THE FROG BOYS MYSTERY

 

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The case of the boys of frog (Korean: 개구리소년) is the case of the disappearance of 5 teenage boys in South Korea on March 26, 1991. The boys were looking for salamander eggs (misinterpreted by the media as frogs) near Mount Waryong but since then the five children have never returned. Their bodies were only found 11 years later. Although it is known that they were murdered, the case was never solved. This incident was later made the subject of two films, Come back, Frog Boys (1992) and Children (2011) as well as several songs.

VICTIMS

The five children aged between 9 and 13 years who were victims were:

-  U Cheol-Won (13)

-  Jo Ho-Yeon (12)

-  Kim Yeong-Gyu (11)

-  Park Chan-In (10)

-  Kim Jong-Sik (9)

CASES & INVESTIGATIONS

March 26, 1991 is a national holiday in South Korea because at that time the local elections were held in 1991. The children chose to catch Salamander eggs in a waterfall on Mount Waryong to spend the day off. After being reported missing, this case developed into national news. President Roh Tae-Woo ordered 300,000 police personnel to assist in the search for the 5 children, with search notices, live on TV. 

Some of their parents are even willing to leave their jobs to travel across the country in search of their children. During the search, the police received 550 false reports. The search on Mount Waryong was carried out about 500 times before the children were finally found.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE BODY AND THE FINAL RESULT

In 2002, a man searching for acorns found the five children in a mountain area that had been checked several times by officials. The man claimed to have actually been notified by phone from someone he didn't know. At the initial examination, the police concluded that the children had died from hypothermia, but the parents of the children did not accept that conclusion and demanded a thorough examination. The family questioned the conclusion that the children had died as a result of getting lost due to the oddity of their clothes which were found bound and their bodies found not far from the village in an area where the children knew very well. 

The forensics finally found that the children died because they were killed by being hit repeatedly in the head and one of them was shot with a shotgun. In 2006, the period of this case had expired and was declared to have expired, so that if this case can be solved now or in the future, the state law has no right and is unable to punish anyone.

The police said that they would continue their investigation, to uncover the truth. A funeral service for the children was held on March 25, 2004, and the skulls of the five boys were donated to become the object of medical research.