Most enjoy holiday instead of paying tribute on Memorial Day

Monday marked Korea`s 56th Memorial Day but instead of paying tribute to fallen heroes, people were busy enjoying their holiday.

A siren went off Monday at the intersection in front of the Daejeon City Hall in North Chungcheong Province, offering a moment for people to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for their country. Most went about their business as if they did not care, however.

Some middle-aged people stopped but only a few paid a silent tribute. Cars are supposed to stop for a minute when a siren goes off but none followed the rule.

Only a few homes and public offices hoisted the national flag at half-mast.

At the Gumi branch of Korea Rural Community Association in North Gyeongsang Province, the national flag and the association`s flag were hoisted. A district prosecutors` office and the Daegu District Court, both in Gimcheon near Daegu also failed to raise the national flag at half-mast.

Korean law stipulates that the national flag be flown at half-mast on Memorial Day.

The situation was no different at ordinary homes. At a 160-unit apartment complex in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, only six homes hoisted flags. Officetels have no flagpoles for individual units and so a large flagpole is installed at the entrance of the building. No flags were seen, however.

In contrast, all 271 homes at an apartment complex in Gwangju had the national flag hoisted. Residents started a flag-hoisting campaign in 2009 since their apartments are built in a hilly area and have a visible effect.

Hwang Jeong-ja, the Daejeon section chief of an association of widows of fallen soldiers and police officers, said, “My heart aches on Memorial Day just thinking about my husband who gave his life for our country 44 years ago. So much has since changed and it now seems hard to even ask people to share the pain with me.”

Monday marked the end of the three-day weekend with mountains and seas crowded with people. Major highways and regional roads were packed with cars returning home late into the night.

doyoce@donga.com shjung@donga.com