209th Detachment, 2325th Group, commonly known as Unit 684 (684부대), was a black operations unit of the Republic of Korea Air Force formed to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in 1968, in retaliation for the Blue House raid. The unit consisted of 31 civilian recruits, mostly petty criminals and unemployed youths, and underwent three years of harsh training on the island of Silmido. The assassination mission was cancelled in 1971 and the unit mutinied, resulting in a firefight in Seoul in which most of the members of the unit were killed. The four survivors were sentenced to death by a military tribunal and executed.
Scene of the final confrontation
The Blue House raid, also known in South Korea as the January 21 Incident, was a raid launched by North Korean commandos in an attempt to assassinate President of South Korea Park Chung Hee in his residence at the Blue House in Seoul, on January 21, 1968. A 31-man team of the Korean People's Army (KPA) infiltrated the DMZ but was intercepted by police near the residence. In the ensuing pursuit, all but two commandos were killed; one was captured, and one fled back to North Korea. South Korean casualties totaled 26 killed and 66 wounded, including about 24 civilians; four Americans also were killed. President Park was unharmed.
The Blue House, the official residence of the President of South Korea, in August 2010
Segeomjeong-Jahamun checkpoint July 2011
Choi Gyushik statue on Segeomjeong near Changuimun
Bukaksan pine tree with bulletholes marked