The Seoul National University Hospital massacre occurred shortly after North Korean forces invaded South Korea, marking a critical moment in the Korean War. As the People's Army advanced toward Seoul, apprehensions about those who could provide medical assistance to South Korean forces grew. Fearing that the hospital staff and the injured might offer support to the enemy or resist occupation, the North Korean soldiers carried out mass executions. This brutal assault led to the deaths of nearly a thousand individuals, including medical personnel and vulnerable civilians already suffering from wartime injuries.

Witnesses reported that North Korean troops entered the hospital, rounding up and executing anyone they perceived as a threat. The sheer scale of the violence shocked the local population and set a grim precedent for the kinds of atrocities that would occur throughout the war. The massacre underscored the brutal tactics employed by the military during the conflict and contributed to the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that dominated the lives of Koreans during this period.

The act also reflected the extreme measures taken by both sides in the conflict, as the North Korean regime sought to eliminate any potential sources of resistance. The impact of this event rippled through the medical community, instilling a deep trauma among survivors and highlighting the vulnerabilities of civilian healthcare institutions during wartime. The massacre remains a significant point of reference for discussions on human rights violations during the Korean War.