South
Korean War veterans salute during a ceremony marking the
58th
anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, Seoul, June 25.
The
two sides are still technically at war.
Dong-AIlbo,
South Korea
The Young Forget
How MacArthur 'Saved' Korea ...
"It's shocking that 28 percent
of South Korean high school students pick the United States as the greatest
threat to national security, followed by Japan (27.7 percent) and North Korea
(24.5 percent). … Despite the sacrifice of 33,000 U.S. soldiers to save South
Korea, students view the United States as a threat.
Veterans of the
Korean War at a rally to mark the 58th anniversary of outbreak of the
1950-53 Korean War and to denounce protesters who have been holding
candle-light vigils who have been protesting U.S. beef and demanding the
resignation of President Lee Myung-bak.
On June 25, 1950, the North
Korean army invaded South Korean territory by crossing the 38th Parallel. When the
roar of tanks and the sound of bombs broke the early silence of a peaceful
Sunday morning, one third of South Korean forces were off duty. The
near-defenseless government under then President Rhee Syng-man
remained disorganized. Within three days North Korean forces had occupied
Seoul, and within the month, they had advanced to the Nakdong
River.
Thanks to U.S. General
Douglas MacArthur, South Korea was saved. As United Nations commander-in-chief
for Korea, MacArthur directed the
famous Incheonlanding . If not for this, the Republic of Korea would have
been erased from the world map. The Korean War was the worst catastrophe in the
history of the Korean Peninsula, with a million dead or wounded and 10 million people
cut off from their families. About 200,000 Korean and U.N. soldiers and 2,000
student-soldiers died in battle. Thanks to help from 20 nations, especially the
United States, we recovered our land and overcame the ruin of the war to
develop into an economy ranked in the world’s top 20 and founded upon liberal
democracy and market economics.
According to a
poll of 1,016 middle and high school students in Korea, 43 percent didn't know what
year the war broke out. Only 49 percent knew that North Korea invaded South
Korea. More shocking was that 28.4 percent pick the United States as the
greatest threat to national security, followed by Japan (27.7 percent) and
North Korea (24.5 percent). Adults share the blame for why children are so
ignorant about the war but are so well-informed about candlelight vigils
[against U.S. beef]. Despite the sacrifice of 33,000 U.S. soldiers to save
South Korea, students view the United States as a threat.
DOUGLAS MACARTHUR'S INVASION OF INCHEON
June is also Remembrance
Month, a time when the patriotism of fallen soldiers is traditionally marked
and praised. But this year Seoul has been overwhelmed by a distorted situation.
The heart of the capital has been filled with self-destructive collective
behavior that has shaken the basis of our society and demonstrated rampant
anti-U.S. hatred. The Korean Teachers and Educational
Workers Union has blasted the comic book, Spreading Correct Knowledge of the
Korean War, which has been published by the Korean Veterans Association and
been distributed free to students. The Union criticized the comic for being a
throwback to the Cold War and idolizing MacArthur and U.S. forces.
There's no guarantee that
another Korean War won't break out again. People of the post-war generation who
directly experienced the war or heard stories from the war generation have a
duty to properly teach our descendants about the conflict and the lessons we
learned.
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US June 25, 3:45pm]
South Korean schoolchildren on a class outing to the monument in remembrance of the Korean War at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, June 25. It seems that many South Koreans see the United States as more of a threat than North Korea or Japan - the country that ruled Korea with an iron hand for decades before World War II.
Retired South Korean troops who were trained to infiltrate North Korea during the war, bow to the U.S. flag during a ceremony to mark the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul City Hall, June 25.
Members of a right-wing group of former special military commandos, who were trained for espionage missions in North Korea, burn a huge North Korean flag, June 25.
The Korean War began in the predawn darkness of June 25, 1950, as Kim Il Sung's heavily armed and well-trained North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel - the border between the two Koreas at the end of World War II. On October 1, in what is widely considered his crowning achievement, General Douglas MacArthur completely changed the course of the war by ordering - over nearly unanimous objections - an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul.
[LATEST NEWSWIRE PHOTOS: South Koreans Hold Large Daily Protests Against U.S. Beef].
