The sirens just sounded.
Today is Memorial Day in Korea; a time to honor those Koreans who fell while fighting for their country.
One wish (Asia Times):
[T]he South Korean nation would do well to take a moment to reflect on the freedom that they have come to take for granted in recent years, and the compelling need to bring freedom to their long-suffering fellow Koreans north of the 38th parallel.
For many South Koreans today, the Korean War is little more than a tragedy of the past or a tale in abstraction. For others, it is a trauma best forgotten. But on Memorial Day, the South Koreans, as a nation, must not forget the suffering and sacrifice in their national historical experience. The lessons of the most traumatic past must be learned and continually relearned, not only to prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself, but also to honor, as one nation, those who made our freedom possible, and to remember that freedom is certainly never free.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Are we supposed to remember those who gave their life in protests over beef, rice, and the FTA too?
My respect to those Koreans who not only died for their country in the Korean War, but also those who sacrificed themselves to help allies in places like Vietnam and the Middle East.
Opus:
There is a time and place for comments on rice, beef, FTA, this is not it. These Korean died fighting to protect a mad dictator and the US military foothold on the peninsula, and the US has benefited economically from this ever since. Please curtail your remarks and strive to be an Internet commenter with nice manners and eloquent prose.
Respect to those who died.
Dungchimp: the cyber equivalent of venereal disease.
“Please curtail your remarks and strive to be an Internet commenter with nice manners and eloquent prose.”
Please practice what you preach.
3: “the US has benefited… ever since” …interesting dong9chin9 that you manage to throw in a touch of anti-US commentary while chastising someone else.
I don’t recall this being named “한국현충일.” Many soldiers of many nationalities died protecting freedom. You (and me and everyone) would do well to remember that. That’s the purpose of today.
Respect is always provided to those whom by their honor and conviction have paid the untimate sacrifice to support their nation a fellow man. Are we only limited to honoring those Koreans who served in the Korean War, Vietnam, and Afghanistan or may we still honor those on the homefront who have sacrificed in civil conflict for the nation.
And also to Yoon YoungHa, Han SangGuk, Cho ChunHyung, Seo Hoowon, Hwang DoHyun, Park DongHyeok.
Those who killed in a surprise attack by North Korean patrol boats, 서해교전 (West Sea Battle), while 99% of us cheering “Dae~han~min~guk” that filled the streets in 2002. Here’s my candlelight to those souls and 18 other survivors who might still suffering from wound and nightmares!
7: because Rhee Syng-man and Douglas MacArthur so obviously represented freedom.
10: And what have you done? (nevermind that I said soldiers)
Is this holiday really needed, or it just a relic of the Cold War?
Regarding JiMong’s (#9) reference to that tragic battle incident in 2002.
You’re a good soul for remembering that today. It would have never crossed my mind.
For their families, who have experienced untold misery by a nation (especially the political leadership) that has willfully ignored these fallen soldiers for the most part, thank you for remembering.
And thanks and remembrance to those Allied soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normanday 64 years ago today.
I hope the vets at Jogno3ga get some warm broth.
@3: ddongchim again shows his historical illiteracy. There was no “U.S. military foothold” in Korea in 1950, hence no Koreans died to preserve it.
This moron should at least receive a stipend from the DPRK for his efforts.
12: As long as soldiers are alive who fought in wars, we should have this holiday to remember their fallen comrades… after they have passed, doubly so.
There were sirens? I was in Seoul and I didn’t hear these.
When? How long did they sound?
My respects to the Korean, American, Canadian and soldiers of other nationalities who died to protect South Korea from communism slavery. Their sacrifice has made Korea a rich, free and prosperous nation today.
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