UNMCK - UNITED NATIONS MEMORIAL CEMETERY IN KOREA

Hello! I am a high school student from Yongin, Korea. I would like to summarize my emotions of thanks, which have resided within me all along the short decade I have learned of the Korean War. Before that, I will introduce myself briefly. I am the captain of Creative Campaign, a club that actively campaigns for the aid of both international and local Korean War veterans. In my club experiences, I have interviewed, emailed and Skyped many veterans. My conclusive emotions from these experiences were solely of gratitude and reverence. I have come to believe that not a single inkling of doubt of your devotion should be made and no one has the right to criticize the veterans who have supposedly prolonged the war (which some idiots actually argue of). The main reason for having such strong benevolent emotions towards the veterans, especially Canadians, is because of the courage that brought you here. To be frank, you probably barely knew of the existence of Korea when you decided to come here. Protecting Korea, a country geographically or diplomatically irrelevant to Canada, was likely an action largely unrelated with the safety of your family or country. Yet, 26,000 Canadians participated, which resulted in 516 casualties. You know the facts better than I do, but to us Koreans they are meaningful in a different way. The fact that thousands of people made such life-entailing sacrifices for a country far away from home never fails to amaze me. However, Stalin once said “the death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic.” Although overwhelmed with the enormous numbers, I also wished to hear the voices of individual participants. This impulse compelled me to meet with U.S generals, Vietnamese veterans, Korean veterans and a few others. Even their modest understatements of the bitter cold of the North, the searing heat of bombs and the overall dehumanizing chaos were absolutely incomprehensible. The atrocities of the Korean War that I hear of, and the fact that several thousands of people underwent those hardships for my race makes me an ardent campaigner for the Korean War veterans. Totally aside from death and statistics, I also have a few cherished memories about Canada. Even from the perspective of an expert chocolate and sweets lover (me), Canada has one of the best honey and syrup I have ever tasted. Of course, it is natural that Canada has excellent syrup, as you are famous for your maple syrup. But the solid, scoopable(?) type of honey that I tasted was truly otherworldly. Many days of my childhood passed away full of expectations of having two spoons afterschool from a bucket of honey that my father had received as a gift. I am a passionate student with optimistic expectations of my future. I dream of becoming a theoretical physicist. After learning about the Korean War, I have realized that the reason I can enjoy physics, the study of abstract mathematics and phenomena, and not worry about my next meal, is largely thanks to you guys. Please take my gratitude as a meager compensation of your sacrifices and devotions to Korea. Forever thankful, Kevin