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{{short description|1968 North Korean assassination attempt on South Korean President Park Chung-hee}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Blue House raid
| partof      = [[Korean conflict]], [[Cold War]]
| image       = Korea-Seoul-Blue House (Cheongwadae) Reception Center 0688&9-07 cropped.jpg
| image_size  = 300px
| caption     = The [[Blue House]], the official residence of the [[President of South Korea]], in August 2010
| date        = January 17, 1968 – January 29, 1968<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=1|day1=17|year1=1968|month2=1|day2=29|year2=1968}})
| place       = [[Blue House]], [[Seoul]], [[Third Republic of Korea|South Korea]]
| result      = South Korean and U.S. victory
| combatant1  = {{flagdeco|South Korea|1949}} [[Third Republic of Korea|South Korea]] <br> {{flag|United States|1960}}
| combatant2  = {{flag|North Korea|1948}}
| commander1  = {{flagdeco|South Korea|1949}} [[Park Chung Hee]] <br> {{flagdeco|United States|1960}} [[Charles H. Bonesteel III|Charles Bonesteel]]
| commander2  = {{flagdeco|North Korea|1948}} [[Kim Il Sung]]
| units1      = {{flagdeco|South Korea|1949}} [[25th Infantry Division (South Korea)|25th Infantry Division]]<br />{{flagdeco|South Korea|1949}} [[26th Mechanized Infantry Division (South Korea)|26th Infantry Division (elements)]]<br />{{flagdeco|United States|1960}} [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2nd Infantry Division (elements)]]<br />{{flagdeco|United States|1960}} [[7th Infantry Division (United States)|7th Infantry Division (elements)]]
| units2      = [[Unit 124]]
| casualties1 = {{flagdeco|South Korea|1949}} 26 killed<br />{{flagdeco|United States|1960}} 4 killed 
| casualties2 = 29 killed and/or committed suicide <br> 1 captured <br> 1 escaped
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Korean Cold War}}
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| hangul = 1·21 {{linktext|사태}}
| hanja  = 1·21 {{linktext|事態}}
| rr = Il·iil satae
| mr = Il·iil sat'ae
}}

The '''Blue House raid''', also known in South Korea as the '''21 January Incident''' ({{Korean|hangul=1·21 사태}}), was a [[Raid (military)|raid]] launched by [[North Korea]]n commandos in an attempt to [[Assassination|assassinate]] [[President of South Korea]] [[Park Chung Hee]] in his residence at the [[Blue House]] in [[Seoul]], on 21 January, 1968. A 31-man team of the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) infiltrated the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|DMZ]] but was intercepted by police near the presidential residence. In the ensuing pursuit, all but two commandos were killed; one was captured ([[Kim Shin-jo]]), and one ([[Pak Jae-gyong]]) fled back to North Korea. South Korean casualties totaled 26 killed and 66 wounded, including about 24 civilians; four Americans also were killed. Park was unharmed.

==Background==
Park Chung Hee seized power in a [[May 16 coup|1961 coup d'état]] and ruled as a [[Dictator|military strongman]] until his [[1963 South Korean presidential election|election]] and inauguration as the [[President of South Korea|President]] of [[Third Republic of Korea|South Korea]] in 1963. The attack at the Blue House took place in the context of the [[Korean DMZ Conflict (1966–69)]], which in turn was influenced by the [[Vietnam War]].

Following the 1967 [[1967 South Korean presidential election|South Korean presidential election]] and the [[1967 South Korean legislative election|legislative election]], the North Korean leadership concluded that Park's domestic opposition no longer constituted a serious challenge to his rule. On June 28 – July 3, the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea]] held an extended plenum at which North Korean leader [[Kim Il Sung]] called on the cadres "to prepare to give assistance to the struggle of our South Korean brethren."{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In July 1967, a special squad of the recently established [[Unit 124]] of the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) was entrusted with the task of assassinating Park. This decision was probably facilitated by the fact that in 1967, the Vietnam War entered a new stage of escalation, and American military forces, preoccupied as they were with Vietnam, could not easily take retaliatory measures against North Korea. In 1965–1968, [[North Korea–North Vietnam relations]] were very close, and North Korea provided substantial military and economic assistance to [[North Vietnam]].

North Korean propaganda sought to depict the post-1966 commando raids as a South Korean guerrilla movement akin to the [[Viet Cong]].<ref name=Szalontai>{{cite journal|doi=10.1162/JCWS_a_00278|author=Szalontai, Balázs |title=In the Shadow of Vietnam: A New Look at North Korea's Militant Strategy, 1962–1970|journal=Journal of Cold War Studies|volume=14|issue =4 |year=2012|pages=122–166|s2cid=57562670 |url=https://issforum.org/reviews/PDF/AR413.pdf}}</ref>

==Preparations==
Thirty-one men were handpicked from the elite all-officer KPA Unit 124. This special operation [[commando]] unit trained for two years and spent their final 15 days rehearsing action on the objective in a full-scale [[mockup]] of the [[Blue House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tacticalmilsim.com/1-military/wheels-up/the-blue-house-raid-part-ii-%E2%80%9Cspecially-selected-and-handpicked%E2%80%9D/ |title=The Blue House Raid Part II: "Specially selected and handpicked" &#124; Tactical MilSim Magazine |accessdate=2011-01-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107074129/http://www.tacticalmilsim.com/1-military/wheels-up/the-blue-house-raid-part-ii-%E2%80%9Cspecially-selected-and-handpicked%E2%80%9D/ |archivedate=2011-01-07 }}</ref>

These specially selected men were trained in infiltration and [[Extraction (military)|exfiltration]] techniques, weaponry, navigation, airborne operations, amphibious infiltration, [[hand-to-hand combat]] (with emphasis on [[knife fight]]ing) and concealment.

[[Kim Shin-jo]], one of only two known survivors, said "It made us fearless—no one would think to look for us in a graveyard."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tacticalmilsim.com/1-military/wheels-up/the-blue-house/ |title=The Blue House Raid: North Korean Commandos Are Hardcore PT Studs &#124; Tactical MilSim Magazine |accessdate=2020-03-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729135438/http://www.tacticalmilsim.com/1-military/wheels-up/the-blue-house/ |archivedate=2013-07-29 }}</ref> Their training was rigorous and often in adverse conditions, such as running at a speed of 13&nbsp;km/h (8&nbsp;mph) with 30&nbsp;kg (66 pound) rucksacks over broken and unforgiving terrain, which sometimes resulted in injuries such as lost toes and feet from [[frostbite]].

==Raid==

===Infiltration===
On January 16, 1968, Unit 124 left their garrison at [[Yonsan]]. On January 17, 1968, at 23:00, they infiltrated the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|DMZ]] by cutting through the fencing of the [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division]]'s sector. By 02:00 the next day they had set up camp at Morae-dong and [[Seokpo-ri]]. On January 19, at 05:00, after having crossed the [[Imjin River]], they set up camp on Simbong Mountain.

At 14:00, four brothers named Woo from Beopwon-ri were out cutting firewood and stumbled across the unit's camp. After a fierce debate over whether to kill the brothers, it was decided instead to try to indoctrinate them on the benefits of [[communism]] and they were released with a stern warning not to notify the police. However, the brothers immediately reported the presence of the unit to the Changhyeon police station in Beopwon-ri.<ref>{{cite book | last = Jager | first = Sheila Miyoshi | author-link = Sheila Miyoshi Jager| title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea | year = 2013 | publisher = Profile Books | location = London | isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0|page=372}}</ref>

The unit broke camp and increased their pace to more than 10&nbsp;km/h (6 mph), carrying 30&nbsp;kg (70 lb) of equipment each, crossing Nogo Mountain and arriving at Bibong Mountain on January 20 at 07:00. Three battalions from the [[25th Infantry Division (South Korea)|South Korean 25th Infantry Division]] began searching Nogo Mountain for the infiltrators, but they had already left the area. By then the commandos in the unit realized that the Park Administration had been notified of their infiltration in the South and changed their tactics accordingly. The unit entered [[Seoul]] in two- and three-man cells on the night of January 20 and regrouped at the Seungga-sa Temple, where they made their final preparations for the attack.

Meanwhile, the ROK (Republic of Korea) High Command added the 30th Infantry Division and Airborne Corps to the search and police began searching along [[Hongje-dong]], [[Jeongreung]], and Bukak Mountain. Given the increased security measures that had been implemented throughout the city and realizing their original plan had little chance of success, the team leader improvised a new plan.

Changing into [[Republic of Korea Army]] (ROKA) uniforms of the local 26th Infantry Division, complete with the correct unit insignia (which they had brought with them), they formed up and prepared to march the last kilometre (1000 yards) to the Blue House, posing as ROKA soldiers returning from a counter-infiltration patrol. The unit marched along Segeomjeong Road near [[Jahamun]] toward the Blue House, passing several National Police and ROKA units en route.

===Conflict===
[[File:Segeomjeong-Jahamun checkpoint July 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Segeomjeong-Jahamun checkpoint in July 2011 (since demolished)]]
At 22:00 on January 21, 1968, the unit approached the Segeomjeong–Jahamun checkpoint less than 100 meters from the Blue House, where [[Jongro]] police chief Choi Gyushik approached the unit and began to question them. When he grew suspicious of their answers, he drew his pistol and was shot by members of the unit who started firing and throwing grenades at the checkpoint. After several minutes of shooting, the unit dispersed, with some heading off to [[Inwangsan|Inwang Mountain]], Bibong Mountain, and [[Uijeongbu]]. Choi and Assistant Inspector Jung Jong-su were killed in the firefight; one commando was captured but managed to commit suicide.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Blue House Raid – North Korea's Failed Commando Assault on Seoul|url=http://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/12/03/the-blue-house-raid-north-koreas-failed-commando-assault-on-seoul/|website=MilitaryHistoryNow.com|accessdate=19 March 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309202506/http://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/12/03/the-blue-house-raid-north-koreas-failed-commando-assault-on-seoul/|archivedate=9 March 2016}}</ref>

On January 22, 1968, the ROK Army's 6th Corps began a massive sweep operation to capture or kill any members of the unit. Soldiers from the 92nd Regiment, 30th Infantry Division captured [[Kim Shin-jo]], who had been hiding in a civilian's house near Inwang Mountain. The 30th Battalion, Capital Defense Command, killed four commandos in [[Buam-dong, Seoul|Buam-dong]] and on Bukak Mountain.

On January 23, the 26th Infantry Division's Engineer Battalion killed one commando on [[Dobongsan|Dobong Mountain]]. On January 24, 1968, the 26th Infantry Division and [[1st Infantry Division (South Korea)|1st Infantry Division]] soldiers killed 12 commandos near [[Seongu-ri]]. On January 25, three commandos were killed near [[Songchu]]. On January 29, six commandos were killed near [[Papyeong]] Mountain.

==Casualties==
During the course of this assassination attempt, South Korean casualties totaled 26 killed and 66 wounded, including about 24 civilians. Four Americans also were killed in attempts to block the escaping infiltrators from crossing the DMZ.<ref>[http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/scenes/scen_c3.pdf Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in Korea, 1966–1968] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325103728/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/scenes/scen_c3.pdf |date=2009-03-25 }}</ref> Of the 31 members of Unit 124, 29 were killed or committed suicide; one, [[Kim Shin-jo]], was captured,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/02/120_59604.html|title=January 1968: Assassins storm Seoul; US spyship seized|publisher=[[The Korea Times]]|date=24 January 2010}}</ref> and the other one, [[Pak Jae-gyong]] managed to escape back to North Korea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shindonga.donga.com/3/all/13/103148/1 |script-title=ko:1·21 청와대 습격사건 생포자 김신조 전격 증언 |work=[[The Dong-a Ilbo|Shin Dong-A]] |date=29 January 2004 |accessdate=11 April 2016 |language=ko}}</ref> The bodies of the members of Unit 124 killed in the raid were later buried in the [[Cemetery for North Korean and Chinese Soldiers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-cemetery-idUSSEO739320080911|title=South Korean cemetery keeps Cold War alive|publisher=Reuters|date=10 September 2008|accessdate=21 September 2014|archive-date=24 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924041604/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/11/us-korea-cemetery-idUSSEO739320080911|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
On January 22, the [[United Nations Command]] (UNC) requested that a [[Military Armistice Commission]] (MAC) meeting be held to discuss the raid. The UNC requested the meeting for January 23, but the North Koreans asked for a day's delay. On January 23, the {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}, a technical research ship of the [[United States Navy]], was captured by North Korea. Consequently, the MAC meeting held on January 24 had to deal not only with the raid but also with the ''Pueblo''{{'}}s capture. To a considerable extent, the seizure of the ''Pueblo'' diverted U.S. and international attention from the Blue House raid.<ref>Downs, Chuck (1999) ''Over the Line: North Korea's Negotiating Strategy''. Washington, DC: AEI Press. p. 122. {{ISBN|0844740292}}.</ref>

The Blue House raid occurred on the same day when the [[Battle of Khe Sanh]] started in Vietnam and on January 31 the [[Tet Offensive]] broke out across South Vietnam, making any U.S. support for South Korean retaliation unlikely. In Saigon, Viet Cong guerrillas attempted to assassinate President [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]] at the [[Independence Palace]] but were quickly beaten back. Some writers have suggested that due to the similarities of both attacks by a similar number of commandos (31 in Seoul and 34 in Saigon, respectively) that the North Korean leaders had a certain insight into Vietnamese Communist military operations, and wanted to take advantage of the Vietnam War.<ref name=Szalontai/> President [[Lyndon Johnson]] regarded the seizure of the ''Pueblo'' and the timing of the Tet Offensive to have been coordinated to divert U.S. resources away from Vietnam and to force the South Koreans to withdraw their two Divisions and Marine Brigade from South Vietnam. Unlike Johnson, UNC commander, General [[Charles H. Bonesteel III]] saw no such connection. He regarded the Blue House Raid as having been planned at the highest levels in North Korea, while the seizure of the ''Pueblo'' seemed merely opportunistic and the timing of the Tet Offensive as helpful but coincidental.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bolger|first=Daniel|title=Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low intensity conflict in Korea 1966–1969|publisher=Diane Publishing Co|isbn=978-0-7881-1208-9|year=1991|page=Chapter 3 The Moment of Crisis}}</ref>

In response to the assassination attempt, the South Korean government organized the ill-fated [[Unit 684]]. This group was intended to assassinate the leader of North Korea, [[Kim Il Sung]]. However, following an improvement in intra-Korean relations, the unit's assassination mission was cancelled and in 1971 the unit revolted and most of its members were killed.

In May 1972, Kim Il Sung expressed regret and claimed that the Blue House raid "was entirely plotted by extreme leftists and did not reflect my intent or that of the Party" to the head of the [[Korean Central Intelligence Agency]]  (KCIA) [[Lee Hu-rak]] during their meeting in Pyongyang.<ref>{{cite book|title= Tyranny of the Weak:North Korea and the World, 1950–1992|author= Charles K. Armstrong |publisher=Cornell University Press|page=162|year=2013|isbn=9780801450822}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Assassination of Park Chung-hee]]
* [[Silmido (film)|''Silmido'' (film)]]
* [[209th Detachment, 2325th Group]] (Unit 684)
* [[Ulchin-Samcheok Landings]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Blue House raid}}
* [http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/ScenesFromanUnfinishedWar.pdf Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in 1966–1969. Chapter 3: "A Continuous Nightmare" – A detailed description of the event]
* [http://nkmonitor.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/remembering-the-blue-house-raid/ North Korean Monitor]
* [https://archive.today/20130204114127/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,837793,00.html North Korea: A New Belligerence]
* [http://www.koreanwar.org/html/dmz_war.html The Forgotten DMZ] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130415051822/http://www.koreanwar.org/html/dmz_war.html |date=2013-04-15 }}
* [http://strikehold.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/recollections-of-the-121-incident/ Recollections of the 1/21 Incident]

{{coord missing|South Korea}}

[[Category:Mass murder in 1968]]
[[Category:1968 crimes in South Korea]]
[[Category:Military history of Seoul]]
[[Category:Failed assassination attempts in Asia]]
[[Category:North Korea–South Korea relations]]
[[Category:January 1968 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Park Chung Hee]]