From 1967 to 1970, there was a Japanese reporter named
Katsuichi Honda visited Vietnam and reported the war through the
Asian eyes. He wrote a book about it, it's title is "Vietnam War
- A Report Through Asian Eyes". He had anti-vietnam war views,
so therefore, not certainly partial to ROK in Vietnam. He
discovered that many of the stories concerning ROK atrocities
were rumours based on Vietnamese's fear of the unknown ROK,
jealousy, and communist propaganda. He himself checked out the
stories by visiting the villages of where it was supposed to
happened but found that they never happened. He also discovered
that the farther the distance from the ROK tactical area of
operation, the reputation got worse.
Among the some 20,000 sq miles that ROK controlled, Honda by
interviewing locals found out that ROK's were much more popular
than the Americans and government forces. ROK had total control
of their sector providing first rate security for the Vietnamese
at the same time helping the locals with rice plantation,
building of schools, temples, and houses. Americans on the other
hand, had a reputation among the Vietnamese as treating them
with disdain and were often beaten by the communists, although
they were good source of income for the Vietnamese. The conduct
and performance of S.Vietnamese government troops were even much
worse. Honda basically praised the ROK troops as by far the best
Allied troop in everyway including, the way they treated the
civilians and their extraordinary military performances.
As for the captured documents showing the Viet Cong fear of the
ROK, in 1966, a detachment of the U.S. Calvary Division in Bin
Dhin province captured a Viet Cong who carried a document
ordering all Viet Congs to avoid military contact with the
Koreans unless the victory was 100% certain. This was
corroborrated by a young British photographer Tim Page in the
NY. Times article and also his book, Vietnam.
