The No Gun Ri incident occurred during July 1950, in the early years of the Korean War. While there are many disputed claims about this case, what is undisputed is that Korean civilians (including children) were shot, killed, and maimed by members of the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army.

The incident laid buried in history until Chung Eun Yong (1923-2014) resolved to tell the story in his 1994 memoir, Do You Know Our Pain? (Geudae, uriui apeumeul aneunga). The publication of Chung's account led to a decades long journey for education, truth, and reconciliation that continues to this day. Chung's decision to break the silence with his 1994 account ultimately led to changes in the law in South Korea, including the agreement to build the No Gun Ri Peace Park and Memorial in Yeongdong, South Korea (in 2011), and the passage of a Special Korean National Law that addresses the intergenerational trauma caused by this and similar events that happened during the Korean War.

In 2025, the 75th anniversary of this incident, and of the Korean War a whole, the Cora di Brazzà Foundation produced the first publicly available English translation of Chung's memoir. The English translation, titled "Forgotten Pain: An Untold Story of the Korean War", assists one in "entering the forest" of the Korean War at a place where one can "exit" in the present, with current initiatives such as the No Gun Ri Peace Park and the Duty to Remember. Indeed, the POW issue is discussed in several places in Chung's memoir, and is highlighted in the the final chapter. Further, the battle of Taejon, at which PFC John Shelemba went missing, is important to understanding the No Gun Ri incident. It too, is discussed in Chung's memoir.

For a resource website on "Forgotten Pain" and the No Gun Ri incident, which includes a timeline and videos, click here.

Spending 40 minutes on the 2001 Department of Defense Press Conference (below) is time well spent if this story is calling to you.