NIGHT OF HELL, THE HUNT OF THE DEVIL

The criminal mentioned today is a prime example of the brutality in the character of some Korean men. Because his girlfriend saw a fly on his chest, he shot and killed her. Not stopping there, he also implicated many innocent people in the surrounding area, successively massacring several villages, causing 97 casualties, including 55 deaths.

In the 1890s in East Asia, the contempt for the lowly and the discrimination between rich and poor were perhaps most extreme among Koreans. Thirty years ago in Korean society, it was still quite common for superiors to reprimand or even beat their subordinates. Going back even further to the 1960s and 1970s, a manager hitting an unruly employee was like a parent hitting their child; even today, this habit still persists. But let's not digress. Woo Bum Kon was born on May 24, 1955, in Busan, South Korea. Busan is a large city in South Korea, so Bum-Kon was considered a child who grew up in an urban environment. When Bum-Kon was born, the terrible Korean War had ended two years earlier. At that time, South Korean territory was almost in ruins, and cities, including Busan, were in the process of reconstruction. In short, Woo Bum Kon grew up in a peaceful environment, not in a dysfunctional family. His father was a respected local police officer, and his mother was a gentle housewife. During his childhood, he showed no unusual behavior. It wasn't until high school that he occasionally got into fights with his friends. In Korea at that time, aggressive teenagers were quite common, so fighting wasn't unusual. He wasn't a thug, at most just a bit hot-tempered, but he never actually seriously injured anyone. His academic performance was decent, averaging above average for his class. His physical abilities were even more outstanding. In his studies, he inherited his father's strong physique; although not very tall, he possessed excellent strength and agility. During high school, Woo Bum Kon was passionate about martial arts and baseball and was a fairly well-known athlete at his high school in Busan. Just before graduating, Woo Bum Kon's father was suddenly diagnosed with liver cancer and passed away six months later. However, from a young age, Woo Bum Kon's father was a strong-willed man, the only person he truly feared. After his father's death, he lost the person who could control him. His mother, being weak-willed, was completely unable to manage her stubborn son. After graduating from high school, Woo Bum Kon's grades weren't good enough to get into university, but luckily, his athletic achievements added points, allowing him to still attend. During his time at university, Woo Bum Kon was almost completely free. Due to a lack of discipline and bad company, he quickly developed two bad habits.

Firstly, there's alcoholism. Most Korean men enjoy drinking, and even women can have a few drinks, so drinking isn't usually a big problem. Woo Bum Kon's father also enjoyed drinking his whole life, having several drinks every night. He eventually died of liver cancer, which was also related to excessive drinking, perhaps inherited from his father. Woo Bum Kon also has a very high alcohol tolerance; he drinks a lot each time, until he's completely drunk. Once, after getting drunk, he smashed tables and chairs in a small bar, causing the owner to call the police. Another time, after an argument following drinking, he got into a fight with a university student from another school, almost getting expelled. The second bad habit is lechery. While most men are attracted to women, Woo Bum Kon's lechery is quite excessive. He's quite handsome, has a healthy physique, and is a university student, making him quite attractive. Under the influence of his bad friends, Woo Bum Kon used every means possible to seduce naive female university students. Once he slept with them, he would find a way to abandon them. When drunk, Woo Bum Kon boasted to his friends that in just three years he had slept with 89 female university students, an average of one every three months. In the early 1980s, Korean women were still quite conservative, and many female university students were still virgins. Ultimately, Woo Bum Kon graduated from university with a less than stellar reputation. According to Korean law, all young men must perform military service. After graduating, Woo Bum Kon joined the South Korean Marine Corps. Upon joining the army, he felt like a fish in water, seemingly born to be an outstanding soldier. Woo Bum Kon's strong physique and quick reflexes consistently placed him in the top 3 of the entire unit in every training exercise. His marksmanship was particularly exceptional, earning him the title of the unit's top sharpshooter on numerous occasions. After an incident, his comrades recounted a story: During a live-fire training session at the training ground, Woo Bum Kon made a bet with another soldier. His comrade jokingly said, "If you can shoot out a burning cigarette from a distance, I'll give you a case of premium imported whiskey." Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Woo Bum Kon raised his gun and aimed directly at the platoon leader who was smoking. Bang! The cigarette was instantly extinguished. The platoon leader was terrified, his body went limp, and he nearly fainted; a fatal accident was almost inevitable. It's important to know that at the time, Woo Bum Kon was just an ordinary soldier, yet he dared to treat his platoon leader as a living target to shoot at. In all of South Korea, it's unlikely any other soldier would dare to do something like that. From then on, Woo Bum Kon earned the nickname "Mad Tiger," and no one in his unit dared to mess with him. Woo Bum Kon possessed exceptional strategic skills, a university education, and was quite intelligent. His superiors highly valued him, even considering sending him to military academy for further training.

However, military life was dry and strictly disciplined, with very little time outside. For someone like Woo Bum Kon, who loved alcohol and women, military life was nothing short of imprisonment. Ultimately, he refused the military's offer to abandon his career as a professional soldier and chose to leave the service. The military abandoned him, but the police did not. With his exceptional marksmanship and stable mentality, Woo Bum Kon was a rare find among a thousand people. Seoul's special forces approached Woo Bum Kon, hoping he would join the Capital Protection Special Unit. The unit's main mission was to protect the Blue House, the presidential palace, and directly protect the President of South Korea. Therefore, it was a very important force; to put it simply, they were the high-ranking bodyguards of the South Korean government. The Capital Protection Unit offered generous benefits and a high chance of promotion. After serving for about 10 years as young officers, they could often be transferred to local police stations to hold high-ranking positions. Woo Bum Kon's father was a police officer from a young age, and he greatly admired the profession, so he agreed to join. Not long after, Woo Bum Kon became a special forces officer in Seoul, responsible for protecting the president and ministers. For him, this job was easy as pie; he was very skilled. However, his personality quickly caused trouble. Woo Bum Kon was tough, extreme, and never submitted to any authority, and was quite arrogant. In the military, he had achieved many outstanding accomplishments, so his superiors respected him. However, the unit protecting the capital had complex internal relationships; it wasn't simply a matter of ability to thrive. At that time, South Korea was still under military rule. Many high-ranking police officers were close associates of the president or other powerful figures. They held significant power, but their actual competence wasn't guaranteed. Therefore, Woo Bum Kon often showed contempt for his superiors. In his eyes, many high-ranking officers were useless, barely able to hold a gun, yet they frequently yelled at, criticized, and even cursed at him. Normally, Woo Bum Kon could tolerate it, but the problem was his drinking habit. One time, before his night shift, Woo Bum Kon went to a small restaurant for dinner. Unable to control himself, he drank more than half a bottle of Soju. That night, a superior officer checked on him and discovered he had been drinking, immediately reprimanding him severely. At that moment, Woo Bum Kon was half-drunk and lost control, arguing with his superior. After an exchange of words, the superior officer angrily slapped him. In the South Korean police force at that time, it was considered normal for subordinates to be slapped by their superiors for making mistakes.

But this time, Woo Bum Kon was extremely angry. He immediately used his handgun to knock down his superior officer, whose head slammed against a cabinet, leaving blood all over his face. Injuring a superior officer is a very serious matter, so Woo Bum Kon was severely disciplined. Initially, they intended to dismiss him from the force, but considering that he caused the incident while drunk, they ultimately transferred him to Orion County, Gionsang Namlam Province, to work as a rural police officer. It was 1981, and Woo Bum Kon was 26 years old. After being transferred, he was extremely depressed and frustrated. Such positions were usually reserved for older, nearing retirement police officers; the work was idle, boring, and the pay was barely enough to get by. Moreover, being a police officer in a rural area offered almost no opportunities for advancement. In such places, there were hardly any major cases, and even if he did well his whole life, the best he could achieve was becoming a village police chief. After his transfer, Woo Bum Kon's girlfriend, a university student, broke up with him. Woo Bum Kon couldn't accept this, so he went to his girlfriend's house and caused a scene. The girl sarcastically said, "I was born into a family of officials; do you think I have to follow you to that poor, mountainous area?" "Don't pretend you don't know. I know you have other girlfriends. Go find them. Maybe they'll agree to live with you in the countryside," Woo Bum Kon said angrily, slapping his girlfriend. This slap immediately caused trouble because the girl's three older brothers were all at home. Seeing their sister being beaten, the three men rushed out and attacked Woo Bum Kon. No matter how strong Woo Bum Kon was, he couldn't fight off so many people alone and was eventually knocked down right in front of his girlfriend's house, surrounded by onlookers. For him, this was an unforgettable humiliation. He left with resentment and later went alone to the rural area of the county to take up a job. But the reality was even worse than he imagined. Everyone knows that while cities in South Korea are as developed as Europe, the countryside is as backward as Africa. The rural areas here are very poor and underdeveloped, consisting only of small villages nestled among the mountains. Most of the villagers are elderly, women, and children, as most of the healthy young people have gone to the cities to work. There are virtually no entertainment options, not even small bars; each village usually only has a small general store.

In Woo Bum Kon's eyes, the rural police officers here were either uneducated country bumpkins or frail old men. Ironically, the internal relationships within the organization were far from simple, much like Seun's. Woo Bum Kon's superiors lacked competence but were skilled at forming factions. After Woo Bum Kon arrived, they realized his stubborn and uncontrollable personality and sought to isolate and hinder him, aiming to force him to soften and obey. Shortly after, Woo Bum Kon was assigned tasks that others didn't want to do, all petty and troublesome matters. For example, once, two families in a neighboring village were disputing land; the other officers didn't dare intervene, so they pushed the matter onto Woo Bum Kon. Upon arriving, Woo Bum Kon had barely offered a few words of advice when he was immediately surrounded by the two families and about twenty villagers, who shouted, "Who is this guy?" "Is it his turn to speak here? Get out of here or I'll beat you to death!" Woo Bum Kon angrily drew his gun, but unexpectedly an old woman bit him hard on the hand. Faced with the wrath of the entire crowd, he couldn't arrest an old woman. Woo Bum Kon could only leave in humiliation. Although this place was poor, corruption within the police force was quite serious. In the area where Woo Bum Kon worked, there was a middle-aged businessman known for his lecherous nature. Once, he took advantage of an opportunity to get a beautiful girl drunk and rape her. After waking up, the girl was extremely angry and immediately reported it to the police. Upon receiving the information, Woo Bum Kon quickly arrested the man. During the arrest, the businessman resisted, so Woo Bum Kon punched him hard, breaking his nose. Of course, a criminal who resists arrest and gets injured is self-inflicted. But what Woo Bum Kon didn't expect was that the case would suddenly take a turn. This businessman had... Woo Bum Kon's family wielded considerable influence, spending a large sum of money and using their connections to bribe the girl's family and high-ranking police officers. The girl then changed her testimony, claiming the relationship with the businessman was consensual and not rape, and requested that the case be dropped. Woo Bum Kon's superior, the police chief, after accepting the bribe, declared it a misunderstanding and released the suspect. Upon returning home, the businessman immediately turned against Woo Bum Kon, suing him for causing injury. Ordinarily, the police chief should have defended Woo Bum Kon, as he was a subordinate. However, the chief, who already disliked Woo Bum Kon, seized the opportunity to punish him. As a result, Woo Bum Kon received severe disciplinary action, with his rank and benefits being demoted to the lowest level.

After all this, Woo Bum Kon was extremely dissatisfied with his job and environment. His anger was almost at its limit. Not only his work, but his personal life was also very unstable. After 1981, Woo Bum Kon was still quite lucky with women. He had a university degree and was quite handsome, so he quickly met a local girl and soon after they lived together, planning to get married the following year. In 1982, Woo Bum Kon's job kept having problems, his salary was drastically reduced, so he didn't have money for the wedding, and even supporting himself was difficult. Because of his low salary and alcoholism, he owed a lot of money to grocery stores and bars. The two owners of these establishments often stood outside demanding money. Even the rent for their rented house was paid by his girlfriend, who constantly complained, and the two argued and even fought. All those conflicts finally erupted on April 26, 1982. A few days before, the rural police station announced a list of promotions and salary increases. Almost everyone received a promotion or a raise, except for Woo Bum Kon. Woo Bum Kon was furious and went to see the police chief to ask about it. The two disagreed and started arguing after only a few words. Finally, the police chief threatened him, saying, "Even if the president came here, he would have to obey me. Who do you think you are to argue all the time? If you cause any more trouble, I will strip you of your police uniform and send you to work as a laborer to earn a living." Hearing this, Woo Bum Kon was extremely angry. He took several consecutive days off and drank heavily for many days in a row. On the 26th, Woo Bum Kon was drunk again and sleeping at home. His girlfriend, seeing him so drunk, was naturally very upset but didn't want to wake him up. Just then, a fly flew and landed on Woo Bum Kon's chest. He woke up with a start and asked, "Why did you hit me?" His girlfriend replied, "I just swatted the fly." Woo Bum Kon asked, "Where's the fly? It flew away, I didn't hit it. Do you think I'm a child? Are you trying to trick me?" Before going to sleep, during an argument, his girlfriend had told him, "Even the house we live in is paid for by my family. You're useless! How dare you hit me? Watch out, my brother will beat you to death!" Woo Bum Kon thought his girlfriend had intentionally hit him, so he immediately cursed at her, and she refused to back down. The two argued loudly.

Woo Bum Kon slammed the door and left, while his girlfriend called her best friend to complain. Woo Bum Kon went to the village convenience store to buy two bottles of his usual soju. As soon as the owner saw him, he demanded payment for the previous debt. Woo Bum Kon said he didn't have the money and would pay next month when he got his salary. The owner, annoyed, said, "I've never seen a police officer like you who owes me money for groceries. Every time you say 'next month'? How many months has it been already? If you keep deceiving an old man like me, watch out, you'll end up in hell after you die." Woo Bum Kon, enraged, kicked the door open and stormed out. He took two bottles of soju to a small tavern in the village. The owner was slow to serve him because he owed money. Only when Woo Bum Kon slammed the table did the owner bring out a few dishes, but they were all cold. Seeing the indifferent attitude, Woo Bum Kon became even more furious. He drank heavily and was soon seven or eight parts drunk. He staggered home, and his girlfriend, seeing him intoxicated, couldn't help but scold him. All these things happening at once caused Woo Bum Kon's already extreme mental state to completely collapse. In a moment of losing control, Woo Bum Kon kicked his girlfriend to the ground and beat her violently. The heavy punches and kicks caused her to roll on the ground, vomiting blood and begging him to stop, but he didn't. He used his police boots to repeatedly kick her in the head until she lost consciousness. Seeing his girlfriend unconscious, blood flowing from her nose and mouth, and no sign of breathing, Woo Bum Kon thought she was dead. He thought he had killed her, so he would kill her too. Let's go together. With the alcohol having sobered him somewhat, Woo Bum Kon began to plot his revenge. A former special forces officer protecting the president was certainly no ordinary person. After thinking it over, he formulated a plan. Around 8 PM, Woo Bum Kon hid a dagger, grabbed a large backpack, and went straight to the police station where he worked. At night, only one young officer was usually on duty at the station. This officer had a good relationship with Woo Bum Kon; they had often drunk together and watched football. Woo Bum Kon didn't kill him, but lied, saying he wanted to check the weapons depot. The young officer, unsuspecting, gave him the key. Woo Bum Kon opened the depot, took an M2 machine gun and over 180 rounds of ammunition, and also took seven grenades. He wondered what would happen if the machine gun malfunctioned. So he took another M2 rifle as a backup. The M2 rifle is a fairly well-known improved version of the M1 rifle from World War II. The biggest feature of the M2 rifle is its automatic firing capability using a large 30-round magazine. This rifle is quite accurate and has a large ammunition capacity, but its drawback is that its destructive power is not very strong. Later, to ensure the victim was dead, Woo Bum Kon would often shoot each person at least two times. Another notable feature of this rifle is its relatively quiet sound. It uses small-caliber rifle ammunition, has a small amount of gunpowder, and a short firing range, so the sound when fired is not loud.

But the village where Woo Bum Kon committed the crime was not far from the police station, at most only about 4km away, so the villagers in the neighboring village hardly heard the gunshots. After fully armed, Woo Bum Kon confidently walked out of the weapons depot with his gun in hand. The young police officer, terrified, quickly asked, "Woo Bum Kon, what are you doing? Why are you taking two guns?" Woo Bum Kon shouted, "It's none of your business! I'm letting you off today because you're a good person. Get out of here, or I'll shoot you dead!" Immediately afterward, Woo Bum Kon fired two shots into the air. The young police officer, never having encountered such a situation before, panicked and ran away.

Fearing that this person would return and use the police communication system to report to his superiors, Woo Bum Kon destroyed all the communication equipment in the station. However, instead of immediately going out into the street and shooting at passersby, he went to a public telephone shop in the village. This was a civilian telephone station serving several surrounding villages where three girls were on duty. Destroying this place would prevent the villagers from contacting the outside world; at that time, there were no mobile phones.

It was past 9 PM. Woo Bum Kon didn't attack immediately but quietly approached the door and knocked. The three girls in the telephone shop knew Woo Bum Kon was a police officer and didn't suspect anything. One girl opened the door and asked him what he wanted. Without a word, Woo Bum Kon raised his gun and fired two shots at her. The girl saw blood gushing from her chest and, before she could understand what was happening, she fell backward and died instantly. Woo Bum Kon pushed open the door and pointed his gun at the two remaining girls. The two girls screamed, "Woo Bum Kon, are you crazy?" Four consecutive shots then killed the two girls; one died on the spot, the other still struggled on the ground for a while before also dying. After killing the three girls, Woo Bum Kon cut the telephone wires and set them on fire. He then left the phone booth and went towards the convenience store intending to kill the owner who had once scolded him. Standing in front of the store, Woo Bum Kon repeatedly kicked the door, trying to break it down, but the door was very sturdy and wouldn't open. The store owner, who lived alone, heard the noise and asked, "Who is it? Why are you banging so loudly?" Woo Bum Kon cunningly replied, "It's me, Officer Woo Bum Kon, I just received a special reward and came to pay off my past debts." The elderly owner, somewhat slow-witted, believed him. As soon as the owner opened the door, Woo Bum Kon shot him straight in the chest. The owner fell down and died on the spot. Woo Bum Kon was still not satisfied and continued to fire several more shots at the corpse, cursing as he shot, "You bastard! You disrespected me!" After venting his anger, Woo Bum Kon realized that he had torn his shoes because he kicked the door too hard. At that moment, a light rain began to fall, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The dirt road in the countryside was muddy, making it impossible to walk barefoot. Woo Bum Kon thought for a moment and decided to go back to change his shoes. On his way home from the grocery store, Woo Bum Kon passed the small restaurant where he had been drinking earlier. Remembering the owner's cold attitude, Woo Bum Kon's eyes reddened with anger. He didn't go inside but threw a grenade through the curtain. The restaurant was very small, with only four tables in the room. A loud explosion rang out, and the owner and seven customers were all thrown by the blast. Five died instantly. The gunfire had been quite quiet before, so there were no other casualties. No one heard it, but the explosion shook the entire village.

A rural police officer, who was at home watching TV, heard an explosion and rushed out to investigate. He saw Woo Bum Kon holding a gun, but didn't immediately understand what was happening. He asked Woo Bum Kon, "What's going on? What just exploded?" Woo Bum Kon had no animosity towards the police officer, but if he didn't kill him, his actions would be exposed. He raised his gun and fired two shots, knocking the officer to the ground. Woo Bum Kon approached, looked at him, and seeing that he wasn't dead, fired another shot to the head. In just 15 minutes, he had killed 10 people. When he returned home, Woo Bum Kon was astonished to find his girlfriend still alive; she was struggling to sit up. He had thought she was dead, which was why he went on this killing spree. He didn't realize it was just a mistake, but now he had killed too many people. Even if Woo Bum Kon surrendered, he would certainly face the death penalty, so he decided to fight to the end. Seeing his strong-willed girlfriend, Woo Bum Kon became even more enraged. He aimed his gun and fired three more shots. One bullet pierced her neck; she didn't have time to cry out before collapsing in a pool of blood. From that moment, Woo Bum Kon completely lost control, determined to kill everyone he considered an enemy. He recalled the incident. Previously, when he went to the neighboring village to mediate a dispute, he was surrounded and humiliated by two families in the village. In his eyes, these two families were utterly despicable and had to be killed. Woo Bum Kon, armed with a gun, walked about 3km to the next village, the second village. He knocked on a door and lied, saying, "I'm police officer Woo Bum Kon. Your superiors have informed me that there are North Korean spies operating nearby, and we need to investigate." The family knew Woo Bum Kon, so they didn't suspect anything and quickly opened the door. Woo Bum Kon first shot the eldest son who opened the door, then stormed into the house and shot the couple dead. The family had four daughters, the oldest 20 years old and the youngest only 12. The four girls, terrified, clung to each other, trembling and crying, begging for their lives, but Woo Bum Kon showed no mercy. He pointed his gun at each of them in the head and pulled the trigger. His marksmanship was very accurate; he usually took two shots to kill someone, almost never missing. Those hit were either dead or severely wounded, completely unable to resist. The family of this man was completely murdered. Woo Bum Kon then used a similar method, knocking on another house and killing four people, including the old woman who had bitten him before. By this point, the total number of people he had killed was 21. After killing two families he considered enemies, Woo Bum Kon remembered a colleague he also deeply hated.

This person often conspired with the police chief to cause him trouble, but outwardly appeared friendly, calling him "brother." Woo Bum Kon brought his gun to the third village to confront his colleague. Strangely, this time he didn't immediately kill anyone. Instead, he folded the gun and stuffed it into a large backpack. He knocked on the door. His colleague was home drinking alone. Seeing Woo Bum Kon, the colleague didn't notice anything unusual and even pulled him down to have a few drinks. Woo Bum Kon actually sat down and drank a few drinks. The two chatted for about 10 minutes. Finally, Woo Bum Kon said he had to leave. His colleague escorted him to the door. As soon as Woo Bum Kon stepped outside, he suddenly pulled out his gun and shot his colleague, who was stunned. The man was hit but still tried to crawl backward to escape, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground. Seeing this, Woo Bum Kon sneered, took out a grenade, and threw it. The colleague's body was instantly destroyed by the explosion. This village wasn't large, the houses were close together. A few villagers heard gunshots and grenade explosions and ran outside to see what was happening. Seeing this, Woo Bum Kon didn't hesitate to open fire. He usually only needed one or two shots to take down a person; those hit either died instantly or were severely wounded. In just half an hour, he killed nine more people in this village. By this time, Woo Bum Kon had passed through three villages, killing 31 people and injuring more than 10. At this point, Woo Bum Kon remembered the businessman who had raped the girl before, and how his family had ignored the abuse for money. So he continued on to the fourth village. Before that, the continuous gunshots and grenade explosions had awakened the villagers. They tried to call for help, but the lines were cut. Some even mistook him for a North Korean spy and were terrified. Just then, Woo Bum Kon, in his police uniform and carrying a gun, ran up to them. The villagers didn't think he was a murderer. So they hurriedly asked, "Officer Woo Bum Kon, what's going on?" Woo Bum Kon said, "North Korean spies are hiding here, the army and police are surrounding and eliminating them. My superiors sent me to evacuate the villagers. Everyone, gather at the open field in front of the village chief's house and then retreat with me. Hurry!" The panicked villagers immediately believed the lie. They brought their families, dozens of them, to the open field in front of the village chief's house, including the family of the girl who had been raped. Only the middle-aged merchant, who was quite suspicious, noticed something unusual about Woo Bum Kon's expression and hid inside his house. When the crowd had gathered almost completely, Woo Bum Kon suddenly opened fire, shooting directly at them and simultaneously throwing two grenades. In an instant, screams and cries filled the air, blood and flesh splattered everywhere. About 40 people were injured, 18 of whom died, including the four members of the girl's family who had been raped. Many wounded lay writhing on the ground, but Woo Bum Kon didn't have time to shoot again. After checking, he didn't find the raping merchant. Knowing his house, he immediately ran there, broke down the door, and stormed in. Once inside, Woo Bum Kon raised his gun and fired a shot, killing the merchant. The merchant's daughter screamed in terror but was also shot dead. Woo Bum Kon rushed in. Inside the room, the merchant's son, very brave, grabbed a wooden stick and shouted at his father, "Run away!" But the merchant ignored his son and immediately climbed the wall to escape. Woo Bum Kon rushed into the room, aiming his gun at the fleeing merchant's back, preparing to pull the trigger. At that moment, the merchant's son, hiding behind the door, swung his stick with all his might at Woo Bum Kon. A normal person would have been knocked down by the blow, but Woo Bum Kon was an athlete, his reflexes were very quick. He dodged to the side, avoiding the blow, and immediately after, Woo Bum Kon fired three shots, killing the 18-year-old youth on the spot.

Seeing the merchant escape, Woo Bum Kon was furious and cursed. He had already killed a total of 52 people and thought that was enough. However, his greatest enemy was the police chief, who always caused him trouble. He believed this man also had to die. The police chief's house was quite far away, and he was often not home, so Woo Bum Kon initially didn't intend to kill him. Furthermore, the police chief was armed, and if he went there, there might be bullets left, making it difficult to know who would win. But at this point, surrendering or being captured meant certain death, so Woo Bum Kon decided to risk everything.

In the pouring rain, he walked continuously for 4km towards the fifth village. Along the way, Woo Bum Kon encountered several passersby, but this time he no longer cared about killing them. He knew that after killing people for eight hours straight, there would surely be survivors trying to call the police. Unlike in the United States, a small country like South Korea would certainly have its military and police surrounding the area. In fact, from the moment Woo Bum Kon began killing, a young police officer tried to call the police. Unfortunately, the young officer was quite timid. After escaping, he heard gunshots and explosions, so he didn't dare run further and hid in the bushes. He hid for two hours until there were no more suspicious sounds in the village. Only then did he tremblingly crawl out and run. He ran to a neighboring village, trying to make a phone call, but found the telephone lines were not working. With no other option, he walked another 6km to another rural police station. By then, more than three hours had passed since the incident began. It was past 1 AM, and Woo Bum Kon was committing murder in the third village. If the police had arrived immediately, they might have been able to prevent the massacre in the fourth village. Unfortunately, after the young police officer reported the crime, the police station did not take any immediate action. Why? Because the police chief, who was supposed to be on duty, had arbitrarily left his post to visit an old friend in a nearby city. Only a veteran officer was temporarily filling in for the police chief, but this acting police chief was also very incompetent. Firstly, he didn't know how to handle the situation, and secondly, he didn't dare act on his own initiative due to a fear of responsibility. He frantically called the police chief many times but couldn't get through.

In such a critical situation, the acting police chief remained motionless for an hour, only making phone calls. Meanwhile, in the third village, someone who had luckily escaped managed to report to the police that Woo Bum Kon was shooting indiscriminately. Hearing this, the police chief became even more frightened. He knew Woo Bum Kon was a skilled marksman with a violent personality and had once been an elite special forces officer protecting the capital. Even ten rural police officers combined might not be able to handle him alone. Faced with the serious situation, the acting police chief could no longer conceal the truth. He reported to his superiors and deployed rural police forces to deal with Woo Bum Kon. According to the information received, Woo Bum Kon might advance to the fourth village, so he ordered two dozen police officers with guns to go to the fourth village to apprehend Woo Bum Kon. But while the superiors had given orders, the subordinates were no better. These two or three dozen police officers all knew Woo Bum Kon's reputation and were all afraid of him. Moreover, many of them were elderly or physically weak. How could they engage in a gunfight with someone like Woo Bum Kon? Even though the police chief repeatedly ordered them to enter the village to apprehend him, these police officers didn't dare to storm in. About 10 minutes after Woo Bum Kon left the fourth village, the police arrived. They thought Woo Bum Kon was still inside, so they surrounded the village for two hours. Only when Woo Bum Kon committed suicide with a grenade in the neighboring village did they dare to enter. Ironically, reporters had entered the village before the police. Afterwards, the Korean media mocked that journalists with pens were braver than police with guns.

Meanwhile, Woo Bum Kon stormed into the fifth village, heading straight to the police chief's house. Sure enough, the police chief wasn't home, only a few of his relatives were there. While Woo Bum Kon was questioning the police chief's whereabouts, the military and police finally arrived and surrounded the entire house with vehicles. Seeing the situation, Woo Bum Kon had no time to kill the people inside and tried to break through the encirclement. Woo Bum Kon tied up four of the policeman's sons, attaching two grenades to them as hostages. Initially, he intended to escort the hostages to the mountains, but by then the village was surrounded, leaving no escape route. Woo Bum Kon confronted dozens of police officers until 5:30 AM, repeatedly threatening to kill the hostages and force them to retreat. Unfortunately, in 1982, South Korea was under military rule, and human life was not valued. The police could not retreat for the sake of a few hostages. Woo Bum Kon understood he could not escape but also did not want to surrender. After his final threats failed, he held the hostages tightly and pulled the pins on the two grenades. Following a large explosion, Woo Bum Kon and three hostages died instantly. Only one was seriously injured but miraculously survived. Thus ended Woo Bum Kon's eight-hour massacre. In total, he killed 55 people, becoming the serial killer with the most deaths in a single incident in South Korea, not including bombings.

In addition, 36 people sustained minor injuries, bringing the total number of casualties to nearly 100. The police were heavily criticized for their poor handling of the incident, taking over an hour to act after receiving the report. Facing Woo Bum Kon, the rural police were afraid to pursue or neutralize him, instead surrounding him from a distance. Following the incident, the police chief, the acting police chief, and three other high-ranking officers were arrested for negligence. The matter did not end there; the public demanded the resignation of the president and prime minister, ultimately leading to the resignation of the Minister of Interior. The unluckiest people in this story are Woo Bum Kon's girlfriend's family. Although their daughter was also a victim, their house was still vandalized by the villagers. The villagers cursed them for raising a promiscuous daughter who lived with a demon before marriage, and for instigating that demon, causing many innocent people to be affected. Everyone experiences injustice, failure, and hurt at times, but how we face these things determines who we become. Anger may appear for a moment, but kindness is the choice we should uphold for a lifetime. A single moment of losing control can not only destroy one's own life but also lead to tragedy for many innocent people.

Therefore, in any circumstance, learn to restrain yourself, be forgiving, and live kindly, because sometimes just a gentle thought can save a life.