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보/고/서

ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 4325

FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 0020)　17 October 1950

PW was cooperative but not very intelligent. Reliability fair.

5 May 27: Born in YEN-CHI HSIEN, CHIEN-TAO-SHENG (延吉縣 間島省).

25 Aug 48: Resided in YEN-CHI, attended Primary School and upon graduation was employed as a laborer in a candy factory.

25 Aug 48: Repatriated to KOREA on own request.

A. Relief: The city is situated in a broad, level valley extending east and west and bordered to the north and south by gently rolling hills.

B. Drainage: The YEN-CHI River flows from east to west along the southern outskirts of the city. The width of the river is about 100 meters and the banks are gently sloping and composed of pebbles and small rocks. The northern bank of the river is about 200 meters wide and the southern bank is about 100 meters. Ordinarily, the rate of flow is about 10 km per hour. Average depth is about one meter. During the rainy seasons, the depth of the river fluctuates as much as 50 cm. There were no instances when the water level rose in excess of one meter. The width of the river also increases from the usual 100 meters to 150 meters during rainy seasons. There has been no instances when the river overflowed its banks.

The river begins to freeze in the early part of November and the ice reaches the maximum thickness of one meter in February. The ice is thick enough to support vehicular traffic between late November and early April. The river begins to thaw in the early part of April and thaws completely by mid May.

C. Soil: The soil in the valley is firmly packed and dark brown in color. The topsoil on the nearby hills is largely red clay. The average thickness of the topsoil in the valley floor is about one meter, with subsoil a mixture of sand and clay. The area is ideal for farming since the soil is very fertile and there are no rocks. Vehicular traffic is possible throughout the area, except on the rice fields, since the soil is sufficiently firm and drainage is good.

D. Natural Vegetation: There is an abundant growth of grass in the uncultivated areas. In most areas, the grass is under 10 centimeters in height. Type of grass is not known. There are no natural growths of trees on the valley floor but there are sporadic growths of stunted pine in the nearby hills.

E. Climate:

Mar-May: Temperatures, average: ±15℃, low -10℃, high ±20℃. There are high winds which usually come from the north. The amount of rainfall is negligible.

Jun-Aug: Temperatures, average ±25℃, low ±5℃, high ±40℃. There are light breezes. Rainy season is during the latter part of June and early July. Rainfall is sufficient so that no irrigation system is necessary on the farms.

Sep-Nov: Temperatures, average ±20℃, low -15℃, high ±40℃. There are high winds which usually blows from the north. Rainfall is negligible.

Dec-Feb: Temperatures, average -20℃, low -60℃, high -20℃. There are high winds which usually blows from the north.

Snowfall: The snow begins to fall in early November and continues until the early part of April. Average depth of snowfall is about 40 centimeters and there are instances where the depth reaches 1 meter. The snow begins to thaw in the latter part of April and thaws completely by mid-May.

The city is situated in the heart of a region where farming is the principal industry and is the administrative center of YEN-CHI Country. Of the estimated population of 130,000 for the entire county, approximately 80,000 reside in the city. Of the estimated 80,000 residents of the city, approximately 50% were laborers, white collar workers and railroad employees while 40% were engaged in private enterprises. The remaining 10% were transient laborers. The aristocracy of the city were the handful of communists who held responsible administrative positions. Although the owners of small business enterprises were better off financially than most of the wage earners and laborers, they were at the bottom rung of the social ladder. In the early part of 1948, all of the aristocrats under the Nationalist regime either departed the area or remained. Those who remained were tried by the people’s courts and dispossessed of all their belongings. Some were executed.

Of the estimated 130,000 population of YEN-CHI Country, 40% were of Korean ancestry. The remaining 60% were Chinese. There were no Japanese or other foreigners. Relationship between the Koreans and the Chinese was not very good. The Koreans and Chinese lived and confined their social activities to within their respective communities. There were isolated instances of intermarriages but those concerned became social outcasts. There were no instances of race riots.

Relationships have improved considerably since 1945 since the economic positions held by both races are now identical. There has been some movement of the Korean population to North KOREA but the majority of the Koreans preferred to remain in MANCHURIA. There has been no increase or decrease in the population of YEN-CHI city, but the majority of the Koreans were moving to the outskirts of the city while the Chinese were moving into the city.

Approximately 60% of the entire population were literate. The literacy percentage differed between the Chinese and the Koreans. Approx 60% of the Koreans were literate while 50% of the Chinese population were literate. Educational facilities were inadequate. There were two primary schools for the Korean residents and 5 primary schools for the Chinese. There were two middle schools in the entire city where the Koreans and Chinese students studied together. Instruction in the middle schools was in Chinese. The instructors were both Koreans and Chinese. Details of the schools are not available.

There were no churches in the city but there was a Buddhist temple. Since 1945, the people have been undergoing intensive indoctrination against religion. The foreign missionaries were forced out of the city and all but one of the religious institutions have been dissolved. The people opposed the dissolution of religious institutions during the early stages of the anti-religious campaign, but presently, the majority of the people have accepted the communist ideology. The few more religious people still support the remaining temple but their number is steadily decreasing due to coercion from the local communist cells.

1. Crops: The principal crops grown in the area are rice, corn, millet, Irish potatoes and vegetables such as radish, carrots, cabbage, and soy beans. Percentage of the cultivated area in YEN-CHI county for each of the above produce is as follows: rice 30%, corn 20%, millet 20%, vegetables 20% and Irish potatoes 10%. Planting season starts in mid-May. No mechanical farm implements are used. Harvest season is in September. Since the farmers themselves plant and harvest the crops, there is no necessity for additional labor. No information is available on the allocation of land to the individual farmers. 100% of the arable land is under cultivation. No information is available on the allocation of land to the individual farmers. 100% of the arable land is under cultivation. No information is available on the amount of crops harvested, but PW noticed while employed at the food control center that 50% of the harvests were sent to areas outside YEN-CHI County, especially (hearsay) to CHINA and RUSSIA.

The remaining 50% of the crops harvested was sufficient to meet local demand. Fertilizers (potassium nitrate) are distributed to the farmers during planting season, the amount depending upon the acreage under cultivation. No information is available on the amount allotted per acre. The government receives 40% of the harvest of each farmer in payment for the fertilizer and taxes.

There is a network of irrigation ditches extending from the YEN-CHI River which makes it possible to irrigate all of the rice fields. Rainfall is sufficient to make irrigation unnecessary for crops other than rice. There have been no instances when the crops were destroyed by excessive rain or drought.

Thermo-electric Power Plant (hearsay):

Location: MIN-YUEH (明月)

No details available.

A. Railway: A single track railroad line connecting MUTAN-CHIANG (牡丹江) and TUMEN (圖們) passes through YEN-CHI. The trains run on schedule and there were no instances when the trains were early or late. The reason for this was because the railway was extensively used. One north or south bound train passed through YEN-CHI every house. There was only one passenger train in each direction per day. All other hauled freight and military equipment. The military equipment was entirely of US manufacture and was to be used in the Chinese Civil War. There was one locomotive repair shop at YEN-CHI.

Location: 100 m SW of RR station

Structure: 100 m x 20 m x 15 m, brick with gabled roof

Details: Unknown

There were no other railroad facilities on YEN-CHI. There have been no new facilities constructed and there were no indications that existing facilities were to be improved. All locomotives and freight cars were those formerly used by the Japanese. There was no new equipment. Locomotive were of the “MIKASA” (三笠) model with three drive wheels. It was rumored that locomotive parts manufacturing plants were located in MUTANCHIANG (牡丹江) and MUKDEN (奉天) but details are not known.

All railroad facilities are under 24 hour guard. The headquarters of the 26th Railroad Security Division was situation in YEN-CHI. This division was responsible for the maintenance of security between MUTANCHIANG (牡丹江) and TUMEN. Strength of the division was (hearsay) 10,000 men. Men were armed with rifles and light CCF uniforms and there were no distinctive insignias. The headquarters of the division was situated 3 kilometers NE of the railroad station.

B. Highway: All motor vehicles were owned by the government. In the entire city, there were about fifty trucks and twenty buses. All vehicles except for ten operated by the public safety office used charcoal and wood for fuel. There were no repair facilities and the operators of the vehicles were responsible for maintenance. The majority of the trucks were of Japanese manufacture.

The city was connected to MUTANSHENG (牡丹江), TUMEN, CH’AO-YANG-CH’UAN (朝陽川), MING-YUEH (明月), PATAO (八道) and LUNG-CHING (龍井) by good, all weather highways. The roads were surfaced with sand and were kept in good repair. Width of the roads was about 6 meters.

The principal mode of transportation within YEN-CHI Country was by horse-drawn carts and wagons which were privately owned. The animals as well as the transportation equipment were drafted for temporary use by the municipal government whenever necessary.

Location: 2 km N of YEN-CHI RR station

Construction: Reinforced concrete, highway bridge

Length: 600 meters

Width: 12 meters

Capacity: Unknown

PW was not a member of the CCF so does not have any information on units.

Airfield (Hearsay):

Location: 8 km N of RR station

PW heard that a large airfield with concrete runways was located at the above area. PW also heard that there were underground hangars and other large installations. PW saw twin-engine transport aircraft flying in the area in Aug 48. The aircraft bore white star insignias on circular, black field. No details are available except that in Aug 48 the field was being used by the CCF.

For the Commanding Officer: