Frog Boys
Encyclopedia
The Frog Boys were a group of five South Korea
n boys who disappeared on March 26, 1991. The boys had gone to nearby Mount Waryong to catch frogs but never returned. Their bodies were found 11 years later. Although it was discovered that they had been murdered, the case has never been solved. The incident was the subject of two films, Come Back, Frog Boys (1992) and Children
(2011) and several songs.
sent 300,000 police officers to search for the missing boys, with the searches shown live on TV. Several of the boys' parents left their jobs to travel around the country to look for their children. During the search, the police received over 550 false leads. Mount Waryong was searched more than 500 times before the boys were found.
. However, the parents did not accept that conclusion and demanded a full investigation. The families questioned the conclusion that the boys had simply died after getting lost due to the oddities of the boys' clothes being found tied in knots and of their bodies being found a short distance from the village in an area the boys knew very well. Forensic experts discovered that the boys had been murdered with repeated blows to the head and that one had been shot in the head with a shotgun
. In 2006, the statute of limitations
expired on the boys' quintuple murder case, so even if it was solved, they would be unable to prosecute anyone for the murders. The police said that they would nevertheless continue their investigation, to uncover the truth. A funeral service was held for the boys on March 25, 2004, and their skulls were donated to medical research.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n boys who disappeared on March 26, 1991. The boys had gone to nearby Mount Waryong to catch frogs but never returned. Their bodies were found 11 years later. Although it was discovered that they had been murdered, the case has never been solved. The incident was the subject of two films, Come Back, Frog Boys (1992) and Children
Children (2011 film)
Children is a 2011 South Korean film, based on a true story about an unsolved murder case.-Plot summary:On March 26, 1991, five boys went to Mount Waryong to catch frogs but never returned...
(2011) and several songs.
The boys
The five boys aged 9 to 13 who disappeared were:- U Cheol-won (13)
- Jo Ho-yeon (12)
- Kim Yeong-gyu (11)
- Park Chan-in (10)
- Kim Jong-sik (9)
Disappearance and search
March 26, 1991 was a national holiday in South Korea owing to the 1991 local elections; the boys decided to spend the day catching frogs in the streams of Mount Waryong. After they were reported missing, their story became a national sensation. President Roh Tae-wooRoh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo , is a former ROK Army general and politician. He was the 13th president of South Korea .Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu. In his younger life, Roh was a keen rugby union player....
sent 300,000 police officers to search for the missing boys, with the searches shown live on TV. Several of the boys' parents left their jobs to travel around the country to look for their children. During the search, the police received over 550 false leads. Mount Waryong was searched more than 500 times before the boys were found.
Remains discovered and result
In 2002, a man searching for acorns discovered their bodies in an area of the mountain that had already been searched. He first reported the remains via an anonymous phone call. Initially, the police stated that they thought the boys had died of hypothermiaHypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. However, the parents did not accept that conclusion and demanded a full investigation. The families questioned the conclusion that the boys had simply died after getting lost due to the oddities of the boys' clothes being found tied in knots and of their bodies being found a short distance from the village in an area the boys knew very well. Forensic experts discovered that the boys had been murdered with repeated blows to the head and that one had been shot in the head with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. In 2006, the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
expired on the boys' quintuple murder case, so even if it was solved, they would be unable to prosecute anyone for the murders. The police said that they would nevertheless continue their investigation, to uncover the truth. A funeral service was held for the boys on March 25, 2004, and their skulls were donated to medical research.