World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseKim Chang-Ryong was born into a poor peasant family in Kumya, Hamgyongnam Province, Korea in 1920. He received military training in Japanese-sponsored puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China and became a member of the Japanese military police. In this role, he effectively gathered the intelligence that led to the capture of many Chinese and Soviet spies and many Korean resistance fighters during WW2. He was arrested by the Soviets in Hamgyongnam Province in Dec 1945 for having been a spy for the Japanese, but he was able to escape from his captors while being transferred from prison to his place of execution. He was again captured by Korean Communists, but again he was able to break free. He arrived in Seoul, Korea in May 1946 and joined the Republic of Korea Army as an intelligence officer. He quickly gained the trust of President Rhee Syngman, who used Kim to maintain close control of the Army by purging the officer corps of potential Communist agents and potential political enemies. In the late 1940s, he became one of the leading figures of the Counter-Intelligence Corps of South Korea. His zealousness in searching for and eliminating Communist elements earned him the nickname "Kim the Snake" by Douglas MacArthur. In 1953, he, by now the chief of the Counter-Intelligence Corps, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1955, he was promoted to the rank of major general. In 1956, while traveling in a Jeep en route to his headquarters, he ran into a unexpected roadblock where he was fired upon. Shot in the head, he was taken to a nearly hospital where he would soon die from his wounds.

Kim Chang-Ryong Timeline