[Part 1: The pain of winter goes away]
Among the countless people who living today in the sorrow of war, there are the forgotten foreigners who took part in the Korean War.
Mr Tom Parkinson, Vice President of the Korea Veterans Association of Australia tell us his experience of Korean war.
“I know two veterans who suffered for a number of years. They committed suicide. One was quite a good friend and the other was a person who I just know. There was probably more but who know how many”
The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea . The superior North Korean forces were on the verge of conquering all of South Korea when United Nations forces intervened. Among the first was 77 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force and HMAS Shoalhaven and Bataan of the Royal Australian Navy.
Source: SBS Korean
A United Nations counteroffensive defeated the North Korean army and pursued it into North Korea. When the United Nations forces approached the border between Korea and China the Chinese entered the war in support of North Korea. The now outnumbered United Nation forces were pushed south and the capital Seoul once again fell to the communists.
Dongup Kim was born in Kaesong, North Korea, in 1932. He was separated from his whole his family by the Korean War. He moved to South Korea by himself and volunteered in the Army.
When the war finished, he built his own family and made a fortune in South Korea. But he always missed his family, left in North Korea; South Korean residents were not allowed to visit North Korea.
In 1989 he migrated to Australia. It was the only chance he had to visit North Korea to meet his family. It took him 14 years, and in 2003 he visited North Korea as an Australian. He met his younger sister and her family. His parents, however, had already passed away.
Now Dongup Kim is a good friend of Korean War Veterans in Australia and he is currently a member of the Korean War Veterans Association in Victoria.
[Part 2: The spring of peace come]
The efforts to remember the Korean War are growing in major cities in Australia.
A Korean War Memorial will be set up in Quarry Park, Melbourne next year to honor the service and sacrifices of 17,000 Australian soldiers who participated in the Korean war, 1950-53, in defence of freedom and democracy on the Korean Peninsula.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Memorial was held in Quarry Park in the City of Maribyrnong, Melbourne on 27 November.
The Korean War Memorial in Melbourne will be Australia's fourth such memorial following ones in Canberra in 2000, Sydney in 2009 and the Gold Coast in 2011.
“A Melbourne Korean War Memorial will further strengthen the long-standing and deep friendship between the Republic of Korea and Australia” Melbourne Korean War Memorial Committee says.
“It’s great to see a place, a memorial where people come, reflect and remember their sacrifice by the Korean (war) veterans who are actually defending Korea and defend Australia” Cesar Melhem MP, member of the legislative council Victoria Parliament say.
The memorial will be shaped like a bridge, as a symbol of friendship between Australia and Korea and the two countries' national flowers will be inscribed. Notably, stones from Gapyeong, to the east side of Seoul, will be used to commemorate Australian soldiers who fought in the Korean war.
Gapyeong is a place where Australian soldiers fought fiercely during the Korean War.
Source: Tom Parkinson
The Korean government, Victorian Government, and Koreans living in Australia joined together to set up this memorial and around $600,000 was raised, including $300,000 from South Korea Government, $100,000 from the Victorian Government, $200,000 from Korean community, veterans and overseas Korean in Australia.
Mr Tom Parkinson, Vice President of the Korea Veterans Association of Australia says
“We will see that our involvement in it was worthwhile”
Furthermore, the Korean War Memorial which is expected to be a bridge linking the generations and connecting between Korean and Australia will be a memorial to honor the peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Tom Parkinson says “We don’t need any more wars. Here is the people on both sides of the parallel suffered greatly”
