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group on 8 December 1952,
in Korean as part of plan 52/19.
Other leaflets in
this series are 1237 (Pretend Sickness) and 1244 (Communism drives the weary).
Tracy talks about
Plan 52/19:
Among the
66,315,500 leaflets disseminate in October were those supporting Plan Fraud,
Deadlock, Good fellow, and 52/19, which aimed to raise North Korean Farmer's
suspicion of tax collectors, urge them to feign sickness to avoid working
for the Communists, and hide food from them.
PLAN 1191/3
Leaflet 1285
PLAN 1191/3 was designed to induce North Korean civilians to let the war pass them by
and to enlist their aid for the Allied partisans and United Nations troops. This leaflet
was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 23 February 1953 and entitled “Special
Appeal.” The leaflet depicts Koreans fleeing to the hills while aircraft attack
trucks on the road and North Korean civilians helping a United Nations airman in a
parachute. The text is:
Let the War pass you by! Save your life now!
Flee to the hills! Stay off the road!
Help free Korea now! Aid the partisans! Aid the U.N. troops!
PLAN BLIZZARD
Leaflet 0102
Plan Blizzard used New Year and the U.N.’s efforts to restore peace as its theme.
It capitalized on the significance of the New Year season in the Orient. It emphasized UN
devotion to the cause of peace and sought to awaken feelings about home that Chinese and
Korean soldiers, as well as Korean citizen might harbor.
At New Year's, Koreans exchange greetings and wishes couched in poetic form. This
campaign ran from 24 December 1951 to 26 December 1951. The leaflets were prepared by the
1st RB&L Group in both Korean and Chinese. The leaflet above depicts two children
spinning tops symbolic of New Year festivities. The text is:
Peace for the New Year
Leaflet 0703
This miniature leaflet depicts a holiday lantern and was printed by the 1 RB&L
Group in Chinese on 19 December 1951. There were three leaflets in this
“lantern” series. The text is:
The United Nations wishes you a happy New Year
The United Nations seeks to achieve peace on earth
Some other leaflets in Plan Blizzard are 0101 (Peace for the New Year),
and 0702 (The UN wishes you a happy New Year).
PLAN CAPTIVE
Leaflet 1294
Plan Captive was designed to reinforce antagonism of North Korean civilians toward the
Communist regime for its refusal to exchange sick and wounded prisoners of war.
This leaflet, entitled “Captive No. 7,” was prepared by the 1st RB&L
Group on 12 March 1953 in Korean as part of Plan Captive. It targets the families of sick
and wounded North Koreans in the United Nation’s hands. This leaflet targets Hwang
Hae Do Province and says in part:
From the beginning of the Korean War, the UN Command has tried to exchange
seriously sick and wounded prisoners of war, who are fit to travel, under the provisions
of Article 109 of the Geneva Convention. On 13 December 1953, the League of Red Cross
Societies appealed for their immediate exchange…Of the more than 6,000 sick and
wounded prisoners of war in UN hands, here is a part of the list from your province….
The names and units of prisoners from this province were printed on the front and back
of the leaflet.
Leaflet 1297
Leaflet 1297 (Captive No. 5) was printed by the 1st RB&L Group on 25 March 1953. It
appears that all the leaflets use the same image on the front, a United Nations doctor
treating North Korean prisoners of war. This leaflet is addressed to the families of the
sick and wounded soldiers in Pyongam-Nam Do Province. Each leaflet bears the names of
soldiers from a difference province. This leaflet bears the names, serial number and units
of wounded soldiers in UN hands. Some of the text is:
From the beginning of the Korean War, the United Nations has wanted to exchange sick
and wounded prisoners of war…On 22 February 1953, UN General Clark personally sent a
message to Kim Il-sung to tell him that the UN is ready immediately to exchange such
prisoners…His message has been broadcast daily to the Korean Communists since then,
but the Communists have not replied. Of the more than 6,000 sick and wounded prisoners of
war in UN hands, here is a part of the list from your province….
PLAN CITIES
Leaflet 1293
Plan Cities was designed to turn North Korean college students against the Communist
regime because of suppression of free education. The leaflet depicts Kim Il Sung acting as
a professor holding a book entitled “Russian Revolution” while college students
wear a chain entitled “Political Training.” This leaflet was prepared by the 1st
RB&L Group on 11 March 1953. Some of the following phrases are on the blackboard:
Song of Marshal Stalin – Freedom is Communism – Let’s
destroy underground activities – Marshal Kim Il Sung
Books on the floor and a sign are labeled:
World Peace – Democracy – Human Rights – Free World
Confiscated books. Anyone who touches these will be judged a
reactionary.
PLAN COMMANDO
Leaflet 8170
We are not sure exactly how Plan Commando was designed, but we know that the
leaflets in this series sometimes depicted the number of Korean dead and wounded. As more
Koreans became casualties, the number grew on later leaflets. Sometimes, the number did
not represent casualties, but instead, North Koreans who had defected to the South. It was
hoped that seeing this large number would demoralize the North Koreans and perhaps
motivate them to surrender to the Allies. The text on leaflet 8170 is:
184,762 – What Does this Figure Mean?
184,762 of your comrades have come over to the U.N. forces. They are safe and are
living comfortably behind the U.N. lines.
Think. Will you live or die?
Do not be cannon fodder for the Communists. Come over to the U.N. lines at once. You
are guaranteed good treatment.
Another leaflet in this series is 8167 (13,933, what is this number? 13,933 of your
comrades dead and wounded in the last six days).
PLAN DEADLINE
1133
This leaflet depicts North Korean prisoners getting an issue of new clothing, warming
themselves by a fire and getting fed warm food. The back depicts a United Nations emblem
at the top and additional text. Some of the text on the front of the leaflet is:
The day when North Korean soldiers drop their rifles and knives and cease to fight,
the United Nations will give you clothes, warm shelters and food. We will treat you well
according to the Geneva Convention.
Some of the text on the back of the leaflet is:
We will treat you well according to the Geneva Convention!
A great number of your comrades are now treated well according to the Geneva
Convention and happily living behind the United Nations lines.
While the Communist leaders stall the armistice hearings your lives are in danger
just as is a candle flame in the wind.
We will treat you well according to the Geneva Convention!
Leaflet 1134
Plan Deadline was designed to portray the UN negotiators as working hard at the
Armistice talks to bring peace to the peninsula. It attacked the Korean People’s Army
and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army. Deadline, later renamed Hold-Up, and then
Deadlock, sought to portray the United Nations Command as working to restore peace through
an armistice while at the same time, showing that it was the “Communists” who
were hindering and obstructing efforts for a peace agreement. This campaign ran from 28
November 1951 to 27 December 1951. The leaflet above is entitled “Discomforts of
War.” It depicts North Korean soldiers sitting in the snow around a small fire trying
to get warm. The leaflet was prepared by the 1 RB&L Group on 10 December 1951. The
text on the front is:
Do we have to fight again this coming winter?
The text on the back says in part:
If you are wounded in the front lines or get sick in the cold
winter, what will be happen to you? You know how difficult it will be for
you to get proper medical treatment in a hospital. This is because your
officers discard wounded soldiers so that they are left to die alone.
The United Nations soldiers treat the North Korean soldiers who
come over to their side exactly like they treat their own soldiers. Think of
that! Soldiers, your duty is to survive and be healthy for your family and
your country. Is there any reason for you to wait until you are wounded? Now
is the time to escape! Your life if precious!
Leaflet 1137
This leaflet plays on the fears that all soldiers have. Many do not fear dying, but the
idea of being horribly wounded or disfigured is something that everyone is frightened of.
Here a North Korean soldier is depicted with both hands missing. He cries as he thinks of
his wife and children. The title of the leaflet is: “The wounded soldier’s
future.” He knows that because of the Communist’s stalling at the peace table he
has suffered catastrophic injuries. The text is:
If the Soviet Communist leaders agreed to end the war sooner
Maybe I'll still have both hands to hold my child.
Some other leaflets in this named campaign are 1135 (Korean New Year), 1136 (Think of
your family-Korean), 7113 (Happy prisoners of war), 7116 (Think of your family-Chinese),
7117 (Wounded soldier’s future) and 7187 (Chinese aid slavery in North Korea)
PLAN DEADLOCK
Leaflet 7187
Plan Deadlock was designed to show that the Communist Chinese are helping Communists to
enslave Korea and stalling at the peace table, while the UN is working toward peaceful
reunification and Korean freedom. Plan Deadlock was originally Plan Hold out. It was
inaugurated in July 1952. Plans Deadlock and Hold-Up largely pursued the same aims and
used the same themes as did Deadline. The leaflet above depicts the Korean people in
chains watched by an armed Communist soldier with the hammer and sickle symbol. The
leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 21 August 1952. Some of the text is:
Aid for Slavery
Aid for Freedom – The United Nations
Chinese soldiers – you fight for slavery. While the Communists stall at
Panmunjom, puppets of Russia send you to death in their war against the Korean people.
They want to enslave Korea as they have enslaved China…
US AID FOR FREEDOM IS THE AID KOREA NEEDS AND WANTS
YOU ARE “AIDING” KOREA INTO SLAVERY
Leaflet 7248
This leaflet was printed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group, dated 23 May
1953 and aimed at Chinese troops in Korea. The image on the front depicts Communist,
Republic of Korea and American officers meeting at the peace conference table. The text
says in part:
The whole world wants peace, but Communists ordered by Moscow, create
a stalemate!
The Allied officers say: This is the just and humanitarian way to achieve a real
permanent peace in Korea.
The Communist officer replies: Impossible!
The rest of the text gives a timeline of all the UN attempts at making peace and the
Communist methods used to sabotage it.
Leaflet 1209
This “Deadlock” leaflet depicts chained Koreans being marched in front of
a terrifying red-eyed armed guard covered with a hammer and sickle. The leaflet was
produced by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group on 9 August 1952. The text is:
UNIFICATION AND SLAVERY
The back of the leaflet features two hands in chains and the following text:
UNIFICATION AND SLAVERY
All Koreans dream of a unified nation. The Communists dream too, but they dream
of unification through slavery. They would unify the people with guns and death.
Communist puppets would then rule a nation for Russia. They would force Russian
culture upon all of Korea. They would put force in place of freedom throughout the land.
The Communist dream of a unified nation is a nightmare for all Koreans. The United
Nations dream of a free, peaceful and unified Korea is hope for all Koreans.
Leaflet 1210
This leaflet is identified as “Unification and a free Korea” in the UN files.
It depicts an elder, representing the father of the Korean people. The text is:
One root, One blood, One ethnicity
Because it attempts to show the two Koreas as one nation it could also be translated as
“One Nation, One Kind of People.”
Leaflet 1220
This leaflet was printed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group and dated 16
September 1952. On the front it shows the Panmunjom delegates meeting while below we see
dead North Korean troops. This general image was used on many leaflets as the UN accused
the Communists of stalling. The text on the front is:
COMMUNISTS CAUSE DEADLOCK!
Delay is Death!
The text on the back says in part:
Korea pays with her life because of Communist staling! Why does the war still stalk
your land after more than a year of peace talks? Here’s why: because your communist
bosses continue their sacrifice of Korea for the sake of China! A few thousand Chinese
refuse to return to the clutches of the communists. The communists demand that the UN
return these men. They want to punish them for daring to speak out against communist
tyranny…
Leaflet 1225
Korea was a very cold place and there were many deaths caused by the cold and many
injuries such as frostbite that led to the loss of limbs. Here the United Nations depicts
a North Korean soldier’s skull in a simple cloth cap that offers no protection
against bullets and shrapnel. It is designed to show that another winter of war and death
approaches while Communists stall at peace talks. The text is:
Death awaits you
Some other leaflets in for Plan Deadlock are 1220 (Vengeance of the masters) 1229 and
7248 (Armistice).
PLAN DIVIDE
Leaflet 8716
Plan Divide was designed to split the North Koreans from their Communist government; to
split the North Koreans from the Chinese troops fighting alongside them, and to split the
Chinese troops from their Communist government. Plan Divide began on 15 January 1953 and
was terminated on 30 April 1953. 625,000 copies of this leaflet were prepared by the 1st
Loudspeaker and Leaflet Company (1st L&L Company) on 16 January 1953. It depicts
Soviet leader Josef Stalin and a hammer and sickle. Some of the text is:
WARRIORS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST FORCES
BEHOLD THE MURDEROUS SYMBOL AND CRAFTY FACE OF YOUR BETRAYER!
The back depicts dead Chinese in the snow and some of the following text:
Warriors of the Chinese Communist Forces! Look about you! Many of your comrades are
gone, killed in useless attacks. Why?
Because Stalin and the Russian Communists have forced you into this war. Because
they care nothing for dead Chinese soldiers…
Be careful, soldiers of the IB Corps! Hide yourselves from the sharp eyes of the U.N
artillery and naval gunfire.
Leaflet 8395
This leaflet was printed by the Psychological Warfare Division, G3 (Operations), 8th
U.S. Army on 23 January 1953. The theme was: Chinese superiority complex. It was
designed to foster dissension between the North Korean and Chinese forces by suggesting
that the Chinese held the Korean in contempt. It depicts Chinese soldiers in a derisive
attitude toward the North Korean soldiers and civilians. There is a long text message on
the back so I will just translate a few lines. The text on the front is:
THE CHINESE FORCES CONSIDER THE KOREAN PEOPLE TO BE AN INFERIOR RACE!
The text on the back says in part:
North Korean Soldiers:
Do you know that the Chinese forces secretly despise the North Korean people and
hold them in contempt? The Chinese forces look down upon you because there are 100 times
as many Chinese as there are North Koreans. Also because China is much bigger…Think!
Have the Chinese forgotten your 5000 years of civilization and history? Your ancestors
defeated seven invasions of Korea in ancient time. Is this not true? Soldiers! Do you know
that the Chinese forces whisper to each other that you are cowardly and refuse to fight?
Even so, they sent you to the difficult eastern front while they have taken the better
western front….
Leaflet 8412
This leaflet was printed by the Psychological Warfare Division, G3 (Operations), 8th
U.S. Army on 7 March 1953. The front depicts a courtship scene. To make it culturally
correct the scene was drawn by a female Korean artist. It is designed to create dissension
between the North Korean Army and government by reminding soldiers that they can no longer
be with their loved ones. The theme for this leaflet is: No courtship and love for the
Korean People’s Army. The message is rather short:
Comrades – When will you meet your loved ones once again?
Leaflet 8727
A
pretty girl in a modest pose is
depicted on “Plan Divide” leaflet 8727,
printed 6 March 1953 and targeting Chinese forces opposite the U.S. 8th Army. The front
and the back are identical. The text is:
When will you see your sweetheart again?
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this leaflet is that it turned out that the
pretty young woman was the very patriotic daughter of a South Korean Minister who had
never given permission for its use. Allegedly, the minister came upon a copy of the
leaflet and raised “Hell” with the American propagandists.
Leaflet 8729
I added this leaflet because it depicts what might be considered a “pin up”
for Chinese troops. It was hoped that they would save the picture of the pretty Chinese
girl in traditional dress. This leaflet was produced by the Psychological Warfare Division
G3 (Operations) EUSAK on 8 March 1953 as part of “Plan Divide.” The leaflet is
designed to stimulate longing for normal human relationships and to create dissension
against the government which denies them. The leaflet depicts a photograph of Pretty
Chinese woman in a formal silk dress. The front and the back are identical. The text is:
No man’s Life is Complete without a Wife and Sons
Some leaflets from Plan Divide are 8394 (Soldiers of the North Korean Army), 8716
(Warriors of the Chinese Communist Forces) and 8719 (Desertion ratio – Communist
Chinese Forces vs. North Korean People’s Army).
PLAN DRAGON
Leaflet 1143
Plan Dragon used the theme of nostalgia and longing for home during the lunar New Year
holiday season of 1952. During the lunar holiday season, leaflets were designed to make
soldiers think of home while other leaflets targeted civilians in order to encourage
dissatisfaction with their husbands and sons continued military duty. Operations
culminated during the lunar New Year’s holiday. This campaign ran from 19 January
1952 to 27 January 1952.
Leaflet 1143 depicts the hands of freedom-loving North Koreans reaching toward the
symbol of the United Nations hoping for peace and freedom. The leaflet contrasts the
peaceful, democratic ideals of the United Nations with the cruel dictates of Communism. It
states that Communism is the only impediment to a peaceful, united Korea. The leaflet was
printed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group and dated 14 January 1952. A
Chinese-language version with the same image and text is coded 7122. The text on the front
is:
Will the Year of the Dragon Bring Peace?
Leaflet 1146
This leaflet depicts a Korean Turtle ship used during the Imjin War. In that war the
Japanese invaded Korea and at first conquered a good part of the country, but gradually,
and with the use of its navy, Korea drove the Japanese out. The turtle ship was the
fastest and most maneuverable warship in the East Asian theater at that time, powered by
two sails and 80 oarsmen taking turns on the ship's 16 oars. Their primary role was to cut
deep into the enemy lines; cause havoc with their cannon, and destroy the enemy flagships.
This leaflet implies that South Korea will also drive the North Korean invaders out. The
leaflet was printed by the 1st Radio and Broadcasting Group on 17 January 1952 as part of
Plan Dragon. The text on the front is:
Victory over Communism
Unite to drive out Communist aggression!
The 7th PSYOP Group 1972 Calendar for Korea
It is interesting to note that the U.S. Army 7th PSYOP Group was assigned to support
the Republic of Korea after the end of the war. In 1972, the Group prepared a propaganda
calendar for Korea that depicted various patriotic battle scenes and victories. The month
of April had this remarkable painting of the Turtle ships at war.
Some
other leaflets in Plan Dragon are 7121 (Escape to a peaceful New Year), and 7122 (Will the
year of the Dragon bring peace? - in Chinese).
PLAN ERIS
Leaflet 1207
The theme that the Communists will exploit all of Korea for their own purposes is shown
in the leaflet from the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group dated 6 August 1952. The
leaflet depicts Mao Tse Tung hoarding all of Korea's industry while Kim Il Sung acts as
his puppet. The text on the front of the leaflet states:
Warriors of the North Korean People’s Army
Do you know the Puppet Kim Il Sung has sold your beloved country to
the Chinese?
The text on the back of the leaflet says in part:
Brave North Korean Soldiers
Do you know that the hated Chinese now control all of North Korea’s government,
industry, railroads, economy and people? Nearly 700,000 Chinese soldiers now occupy your
beloved country. Your families are filled with misery, terror and poverty. Has the CCF
brought you victory? Or has it brought suffering, death and enslavement? What is the
future of the North Korean people who now live under the brutal heel of the CCF? Soldiers,
beware of your real enemy the CCF! Korea is for the Koreans!
Leaflet 1218*
Plan Eris, like Plan Divide, was designed to create dissension between the North Korean
and Chinese military. This leaflet was prepared for the North Koreans by the 1st Radio
Broadcasting and Leaflet Group on 3 September 1951. The asterisk at the end of the code
indicates that it was requested by the Eighth U.S. Army in Korea. This is the first
leaflet in the Eris series. The official designation is “Chinese Communist Forces
‘Borrowing’ from North Korea.” The leaflet is based on intelligence reports
that the Chinese often borrow tools and animals from the Koreans and do not return them.
The text is:
BEHAVIOR OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST SOLDIER
Officers, Sergeants and Privates of the North Korean people’s Army,
Do you know that while you are fighting at the front, the Chinese Communists have
taken over control of North Korea?
Do you know that the Chinese soldiers are stealing cattle, tools and other valuable
articles from your poor helpless families?
Do you know that Korean women, children and old men have no protection against the
Chinese Communist robbers?
BEWARE OF YOU REAL ENEMY – THE CHINESE COMMUNIST ARMY
Leaflet 1237
This 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group leaflet dated 10 November 1952 bears the
title “Pretend Sickness.” A woman sees a Communist squad drafting men for a
labor detail and has her father go inside the house and pretend to be sick. The text is
short and to the point:
NORTH KOREAN FARMERS!
DON’T WORK FOR THE COMMUNISTS!
COMMUNISM IS YOUR ENEMY!
DON’T WORK FOR YOUR ENEMY!
Leaflet 8311
The 17 July 1952 Eighth Army G3 leaflet depicts Koreans being forced into labor by the
Chinese Communists. The back shows a Korean wearing handcuffs marked with a hammer and
sickle. The text on front says:
NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS!
THE CHINESE ARMY FORCES YOUR FAMILIES TO WORK LIKE SLAVES!
The text on back says in part:
NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS!
Do you know that in the rear areas the Chinese Army is forcing your family into hard
labor? Old men, women and even children are forced to work long hours repairing roads,
railroads and digging caves. Do you know the Chinese Army gives the people no food or pay
and forces them to sleep in caves and ditches? Many of your families are sick from lack or
food and overwork. Many die because of dangerous conditions.
BEWARE OF YOUR REAL ENEMY THE CHINESE ARMY!
Leaflet 8321
The large leaflet above depicts a North Korean soldier carrying supplies in rugged
terrain and a United Nations naval bombardment. The back of the leaflet was left blank to
be used as writing paper. It was hoped that this would result in the leaflet being mailed
back to North Korea where it might create dissension. The leaflet was prepared by the
Psychological Warfare Division of the Eighth U.S. Army, Korea, on 11 August 1952. Some of
the text is:
Soldiers of the North Korean People’s Army,
Do you know why you are forced to be stationed on the eastern front?
The mountainous eastern front occupied by the North Korean People’s Army is
much more difficult that the western front occupied by the Chinese Communist forces. The
road network on your part of the front is far worse than that in the Chinese area, thus
supplies are a tougher problem for the North Korean People’s Army….
Furthermore, the eastern front is constantly exposed to UN naval gunfire and has
suffered from tremendous casualties….
Leaflet 8322
This leaflet was entitled: “Chinese superiority complex.” It depicts Korean
civilians and military walking past Chinese troops with heads bowed as if they were an
inferior people. The back is all text. The leaflet was printed by the Eighth U.S. Army in
Korea, Operations Section, on 17 August 1952. The text on the front is:
The Communist Chinese Soldiers regard you as a Mere Primitive Race.
PLAN EYEWASH
PSYWAR Planning Display, Tokyo, 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
PSYWAR Broadcast Display, Tokyo, 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
PSYWAR Broadcast Display, Tokyo, 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
PSYWAR Birth of a Leaflet, Tokyo, 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
Psywar Deployment Display, Tokyo, 1952
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
Plan Eyewash is mentioned in several Korean War books. It was a travelling exhibition,
designed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group Twelve large PSYOP posters that
depicted how leaflets, posters, newspapers and radio were used as part of the PSYWAR plan.
Some of the titles are: “What is PSYWAR?;” “PSYWAR Planning;”
“The Birth of a Leaflet;” and “The Korean Broadcasting system.” The
first exhibit was 15 May 1952 in Tokyo.
In the SOF magazine Veritas, Kenneth Finlayson describes Eyewash as a
“comprehensive public information display extolling the value of Psywar to
newly-arrived U.S. infantry divisions.”
Psywar Employment Display, Tokyo, 1952, misnamed Operation RAT KILLER.
(Photo courtesy of Veritas magazine)
In what I assume was an attempt at political correctness, a poster explaining Plan Rat
Killer (see below) was labeled “Plan Rat Trap.”
PLAN FOUNDER
Leaflet 7235
This leaflet was prepared by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group in Chinese as
part of plan founder. It depicts Dr. Sun Yat Sen and the emblem of the United Nations on
the front and is in honor of the anniversary of his death. The text is:
Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the father of the Republic of China
He brought China: Nationalism, Democracy and Livelihood
Long live the spirit of Dr. Sun
The Mountains and Rivers of the Chinese Republic change colors
The back of the leaflet depicts a statue of Sun Yat Sen and the following text in part:
Dr. Sun is the father of the Republic of China. The Chinese adore his three
principals. The Communists destroyed Dr. Sun’s three principals which the people
loved and his idea of the dignity of the individual. They have abandoned the Republic and
made the Chinese people slaves of Russia. Yet, the Communists deceitfully and
hypocritically say they respect Dr. Sun! They are traitors to his principal and to China!
Note: The “Change colors” statement above is a Chinese expression meaning
that the new regime has replaced the old one.
PLAN FRAUD
Leaflet 1189
This 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group leaflet dated 17 June 1952 depicts a
North Korean soldier being strangled by a Communist snake. It claims that the USSR wants
to control North Korea. Some of the text is:
THE COMMUNIST AGGRESSIVE WAR STRANGLES THE PEOPLE TO DEATH
The Korean Communists deceive you when they say they want a free, united,
independent Korea. They are really attempting to make all Korea a slave state of Soviet
Russia by force. This is what they mean by “unification.” Korean communists,
obediently following instructions from their Russian masters, obstructed every prewar
effort of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations to unify Korea by peaceful means.
On 25 June 1950, the North Korean army attacked the Republic of Korea beginning a war that
for two years has brought nothing but destruction, suffering and death…
Leaflet 1193
This 27 June 1952 leaflet depicts a North Korean solider looking at a long list
closed factories. The text on the front is:
Communist Reforms mean Paper Reforms
We see the term “paper reforms” used on other leaflets. The UN is trying to
say that the Communists make reforms that do not work and destroy their own economy. Some
of the text on the back is:
People of North Korea,
When the Communists of North Korea set up their puppet government, they promised you
reforms for land, industry, and schools, but it is now apparent that these reforms are
only paper reforms. Don’t let the Communists’ false promises deceive you.
Here is the truth:
Your conditions are worse under Communism than ever before. Workers have become
slaves of the Communist government, unable to choose where or at what job they will work.
The Communists continue to give North Korea’s precious goods to China and
Russia…Oppose Communism! Resist Russia.
Leaflet 1195
Plan Fraud was designed to convince the target audience that Soviet control of Korea is
the aim of the North Korean leaders and that the alleged reforms in China are not real and
that the Chinese Communists have deprived people of their individual freedoms. The
campaign ran from April 1952 to June 1952. This leaflet depicts a Korean whose mouth is
covered and whose paper is being burned by an evil ghost-like creature marked with the
Communist hammer and sickle. This leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 8 July
1952. Some of the text is:
COMMUNIST HANDS TAKE YOUR FREEDOM
Communist hands clamp your mouths shut. You cannot speak out against your Communist
bosses.
Communist hands chain you to your job. You cannot choose where or how long you must
work
Communist hands rob you of every freedom you have ever known and make slaves of you.
ESCAPE THE HANDS THAT KILL FREEDOM
OPPOSE COMMUNISM! – RESIST RUSSIA!
Leaflet 1226
This leaflet was printed on 3 October 1952 as part of Plan Fraud. I chose it because of
the image, which shows Josef Stalin replacing Buddha in a temple. A hammer and sickle is
on his chest and he holds a knife and a fork. One wonders if our propagandists forgot that
they Koreans eat with chop sticks. A figure labeled “Kim il Sung” sacrifices
“North Korea” and “the People” to the alter while behind Stalin’s
head the word “Communism” is carved. Text down the left side is:
You are being Deceived
The back is all text and says in part:
Why must your leaders bow to Russian masters?
Because in their own greed they have sold themselves to a foreign power.
Because they have sold your soldiers to the Communists as cannon fodder to be wasted
for Communist gain...
North Koreans – You are being deceived – Be alert –
Resist Communist slavery
Leaflet 7163
This plan Fraud leaflet shows Chinese workers pulling a plow like an ox. Meanwhile,
above them, Mao sits comfortably on hundreds of bags marked “mi” (rice) holding
a hammer and sickle. On the back a lone Chinese farmer is depicted standing with his
scythe and looking at a barren field picked dry by the Communist bosses. The leaflet is
called “Chinese reforms” and was prepared by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and
Leaflet group on 22 April 1952. The text on the front is:
The harsh heavy taxes and forced contributions oppress the Chinese
farmers into the 18th level of Hell
Under the tyrannical Communist government farmers plowing the fields
become beasts of burden
Note: The 18 levels of Hell is a Buddhist concept. The concept of the eighteen Hells
started in the Tang dynasty. Sinners feel pain and agony just like living humans when they
are subjected to the tortures of Hell. They cannot “die” from the torture
because when the ordeal is over their bodies will be restored for the torture to be
repeated. Some of the tortures are: Mountain of Knives torture; Cauldron torture;
Dismemberment torture and Boiling liquid torture.
The image of peasants being forced to haul plows like oxen was also used in the
Republic of China’s elementary school textbooks. It was said to be very effective in
inspiring fear among the then mostly peasant school children. Having whipped farming
animals for a lifetime they feared the same fate awaited them under Communism.
Leaflet 7167 - China's Subservience to Foreign Control
(Leaflet courtesy of Lee Richards)
Leaflet 7167 is entitled "China's Subservience to Foreign Control" and is
dated 7 May 1952. The target is the Chinese Army in Korea
. The leaflet depicts a Russian official who looks like Stalin, pushing a Chinese leader
who looks like Mao, who pushes a Chinese soldier toward the front and his death. Each
figure is identified in Chinese characters. The text on the front is:
The Chinese Army Soldier is Forced to Fight Soviet Russia's War.
This 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group leaflet dated 1 August 1952 has three
photographs of happy Korean POWs on the front and the back. The prisoners are depicted
working in shops, eating together, playing volleyball, taking a community bath and playing
in a band. Some of the text is:
This Good fellow leaflet was aimed at the North Koreans as indicated by the lower code
number. Like the leaflet above it has three photographs on the front and three on the
back. They depict prisoners of war taking part in educational and vocational training
programs. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group. The leaflet title is
“United Nations Comfort.” The text on the front of this leaflet is:
Plan Good Fellow was designed to show the good treatment of Prisoners of War from the
front lines until placement in permanent POW camp in South Korea and the educational,
vocational and recreational facilities available in the POW camps. The leaflet above has
three photographs on the front and three on the back. They depict prisoners of war taking
part in educational and vocational training programs. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st
RB&L Group on 18 July 1952. Some of the text is:
This is another 1st RB&L Group leaflet dated 13 September 1952 and aimed at the
Chinese. It has a total of six photographs of happy Chinese POWs. The text is similar in
all of these leaflets so I will just add a line or two:
Some other leaflets in Plan Good Fellow are 1200 (Front lines to POW camp), 1203 (Daily
life of prisoner of war), 1214 (Good life in Prisoner of War camp), 1215 (Education and
Recreation in POW camp), 1216 (The United Nations protects us), 1258 (Fellow Koreans! I
want you to know of the good life...), 1291 (U.N. Medical Care), 7179 (POW camp food and
facilities), and 7231 (United Nations Comfort – Chinese)
Plan Heartache was designed to create nostalgia in the Chinese forces. It was based on
the well-known concern of the Chinese peasant soldier for his home and family. This
leaflet is entitled “The Dream of the Chinese Communist soldier,” and depicts a
romantic scene where a Chinese soldier is in a boat with a yound woman, and on the back a
sad image of the woman crying. The text is taken from an old Chinese Hakka folk
song.
Data sheets from the 1st L&L Company state that 1,500,000 copies of this leaflet
were prepared on 14 August 1952. Plan Heartache ended on 15 September 1952.
The 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company of the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet
Group regularly broadcast bomb warning announcements as part of Plan Hoax for Radio Seoul.
Here is an example:
Plan Hold-Up was designed to show North Korean civilians that the United Nations’
purpose in Korea was peace, unification and rehabilitation and that the Communist promise
of the good life was false. Plan Hold-Up was originally Plan Deadline until the armistice
discussions continued past the original 27 December 1951 deadline. This campaign ran from
28 December 1951 to July 1952. The leaflet depicts North Korean soldiers and civilians
marching into the mouth of a personified snake whose body leads back to the Kremlin in
Moscow. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 28 April 1952 and entitled
“Communists: Masters of deceit.” A companion piece was printed in the Chinese
language. The text on the snake’s body is “Communism” and on the banner
above “North Korean People’s Government.” Some of the text on the back is:
This leaflet was designed to show North Korean civilians and soldiers why
the Republic of Korea requested help from the United Nations. The text on the front is:
Some other leaflets in Plan Hold Up are 1154 (Soviet aid to aggression), 1169
(What is the U.N?) and 1172 (Life is best under the United Nations flag).
This leaflet does not exactly fit into the theme of Plan Invader and the text of the
data sheet explains that by saying that it “supports Plan Invader.” There are a
series of leaflets depicting the flags of the participants in the Korean War, those
starting with a “1” are in Korean and those starting with a “7” are in
Chinese. Most of these flag leaflets are part of Plan Mist, but for some reason this one
was placed in Plan Invader. The need for the leaflet was the continuation of a long-range
education program to familiarize Chinese troops with the various symbols used by the
United Nations. The leaflet was printed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group in
Chinese on 6 June 1952. The text on the back of the leaflet is:
Plan Invader was designed to convince the target audience that the war could have been
over long ago except for the Communist aim of worldwide conquest. Plan Invader sought to
create resentment and anger towards communist leaders for starting and prolonging a war of
aggression against the Korean people. Radio operations directed at Korean civilians and
leaflet operations directed against CPVF and KPA troops emphasized that the invasion had
been deliberate and premeditated and that the Communists were using the armistice as a
“breathing spell” to reorganize their defeated forces. The campaign ran from 15
June 1952 to 5 July 1952.
The leaflet above depicts three arms labeled “Communist China,”
“Russia” and “North Korea” holding flaming torches which are burning
the Korean people. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 25 June 1952. The
data sheet tells us that this is “Invasion by the Communists, No. 2” which means
there is at least one earlier leaflet in this series. Leaflet 1199 is in Korean. The same
image and text is found on the Chinese version coded 7155. Some of the text is:
This leaflet was designed to convince soldiers civilians of North Korea
that the war could have been over long ago except for the communists' long range plan for
world conquest. The leaflet depicts three comunist leaders who ares gleefully applying the
torch of aggression to North Korean soldiers. The back of the leaflet depicts dead North
Korean soldiers. The text on the back is:
Examine These Facts That Tell The Truth About the Korean War
You know for a fact that two years ago (25 June 1950) the North
Korean Communist ruthlessly attacked the peaceful Republic of Korea.
You know for a fact that the war was nearly over (mid-November
1950). And you know that your soldiers were forced to fight in Korea to prevent the Soviet
Russians from losing face since they had nearly lost control of North Korea.
You know for a fact that the United Nations never intended to
cross the Yalu. The Chinese Communists were assured of this, so your leaders lied when
they said the soldiers fight to defend China.
You know for a fact that Communist aggression in Korea is
another part of a long range communist plan for world conquest by force.
You know for a fact that the Communists' two year old war has
brought nothing but suffering, misery and death to countless thousands of people.
You know for a fact that the Communists have constantly blocked
efforts to conclude an armistice.
You know for a fact that since the Communists started this war
and now realize they cannot win, it is their responsibility to end it - Now, to
prevent more needless bloodshed!
Some other leaflets in Plan Invader are 1175 (Invasion by the Communists - Korean) and
1199 (Examine these facts that tell the truth about the Korean War - Chinese).
Tracy adds:
In June 1952,
the 1st RB&L Group disseminated 98,928,000 leaflets for Plan United, Fraud,
and Invader.
PLAN LIBERATOR
Leaflet 1192
Plan Liberator was designed to exploit the seventh anniversary of Korean liberation and
tell the target audience that that the USSR did not enter war until Japan’s defeat
was clear; and then Substituted Communist oppression for Japanese rule. The leaflet
depicts a North Korean family behind bars with the Communist hammer and sickle symbol
above. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 24 July 1952. Some of the
text is:
Liberation Day?
On liberation Day the old dream of freedom and the old hope of a unified nation will
haunt the air of North Korea like the spirits of neglected dead.
It was not always like this. In August of 1945, the dream was almost a bright
reality; the hope lived in all hearts.
Then the Russians, posing as liberators, marched into North Korea and turned deaf
ears and a stony face to the dreams of freedom and a unified Korea….
Leaflet 1196
This is a strange image on a leaflet, two fingers pointing at “Slavery and
death” and “Freedom and happiness.” In later wars like Iraq and Afghanistan
we would have the people of those countries vote and to make sure that they did not vote
more than once dip their fingers in ink. I cannot think of many other leaflets that
featured fingers. The back of the leaflet features the flag of the Republic of South
Korea. The leaflet was printed by the 1st RB&L Group and dated 6 June 1952. The Korean
text on the front of the leaflet is:
SOLDIERS OF THE NORTH KOREAN PEOPLE’S ARMY!
It is time to choose one out of two!
“Slavery and death” or “Freedom and happiness.”
Come over to the bosom of free Korea!
The text on the back is:
SOLDIERS OF THE NORTH KOREAN PEOPLE’S ARMY!
You must save your life for our country and our people. Ask for your life! It will be
given to you. Seek the way to live! You shall find it. Knock at the door of freedom! It
will be opened to you.
We are brothers! One race! You are puppets of Russia and Communist China who feed
you with false propaganda and lies. Why must you die for them? Come over! We welcome you.
Do not hesitate! Join us and live for our country and our people.
Tracy mentions Plan Liberator:
About 100
million leaflets distributed in July 1952 supported Plans United, Fraud,
Liberator, Good Fellow and Strike. Not delivered until 3-23 August 1952,
Liberator leaflets highlighted the seventh anniversary of Korea's liberation
from Japan. In August 1952, 86,584,000 leaflets backed Plans Strike, Fraud,
Deadlock, Liberator and Good Fellow.
PLAN MIST
Leaflet 0108
Plan Mist was designed to distract from the Communist observance of May Day. This
holiday, also known as International Workers’ Day, occurs on May 1. It was an
important official holiday of the Soviet Union, celebrated with an elaborate parade in the
center of the major cities. The biggest celebration was traditionally organized on the Red
Square, where the General Secretary of the Communist Party and other party and government
leaders stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum and waved to the crowds. This miniature leaflet
depicts the Hammer and Sickle on a flag and was prepared by the 1st RB&L Group on 30
April 1952. It bears the following text on the back:
Remember this symbol of slavery and death
Leaflet 0705
A second leaflet featuring the United Nations flag is coded 0705. Printed 30 April
1952, this leaflet was part of “Plan Mist,” an attempt to distract the
Communists from the observance of May Day. The front of the small leaflet depicts the UN
Flag; there is a short text message on the back:
The United Nations – Defenders of Peace and Justice.
Some other leaflets in the Plan Mist campaign are 0105 (United Nations flag), 0106
(Republic of Korea flag) and 0107 (North Korean flag).
Tracy says about Plan Mist:
Between 30 April and 6 May, about 45.000.000 Plan Mist leaflets
were disseminated.
PLAN NUTCRACKER
Leaflet 8139
Plan Nutcracker was designed to break the hard-core element within the North Korean
Army. Leaflet 8139 was the first in a series of Nutcracker leaflets. It depicts a scroll
with text in red. It targeted political directors and commissars within the North Korean
Army. The text on the scroll is:
We, soldiers of the North Korean Army, accuse our commanders and political
instructors of fighting this war for Russia.
We do not approve of fighting the United Nations forces any longer.
The scroll is signed by several names. Additional text on the back says in part:
Political Commissars and Instructors of the North Korean Army:
Your subordinate soldiers know you as the real enemy.
For your personal gain and prestige you have become a traitor to your
comrades….
PLAN PATRIOT
Leaflet 1284
Plan Patriot was designed to commemorate the 1919 Korean revolt and to show that people
in North Korea should revive the spirit of that time and fight Communist slavery. 1 March
1919 was Korean Independence Day. Plan Patriot meant to intensify Korean patriotic
feelings along pro-UN and anti-Communist lines by identifying the UN as the champion of
Korean unification and independence. Leaflets and broadcasts directed at Korean civilians
in North Korean held territory sought to create resentment against the Communists for
preventing unification and attempting to supplant Korean traditions, culture, and
independence. This campaign ran from 24 February 1952 to 15 March 1952.
Dr. Charles H. Briscoe mentions this campaign in “Full Spectrum: Strategic PSYWAR
1952.” Veritas, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2012. He says in part:
Plan PATRIOT depended upon leaflets from Japan and radio broadcasts originating in
Korea. While 1st RB&L Korean artists in Tokyo sketched leaflet proposals supporting
the Independence Day theme, radio broadcast writers worked on dramatic commentaries for
Plan PATRIOT which were to be ready by 19 February 1952. Just twelve days after being
alerted to prepare Plan PATRIOT, the 1st RB&L was ready to execute. Six special
multi-color propaganda leaflets that commemorated Korean independence had been produced,
printed, and packaged for air delivery (24,445,000 were printed in eight days).
The leaflet above depicts a smiling family on the front looking up at the full color
Korean flag. The leaflet was prepared by the 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group on
18 February 1953 for North Korean civilians and military. The text on the front is:
The Taikuk flag, the flag you missed so much! Long live unification and
independence!
Text on the back is in part:
Keep up the March 1st spirit of your patriotic Martyrs!
How much and how long did you suffer the unbearable shame of a people without
sovereignty?
Korea was a mother lost in the darkness of a storm night, trying hard to save her
child by embracing him tightly.
But today, in “liberated” Korea, the Communists deny Korean independence
and free unification. They sentence North Koreans to a living Hell for their master,
Stalin. Under a red flag, not your TAIKUK flag, they force Koreans to kill their brothers.
What a pity it is.
Leaflet 1156
This interesting leaflet was called “Enforced contributions.” It depicts one
North Korean Communist soldier holding a peasant upside down and shaking him while a
second soldier holds open a sack that catches all the items falling from the
peasant’s pockets; everything he owns. The text on the front is:
Endless Communist "Donations"
This is what the Communists are, who claims to be "for the
peasants."
Other leaflets in this series are 1162 (The significance of 1 March 1919), 1165*
(Korea: Communist Puppet) and 2501 (Congratulations from the United Nations) showing the
flags of all the Allied Nations in full color.
Tracy mentions Plan Patriot:
On 19 February 1952, the 1st RB&L was ordered to develop six
leaflets for Plan Patriot, a campaign to promote Korean independence (March
1) and resistance against Communism. S-3 (Operations) Leaflets wrote and
designed them. By 27 February all designs had gone to the 3rd Reproduction
Company, which printed 24,445,000 leaflets.
In February 1952, the 1st RB&L Group slashed 15 minutes of United
Nations News but added thirty minutes of programs in Mandarin and a
30-minute block of Cantonese. The broadcasts supported Plan Patriot.
PLAN RAT KILLER
Leaflet 8218
Plan Rat Killer was a campaign to rid South Korea of thousands of Communist guerrillas
(usually called “bandits”) left behind during the North Korean retreat. It ran
from December 1951 to March 1952. The Far East Command in Tokyo sent 9,920,000 Rat Killer
leaflets to Korea for dissemination over the Guerrillas. There are dozens of leaflets
prepared for Korean General Paik Sun-yup who in November 1951 led the anti-guerrilla
campaign as commander of Task Force Paik to destroy the left-behind communist guerrillas.
There is even an Eddie Deerfield novel called The Psy-Warriors that mentions the
Communists, Rat-killer, and the guerrilla attempt to destroy an American propaganda radio
station.
Dr. Briscoe adds in Veritas:
Major General (MG) Paik Sun-yup conducted the largest anti-guerrilla campaign of the
war in southwestern Korea from December 1951 to March 1952. With loudspeaker teams from
the Eighth Army 1st Loudspeaker & Leaflet Company and leaflets and a mobile radio
station from 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group (RB&L) broadcasting surrender
appeals in conjunction with his ‘cordon & search’ tactics, great success was
achieved. After two operational phases, nearly 6,000 guerrillas/bandits had been captured
and 4,500 killed. By the end of RAT KILLER, Task Force Paik had managed to kill or capture
19,000 insurgents.
Leaflet 8218 was designed by the North Korean Army PSYWAR Section. It was printed by
Eighth Army Psychological Warfare Division G-3 (Operations). The front depicts the
Republic of Korea flag and text. The back is all text. The propaganda message is in the
form of a 17 January 1952 letter to the Partisans:
To Partisans:
Come back! Don’t you know that your home town and your warm-hearted friends are
waiting for you to come back? For what do you suffer such hardship?
If you don’t realize the fact and continue the resistance, betraying your
people’s expectations, you will be eliminated. You are surrounded by a large number
of Republic of Korea soldiers with modern weapons.
How to surrender: As soon as you read this leaflet, come down to the police or
Republic of Korea Army with this safe conduct pass which we have dropped. If you
don’t have a safe conduct pass, just come down at once. We will welcome you even
without a safe conduct pass.
Leaflet 8377
We don’t know much about this leaflet. My files show that it was prepared by the
1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group as a Surrender appeal aimed at “dissident
elements in South Korea” on 13 December 1952 as part of Plan Ratkiller. The image
depicts a ragged guerrilla, certainly the worse for wear. His clothes are torn and
patched. He holds this leaflet over his head as a safe conduct pass and to his right is a
large Red Cross which obviously is a promise of good care, food and medical treatment. The
short text on the front is:
When you come to police station in order to defect, carry the defection leaflet as
shown. Leave your weapon behind. Do not come in with your weapon in hand.
Leaflet H-115
This Korean-designed leaflet was printed by the 1st RB&L Group to encourage
civilian support during Operation RAT KILLER. It depicts a noble fighter in classic early
Korean dress defeating one bandit and watching two others that are running away. The text
at the top of the leaflet is:
Defeat the Communists with the Spirit of Hwarang!
Note: Hwarang is a historical group of officers of one of Ancient Korea's kingdoms;
Silla. South Koreans like to trace their historical roots to Silla since that nation
unified Ancient Korea in the distant past. Silla was originally a Kingdom based in the
Gyongsang Province, which is the south eastern part of Korea.
We know that there were three phases to Plan Rat Killer, and on 15 January, the third
and final phase started with a second attack to clean up the last of the Guerrillas on Mt.
Chiri. Police units were on the roads and escape routes below. This leaflet was obviously
dropped on the mountain telling the partisans to simply come down the mountain and
surrender to the police deployed below.
It is difficult to say what leaflets were part of Plan Rat Killer since the data sheets
seldom mention the term. We do know from other sources that leaflet 8371 (Extermination of
Communist bandits) and 8377 (Surrender appeal to dissident elements).
Tracy adds:
The 4th Mobile
Radio Broadcasting Company continued supporting Rat Killer, broadcasting via
a portable transmitter until 6 February 1952.
PLAN SELLOUT
Leaflet 7129
Plan Sellout was designed to illustrate the contrast between historic Chinese
resistance to invasion and present USSR infiltration. The aim of plan Sell-Out was to show
Chinese soldiers that the Chinese Communist regime had sold out China’s national
interests and turned the nation into a satellite of the USSR. Leaflets emphasized four
different sub-themes: domination of China was a long standing Russian objective; military
concessions made by China gave Russia the power of life and death over the Chinese people;
economic concessions had turned China into a “puppet” to be exploited for
Russian benefit; and finally, China’s subservience to Russia had destroyed Chinese
independence. This campaign ran from 28 January 1952 to 23 February 1952.
Leaflet 7129 is entitled “Russian Control of China,” dated 28 January 1952.
It is aimed at the Chinese Army in Korea. It illustrated the contrast between past Chinese
resistance to invasion and the current Soviet infiltration of China. The front of the
leaflet depicts Chinese defending their country from the Great Wall. The text is:
For centuries the Chinese people have valiantly resisted barbarian invaders from the
NORTH...
The back depicts Chinese Communist leaders opening the gates and letting Russians
enter. The text is:
But today, Chinese Communist leaders are treasonably opening China to the Russians
and Soviet domination! China's chief threat still comes from the barbarian hordes from the
north. Chinese soldier. Look to your homeland!
Leaflet 7128
This “Sellout” leaflet depicts a Russian commissar turning his back on a WWII
poster showing an American and a Chinese soldier. The title is “The United States and
China: Former allies.” This First Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet group leaflet goes
on to explain that it was the United States, not Russia that fought side-by-side with
Chinese troops during WWII and supplied aid to the Chinese forces. Some of the text is:
Chinese-American friendship has always been strong and honorable.
Now, while the Communists attempt to poison Chinese minds against your friends the
Americans, they strip China of her factories, railroads and national pride.
DON’T BE DECEIVED BY COMMUNIST LIES!
Another leaflet from this plan is 7130 (The Chinese do Russia's fighting).
Tracy says:
In February 1952, the 1st RB&L Group slashed 15 minutes of United
Nations News but added thirty minutes of programs in Mandarin and a
30-minute block of Cantonese. The broadcasts supported Plan Sell Out
(another campaign emphasizing Korean sovereignty.
PLAN SLOWDOWN
Leaflet 8684
Plan Slowdown was a series of eleven nostalgic propaganda tapes and special leaflets
designed to make enemy soldiers homesick and lonely. There was an earlier Plan Heartache,
and Plan Slowdown carried on the theme. The messages were nonpolitical and intended to
make enemy soldiers think about home instead of fighting. The leaflet above was prepared
by the Psychological Warfare Division of the Eight US Army, Korea. A Chinese family
appears on the front. The artwork is very strange and does not have a natural look.
Stephen E. Pease tells us more in his book Psywar - Psychological Warfare in Korea
1950-1953, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1992:
Operation Slowdown was a leaflet-loudspeaker effort…involved a series of eleven
tapes of nostalgic music with Korean narration broadcast from voice aircraft and from
jeeps, combined with special leaflets. Something similar had been tried earlier in an
exercise called Operation Harvest Moon. Its purpose was to make enemy soldiers homesick
and lonely. The soldiers were encouraged to slow down and listen to the pleasant
music…
The text on the front is:
MORE IMPORTANT IS SAVING LIFE – FOR THE GOOD OF YOUR HOME
Your family expects you to brave danger, but does not want you to return home dead.
How to avoid crippling wounds and death is revealed to you by reading the back of this
leaflet.
Text on the back is rhymed and seven characters a line. It is actually a malingering
message. Some of the text is:
Be slow of temper and not busy as thing are
Encountered slowly, not tight stretched…
Pretend sickness and march slowly, do not
Hear the flower-talk of the political instructor.
Suffer loss of your army fire and go back
For more, misunderstand your superior’s orders.
PLAN STRIKE
Elliot Harris wrote about Operation Strike in The Un-American Weapon.
Operation Strike, perhaps the most successful Psywar effort against the
North Korean civilian populace
[during the Korean conflict] was aimed at the most vulnerable of all
enemy sore-spots, the deep-rooted fear of UN bombing power. Weeks before a
city was to be hit by a major raid, Psywar planes dropped general warning
leaflets all over the target area. Civilians were warned that they were
going to be bombed heavily because their homes were being used to house
military personnel and equipment. The Reds often pressed private homes into
service as supply depots on the theory that they would be immune from air
attack. The people were advised to flee using main roads which would be
spared from attack for a given interval (thus inviting the clogging of vital
enemy supply arteries). The day before the bombing, a last local warning
message was disseminated on Radio Seoul repeating the warnings and the time
left right up to "B hour." After the UN planes had completed the strike, a
third leaflet was dropped, reminding the populace that they had been given
plenty of time to have made good their escape. The military necessity for
bombing was then emphasized and reiterated.
The remarkable effectiveness of "Operation Strike" lay in the fact that it
adhered strictly to the information printed in the leaflets dropped, and
that it executed the bombing at the exact time publicized, playing up in the
most dramatic terms the complete UN command of the air over North Korea. In
addition: Communist soldiers were side-tracked from the front to prevent
civilians from deserting, civilian animosity was generated against their own
army; decreased production was caused by the departure of workers who were
able to make good their escapes; all these plusses added to the sweeping
effectiveness of "Operation Strike."
This was the text of the broadcast beamed to the peoples of North Korea
(three times daily) during "Operation Strike":
PEOPLE OF NORTH KOREA-ATTENTION-THIS MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE...
Today the UN Air Force bombed fifty villages, towns and cities that were
military targets... These were military targets along highways and
railroads. You may be next...Save your...Flee to the hills. Obey this
warning and you will live.
LEAVE YOUR VILLAGE IMMEDIATELY. TAKE YOUR FAMILIES WITH YOU. IF THE
COMMUNISTS FORCE
YOU TO REMAIN IN THE DANGER AREA, SEND YOUR WOMEN AND
CHILDREN TO SAFETY.
The United Nations Command wants to protect Korean civilians; you must obey
these instructions to leave.
LEAVE THE DOOMED AREA AT ONCE. REMEMBERYOU MAY BE NEXT TO DIE!
Leaflet 1204
Plan Strike was designed to warn the North Korean people of impending air attacks
against communication centers and main supply routes. This leaflet was prepared by the 1st
RB&L Group on 7 July 1952. Four cartoons depict the Communists hiding troops,
vehicles, supplies and repair facilities in homes and shelters near railway centers. Some
of the text is:
Warning
Heed this warning
The United Nations Command Air Force must destroy all Communist military supplies
and installations, and it knows where they are.
It knows the Chinese Communist and Kim Il Sung have been hiding supplies, repair
centers and troops inside your homes and shelters. Aerial photographs continually prove
this…
If you or your loved ones live in or near these targets, leave immediately. The
bombing attacks will start soon. If the Communist will not let you leave, send your
families to safety. Warn you friends to do the same.
Flee to safety now – Save your lives
Leaflet 1205
This leaflet was prepared by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet group on 12 July
1952 in Korean and entitled “You are next.” It was part of Plan Strike and uses
a map of north Korea showing the transportation, supply, and communication lines used by
the Communists. The text is:
WARNING
Military targets along the railroads and highways will be bombed by the United Nations.
There is a long propaganda message on the back that says in part:
SAVE YOUR LIFE
- United Nations fighters and bombers will soon destroy all military targets along the
railroads and highways outlined in red on the map.
- Obey this warning and you will live:
-
Leave this area immediately. Take your families with you. Warn your friends to do the
same. If the Communists force you to remain in the danger area, send your women and
children to safety. The UN wants to protect Korean civilians; you must obey these
instructions to live. Leave this area.
Leaflet 1206
The above Plan Strike leaflet was printed by the 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet
group coded 1206 and dated 10 July 1952. It depicts an explosion near some railway tracks.
To the right of the explosion is:
YOU WERE WARNED!
The back is all text except for the top where a pair of hands is depicted manacled
between two hammer and sickles. Some of the text is:
COMMUNIST MILITARY TARGETS DESTROYED
The United Nations Command warned you that targets in this area would be destroyed.
Many of them have been destroyed. Others will continue to be destroyed...
Where is the Communist Air Force? Did the rulers send their airplanes to protect you?
Or, is their talk of an air force just "so much wind?"
Here is another warning. Some of the bombs dropped in the raid will not explode
immediately. They are set to go off hours and days later.
Do not go near the danger area. You will only risk your life.
Leaflet 1277
The front of this leaflet depicts three B-29 bombers on a raid and the word:
Warning!
In some ways it is similar to a WWII warning leaflet used by the United States against
the Japanese that used a bright red paper and an explosion on the front to catch the
attention of the finder. The back of this leaflet is interesting in that it shows four
drawn panels each depicting a target and warns the Koreans to stay away from them. The
scenes depict an industrial plant; a military supply site; a military vehicle and a Troop
billet. Once again, B-29 bombers are shown overhead. This Plane Strike leaflet was printed
by the 1st RB & L Group on 4 February 1953 in the Korean language. The text is:
Stay away! Save your life!
To destroy communism these targets must be destroyed.
Save your life! Stay away!
Some other leaflets in Plan Strike are 1090 (Principal B-26 bomber targets), 1205 (You
are next) and 8731 (Behold the treachery of the Soviet Russians). A Leaflet for the plan
that we have not translated is 1090 which is identified as North Korean civilian bomb
warning)
On the subject of Plan Strike I note that Department of the Army Pamphlet 525-7-1
mentions it. The text, originally written by Elliot Harris in The Un-American Weapon,
M.W. Wads, New York, 1967 says in part:
Perhaps the most successful aerial PSYWAR effort against North Korean civilian
populace was aimed at the most vulnerable of all enemy sore spots – the deep-rooted
fear of UN bombing power. Weeks before a city was to be hit by a major raid, PSYWAR planes
dropped general warning leaflets all over the target area. Civilians were warned that they
were going to be bombed heavily because their homes were being used to house military
personnel and equipment…
This was part of the text of the broadcast beamed to the people of North Korea (three
times daily):
PEOPLE OF NORTH KOREA – ATTENTION – THIS MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Today the UN bombed fifty villages, towns and cities that were military
targets…These were military targets along highways and railroads. You may be next.
Save your lives. Flee to the hills….
Mark R. Jacobson mentions Plan Strike in his PhD dissertation Minds then hearts:
U.S. Political and Psychological Warfare during the Korean War, the Ohio State
University, 2005:
The use of warning leaflets with strategic bombing campaigns continued throughout
the Korean War. In July of 1951 Washington specifically directed the Far East Command to
drop warning leaflets in conjunction with renewed strategic bombing campaigns against
Pyongyang and 77 major North Korean cities. The Far Easy Command, the Eighth U.S. Army
Korea, and especially the Fifth Air Force viewed the propaganda offensive, code named Plan
Strike, as not only an attempt to reduce civilian casualties but to lower civilian morale
and disrupt industrial production – something even well placed bombs could not always
do well. Plan Strike specifically focused on communications centers and major supply
routes while Plan Blast supported attacks against military targets in Pyongyang. In
addition to leaflets, Strike and Blast used Radio Seoul and other media outlets to warn
residents of the upcoming missions. Following the bombing strikes additional leaflet
missions were used to encourage North Korean troops in the target areas to surrender. FEC
hoped that civilians fleeing from these areas would clog roadways and thus make it
difficult for North Korean supplies to reach troops on the front line.
Tracy adds about Plan Strike:
About 100 million leaflets distributed in July 1952
supported Plans United, Fraud, Liberator, Good Fellow and Strike. Strike
warned citizens of imminent strikes against military targets and, after
attacks, essentially told them, "We told you so. Now you will believe
our warnings" Through Strike, the United
Nations made its point that it "does not wage war on civilians." Radio
broadcasts that month also supported Strike and other programs. In August
1952, 86,584,000 leaflets backed Plans Strike, Fraud, Deadlock, Liberator
and Good Fellow. Radio programming in October backed Plans Fraud, Strike,
Deadlock, Parley, Contrast and Hardships of Winter.
PLAN THINK
Plan Think was
designed to cause dissention between the North Koreans and the Communist
Chinese by pointing out that the Chinese were storing away food while the
North Koreans were starving. It also attempted to cause dissention between
the average Chinese citizen and the Communist Government that caused
inflation and shortages.
Leaflet 1328
This leaflet is
the second in Plan Think and depicts an old North Korean man in deep
thought. The text simply says:
THINK!
The back of the
leaflet depicts a Chinese warehouse full of food while a lone guard stands
in front of an empty North Korean warehouse. The text is:
The Chinese
rushed into North Korea under the pretense of offering a helping hand. They
are well fed with supplies gathered up from many places, while the North
Koreans are holding their stomachs and guarding empty warehouses.
Leaflet 7259
This is the 4th
leaflet in the "Think"Â series. The front depicts the same word three times
each one larger than the one before:
THINK
The back shows
a Chinese hungry Chinese family being forced to buy a bag of rice from a
Communist official.
THINK
Blame the Chinese Communists for your
family's misery.
Why do we have to pay so much for a
small bag of rice?
The Chinese
Communists boast of their production quotas, but the people of China are
becoming poorer and poorer.
Other known
leaflets in Plan Think include 7254 (China is hungry).
Tracy adds:
Plan Think challenged Communist readers to ponder some simple
questions about the war.
PLAN UNITED
Leaflet 9500*
Plan United was designed to show the enemy all of the nations that had united under the
United Nations banner. In early 1952 a series of 18 leaflets were printed by the 1st
RB&L Group to warn the Communists of all the nations allied with the United States and
South Korea. The leaflets were requested by the Eighth U.S. Army, Korea, and this is
signified by the asterisk at the end of the numerical code. The leaflets in Chinese start
with 650 and the leaflets in Korean start with 950.
Leaflet 9500* is the first leaflet in the series for the Koreans and featured the British. The front of
the leaflet depicts British soldiers playing with Korean children and the flags of the
United Nations and Great Britain. Some of the text is a letter from a British soldier to
the North Korean Army and says in part:
Dear Soldiers of the North Korean People’s Army:
War is evil and I dislike it as much as you must hate it. But, I am a member of a
freedom-loving people, who belong to a group of nations united to put an end to Communist
aggression wherever it occurs. Like yourself, I would rather be in a warm room playing
with my children; but as long as Communists attempt to put the masses of the world in the
chains of slavery I must carry out my duty as a soldier of freedom…
Leaflet 9501*
Leaflet 9501* is the second leaflet in the series and featured the French. The
leaflet depicts a French and a South Korean officer with arms around each other, and a
French officer giving candy to a South Korean child. Some of the text is:
Soldiers of the North Korean People’s Army
France is another of the many nations fighting Communist aggression here in Korea.
Comrades in arms against Communist tyranny.
French officers and Republic of Korea Officers in an expression of mutual respect.
A French officer on leave from the front offers his curious new friend some sweets.
French soldiers are fighting to defend the true right and justice of the world
against tyranny and oppression.
In this war France is not fighting for private gain or imperialism, Faithful to its
tradition, France units its strength with that of a civilized world to resist barbarism
and slavery; to preserve the security, liberty and peace of all free nations.
Leaflet 6504
This leaflet features the Canadians. Two photos in the front depict Canadian soldiers
playing with Korean boys and a Canadian soldier fixing a tie for a Korean Boy. Some of the
Chinese text is:
Canada is one of the countries which has sent troops to Korea to fight Communist
aggression.
The Canadian officers and men are tender and sympathetic and Korean children are
fond of playing with them.
Some Canadian officers and men took good care of the Korean orphans who were sent to
school and dressed with new clothes.
Leaflet 6505
This 1st Radio Broadcast Leaflet group leaflet dated 23 June 1952 features the Turks
helping the Republic of Korea. Two photos on the front show Turkish and South Korean
soldiers in friendly discourse. The back features the flag of Turkey. The text says in
part:
OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE CHINESE ARMY
Freedom is precious. The Turks know it especially well. A constant menace of
aggression has been poised to Turkey since many years ago, as the country borders Soviet
Russia. However, that to their indomitable determination against aggression, the Turks are
still able to enjoy freedom. For the sake of fighting against Communist aggression, Turkey
has sent troops to fight in Korea…
Dr. Charles H. Briscoe and Robert W. Jones, Jr. mention leaflet 6505 in Veritas,
Volume 7, Number 1, 2011.
One special UN broadcast was designed to generate pride among Turkish troops, who
had returned to Korea after being nearly wiped out by the Chinese in late November 1950.
Their General got on the radio and taunted the Chinese Army Command in the North, telling
them where the Turks were going to be on the line, and dared them to attack. A day later
the Voice of the United Nations repeated the taped broadcast. They went across the line
their first night, with the old style knives the Turks have used for hundreds of years,
and butchered a lot of Chinese in their trenches. They were never challenged again by the
Chinese.
Tracy adds:
In March 1952,
the PSYWAR Division, G-3, Eighth Army developed 18 leaflets for Plan United.
A campaign to show how many countries opposed Communist efforts in Korea. In
June 1952, it disseminated 98,928,000 leaflets for Plan United, Fraud, and
Invader. About 100 million leaflets distributed in July supported Plans
United, Fraud, Liberator, Good Fellow and Strike.
OTHER NAMED PLANS
There are some other plans that we are aware of but do not have the leaflets to
illustrate, of just have black and white photocopies. We will leave those leaflets in this
section and move them up when we receive better images. Examples are:
PLAN BLAST was designed to warn the residents of Pyongyang, Chinnampo, Woman and
Kanggye of major bombing strikes against fuel and ammunition dumps and railway yards in
1951.
PLAN CAPTIVE. Tracy says about this plan,
Leaflets in March 1953 supported Plan Cleaver as well as two new Plans,
Cities and Captives. Directed at civilians, Plan Captive showed the
inhumanity of the North Korean government for refusing to release sick and
wounded United Nations prisoners-of-war. Broadcasts promoted Plan Captive in
March and April.
PLAN CITIES. Tracy says about Plan Cities,
Leaflets in March 1953 supported Plan Cleaver as well as two new Plans,
Cities and Captives. Plan Cities targeted North Korean students and former
students serving in the North Korean military and showed how Communism
stifled free education.
PLAN CLEAVER. Tracy says, having disseminated
989,950,900 leaflets and made innumerable PSYWAR broadcasts over 1952 the
1st RB&L began 1953 with new Plans, such as Cleaver. Starting 15 January,
Cleaver's goals closely resembled Eighth Army's Plan Divide, which was
causing rifts between the North Korean people and the regime, and the
Communist Chinese forces, and between the Chinese and Soviet Union. In
February 1953, the 1st RB&L leaflets supported Plans Cleaver and Good Fellow.
Leaflets in March 1953 supported Plan Cleaver as well as two new Plans,
Cities and Captives.
PLAN CONCORD was designed to publicize that United Nations efforts in the face
of Communist inflexibility proved the key to bringing about the armistice. In other words,
the United Nations would take credit for successful peace talks.
PLAN CONTRAST. Tracy adds,
Radio programming in October backed Plans Fraud, Strike, Deadlock,
Parley, Contrast and Hardships of Winter.
PLAN DEADLOCK. I have no information on this plan. It
probably is about the deadlock at the peace tables. Tracy says,
In August 1952, 86,584,000 leaflets backed Plans Strike, Fraud,
Deadlock, Liberator and Good Fellow. Among the 66,315,500 leaflets
disseminate in October were those supporting Plan Fraud, Deadlock, Good
Fellow, and 52/19. Radio programming in October backed Plans Fraud, Strike,
Deadlock, Parley, Contrast and Hardships of Winter.
PLAN HARDSHIPS OF WINTER. Tracy adds,
Radio programming in October backed Plans Fraud, Strike, Deadlock,
Parley, Contrast and Hardships of Winter.
PLAN HARVEST MOON was designed to work on the nostalgia of the enemy troops. It
ran from 5 October 1952 to 16 October 1952. During this period over seven hundred
loudspeaker broadcasts were made totaling over 200 hours.
PLAN HOME NEWS. Tracy says, From May to July 1953,
the 1st RB&L products supported a variety of existing and new plans. In June
for example, leaflets promoted Plan Think which Provided Communist-held
United Nation's prisoners-of-war with, expectedly, news about the home
front. On 7 July, United Nations forced dropped 167,000 English-language
leaflets for Plan Home News. On 21 July, 88,000 leaflets supporting Plan
Home News was dropped, followed by another 120,000 leaflets on 26 July.
PLAN PARLEY. Tracy says, In September 1952,
95,000,000 leaflets and various printed products promoted the usual plans.
Among other campaigns, radio broadcasts promoted Plan Parley, which
portrayed China as a Soviet puppet. Radio programming in October backed Plans Fraud, Strike, Deadlock, Parley,
Contrast and Hardships of Winter.
PLAN RUPTURE was designed to establish Communist responsibility for the failure
of negotiations in the event of a breakdown in the talks
PLAN SEVERANCE, Like Plan Rupture was designed to establish Communist
responsibility for the failure of negotiations in the event of a breakdown in the talks.
PLAN SWINDLE - Plan Swindle demonstrated the false promises and hopes offered by
the Chinese government. In conjunction with Plan Sellout, Plan Swindle demonstrated the
false promises and hopes offered by the Communist Chinese government. Plan Swindle
emphasized domestic policy failures enacted by the Chinese government, including land and
industrial reforms, and reinforced the notion that the Chinese Communists were subservient
to the Soviet Union. This campaign ran from 28 January 1952 to 23 February 1952. Tracy says:
In February 1952, the 1st RB&L Group slashed 15 minutes of United
Nations News but added thirty minutes of programs in Mandarin and a
30-minute block of Cantonese. The broadcasts supported Plan Swindle.
PLAN SYMBOL. We don't know much about this plan
except that leaflets previously used in Plan Mist were used again in Symbol.
As I said at the start of this article, I am sure there are many more named PSYOP
campaigns that I have missed. I encourage readers with more information to write to the author at sgmbert@hotmail.com.
