UNMCK - UNITED NATIONS MEMORIAL CEMETERY IN KOREA

Dear Korean War Veterans, One day, I was watching a documentary film on the Korean War on TV and became very interested when I learned that Korean War is also called the "Forgotten War." I became curious and wanted to find out why the Korean War was called the "Forgotten War." How can any war with the casualty of 1.2 millions be possibly forgotten? I asked my father. After a long moment of thought, my father explained to me that perhaps it was because the Korean War was a proxy war, and the war is technically not over yet. His answer made a sense to me and thus my curiosity stopped there. Last month, I joined a volunteer group to write letters and cards to thank the Korean War veterans from Ethiopia. Doing the volunteer work gave me a chance to think and commemorate the Korean War veterans once again. However, the strange, uncomfortable feeling inside me started to grow up. Most Koreans do not think about the Korean War veterans most of time, but commemorate them only on the Memorial Day or the anniversary of the Korean War. I realized that I was not the exception. I was not born during the Korean War so I cannot imagine what the war was like. Watching the news about a war in Syria makes me feel that freedom and peace that I always take for granted came in a price beyond description. It also made me feel their pain indirectly. Syrian war is actually the only war I have seen in my life, and I am sure that our country during the Korean War looked like Syria nowadays, All destroyed, devastated land filled with poverty. I have a compassion for refugees in Syria because my grandparents might have endured the same hardship. A few years ago, my family went to the US for a vacation. Before a program at an aquarium began, the veterans were asked to stand up and then the rest of the audience showed their respect by applauding for them. Every major attractions I went, veterans were getting special discounts on admissions. I was impressed by the way the veterans were treated by the public. In Korea, Koreans just commemorate the veterans just on certain days like Memorial Day and the anniversary of the Korean War. I think the Koreans should be thankful for the veterans and commemorate them in daily life. We should thank them more, and treat them as heroes, because if they didn't risk their lives on the battlefield for us and our country, we might not even exist, or our country could be communized. We have to thank these veterans from the bottom of our heart, but I sometimes feel bad because the Korean War veterans in South Korea are not treated well compared to those in the US. South Korea had slim chance of winning the war, but the veterans fought for our country, and now we could live in peace. Once war savaged, one of the poorest country in the world now became the major world economic power. You all are heroes, and you will not be forgotten. Sincerely, Jiwon Moon