how was Yankee Market formed?
Yankee market was a black market that was formed by Koreans trading secretly stolen goods from American PX. Yankee Markets were located not only in Incheon but also all over Korea. Below is a diagram of the structure of the Korean black market, drawn by U.S. soldier in 1952.
The black markets during the U.S. military government in Korea continued from the 1947 and even after the establishment of the Republic of Korea government. It was a more frequent phenomenon in large cities. At the time, the black market was a place for the general public to make a living. Therefore, black market activities were the main means of livelihood for the socially disadvantaged, such as refugees and the unemployed. Transactions were carried out by making a contract with who actually owned black market goods and also by people who worked as brokers. 8 The goods traded in these black markets were mainly daily necessities, including luxury goods that could not be produced in South Korea, as well as high-quality cigarettes and medicines for the U.S. military.
This is an article in 1955, telling how the stolen stuffs ended up in Yankee Market. I translated part of the article.
｢”stealer” ; a speciality made during the decades of liberation｣ 1955, Aug 20th, Article from Dong-A News.
- “Why?”
“Had they fought against Korea, they would have been robbed by Korean stealers before even loading the atomic bomb into the plane”
Well, the difficulty of living after liberation produced numerous strange creatures called “Yamsaengi(stealer)”. The US military base which had abundant supplies became their only active stage. The objects that disappeared overnight would be found in the market called “Yankee Market” every day. 9
7. Lee Dong-Won, ｢U.S. Military PX Operations and the Evolution of the Black Market before and after the Korean War｣ 『역사와 경계』 126 , 2023, p43~80
8. Lee Dong-Won, same article
9. ｢stealer ; a speciality made during the decades of liberation｣ 1955, Aug 20th, Dong-A News.