`They Fought for Freedom of This Country` - Young Students Write Thanks Letters

“It gave me some time to think about sacrifice the foreign soldiers made. They fought for universal human values, freedom and democracy.” 35 first-graders in class 13 at Hanyoung High School were writing thanks letters to veterans in 16 countries who fought for this country during the Korean War, marking the 50th anniversary of the war.

“It could have some time to think about what an ally is. I would like to really thank those who fought for our country.” (Kim Nak-gyun)

˝Reconciliation with the North is important, but we also need to keep in pace with the rest of the world in efforts to maintain world peace.˝ (Kim Hyun-joon)

Students were referring to Korean-English dictionaries or looking up the blackboard to see some examples given by their teacher. Many of them replied that “It is fun” as they wrote letters in earnest. They say it was intriguing experience to write letters to old men instead of send e-mail to friends.

“I heard about the U.S., Britain and Turkey, but didn`t know that Ethiopia, Columbia, Luxemburg and the Philippines also sent troops.” Students in other classes were also busy writing letters. “I was surprised to know that there were 1.35 million foreign soldiers.”

“I now think I can understand why the rest of the world is so concerned about North Korea`s nuclear program,” a student sounded like a grown-up as he said.

The day`s event was organized by the `H2O Love and Sharing Youth Campaign`, a youth organization sponsored by the Dong-A Ilbo. The organization aims at promoting Korean community service models based on the traditional village community service called `Pumat-I`.

The youth organization plans to host a `become one` concert in KBS Concert Hall in September this year, inviting veterans from 16 ally countries.

“Young teachers these days hardly teach students about the lesson of the Korean War, and they also give little attention to facts about the war, which I find troublesome, ” Kim Young-ho, principal of the school, explained why he saw this kind of event necessary.

Song Eun-hee, one of English teachers at the school, talked with students about history while giving them instructions on how to write. When asked of the year the Korean War broke out, only 15 out of 35 students replied it was in 1950. And six managed to answer that the war ended in 1953.

“Given the fact that the Korean War is dealt with as only a part of the modern history in class, it is no wonder that only a small number of students have information about the war,” said Song.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade agreed to include the students` letters in its mail delivery bags sent to Korean embassies in foreign countries, and the Korean Veterans` Association gave a list of addresses.

The youth organization is now poised to host a similar letter-writing event at Yonsei University on June 25 and plans to continue organizing letter-writing and go-and-meet events for those primary, middle and high schools wishing to have this experience.

“Marking the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, I would like young students, who tend to take peace and stability for granted, to think about sacrifice our grandfathers and ally soldiers made to maintain peace and stability,” said Jang Moon-sup, director of the H2O Youth Campaign.

In-Jik Cho cij1999@donga.com