Seoul Village Season XVI

Happy New Year of the Tiger! Let's see how this young cub grows and roars.

And let's hope the pandemic will spare us another scary sequel...

As we've known from the start (see "Kudos to Korea's 4 Ts, but please no complacency"), we can never let our guard down while riding such roller coasters. This year, as expected, after failing to secure vaccines as early as other wealthy nations, Korea caught up very quickly once they arrived. But a populist decision to ease restrictions at the worst moment (during a surge and before year end festivities - not to mention an unexpected new variant) led to record cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Fortunately, the population started to react and the government to backpedal, so the last couple of weeks have seen a steady decline in the number of cases. Keep safe and carry on.
 

This year, barring more surprises (and we've had our share of those lately), the presidential election could be the most defining moment for a country where the balance of powers has been dramatically altered over the past few years.

LEE Jae-myung is now leading in the polls, with the help of YOON Suk-yeol (definitely not a seasoned politician), and of course MOON Jae-in. Interesting contrast: while LEE remains totally protected from any investigation around the Daejang-dong scandal, the controversial CIO has been spying the phones of campaigning opposition members in a local version of the Watergate...

In a brilliant lame duck move, MOON pardoned PARK Geun-hye, the equivalent to throwing an elephant into the opposition's already unstable porcelain store before the elections: now YOON, who investigated the scandals surrounding the former president and CHOI Soon-sil, will have an even tougher time getting votes from hardcore PARK supporters... 

That LEE Jae-myung could envision the White House in spite of his sulfurous reputation and the ruling party's unpopularity speaks volumes about the opposition's ineptitude. Character-wise, LEE is clearly closer to Donald TRUMP than to KIM Dae-jung - but at least, unlike the former POTUS, he's working very hard to change his image during the campaign.

Beyond securing the elections, MOON is focusing his final months on an intense lobbying to formally end the Korean War, which requires an agreement from other stakeholders. But unless Trump returns to power, the US will demand significant concessions from KIM Jong-un, and that is precisely what MOON wants to avoid.

MOON Jae-in's goal is to remove pressure on the North Korean regime and US troops from the Peninsula. South Korea's recent displays of weaponry and hikes in military budgets are supposed to prove that the nation can defend itself (should of course its leaders actually decide to defend it). Needless to say, both China and Russia would also love to see Yankees go home. 

Soft-power-wise, at least, Seoul can count on its Weapons of Mass Distraction, even if topping 2021 will be very hard for 'k-content' providers.

We'll need some cheering up to cope with real life drama (and at the macro level household debt, inflation, rising rates, overdue bubble bursts across the globe...).

Maybe we don't want that tiger to roar, after all. A cute yawn could be a welcome break.

Please be safe, but remain wild and playful. Have a great, full, and happy 2022.

Seoul Village 2022
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The Voices of Heaven (Maija Rhee Devine)

Unfair, absurd, overwhelming, and devastating, the war is about to break out. But for the personal tragedies we're witnessing here, we can only blame unfair, absurd, overwhelming, and devastating traditions.

Eum-chun's family should be the portrait of happiness, and the loving couple she forms with Gui-yong, her complicity with her mother in law, or her pure joy of having a girl like Mi-na, should set positive examples for the rest of a Korean society gangrened by archaic habits and customs... yet gangrene has already set its teeth in this model family.

If Mi-na happens to be an adopted child, she ignores that fact. What she does know - and what the whole neighborhood makes sure she knows - is that she's not a boy, and that her father is supposed to have one. Of course, the monstrous thing is not this absence, but the kind of "solutions" this society comes up with: an unofficial "little mommy" will move in to bear Gui-yong's male heir...

After meeting the author, I knew that reading "The Voices of Heaven" would be an emotional moment, and not in the 'fabricated drama' sense. The immersion is complete; impossible to put the book down as the personal tragedies unfold and the war looms; countless Korean expressions make me slow down to taste them and fully appreciate their freshness or bitterness, but that projects me even better in time; I'm not only feeling through the characters' senses, but also hearing their uncensored thoughts say the unsayable, expose the daily abomination of a choking society, beg for love, laugh at their own brazenness...

Don't get me wrong: it may sound like walking hip-high through pretty heavy and thick stuff, but by the grace of a poet, you're in for an uplifting experience.

Maija Rhee Devine grew up in Seoul during the Korean War, and writing such a delicate and strong, personal and universal first novel that stretches all the way to modern day Korea must have been really draining. Her next project promises to be another emotional Everest - I have no idea how long it will take her to see her "Journals of Comfort Women" through to the end, but I can't wait to read them.




"The Voices of Heaven"
Maija RHEE DEVINE
Seoul Selection USA 2013, 316 p

NB: Maija will be presenting her book this Sunday, October 27, at Barry Welsh's 10 Magazine Book Club in Myeong-dong (details on the Facebook event page: facebook.com/events/151128225080808). And while you're at it, join Barry's new radio program on TBS eFM (on Saturdays and Sundays), "The Bookend": facebook.com/thebookendefm.




Seoul Village 2013
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Armistice, Amnesia, Apostasy

60 years ago, the Korean Armistice Agreement enabled a ceasefire in a Korean War that has yet to be formally ended. The document was signed in Kaesong, a city that still today remains in the headlines (for different reasons? go figure).

If both Koreas are closer than ever, that's only because the DMZ has dramatically shrunk since the Armisitice: from 992 to 570 sqkm, the supposedly 4 km-wide stretch on each side of the line measuring less than 2 km in various spots*.



Both Koreas closer than ever! The incredible shrinking #DMZ lost 43% since #KoreanWar #armistice bit.ly/147AoPS
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/360300435300548609
 

Hell, a truce has yet to be found between the two South Koreas, still very much politically divided, and not only because of another "mobile" frontier (see the NLL saga, and the elusive transcripts of the 2007 ROH Moo-hyun - KIM Jong-il meeting).

On a brighter note, South Korea and China are more successfully burying the hatchet. Beyond the touching meeting of Chinese and Korean veterans, or PARK Geun-hye's offer to return the remains of Chinese troops fallen in Korea, the simple fact that for the first time, the Beijing Regime refered to the conflict as the "Korean War" and not the "war against the US and to help the DPRK" signals that the reconciliation can also reach all the way to America, where Barack Obama just proclaimed July 27 Korean War Veterans Armistice Day.

The conflict is not over, but the world starts moving on. With notable exceptions, and not only in the Strange Kimdom up North.

Of course, Japan is moving in the wrong direction. Shinzo Abe didn't wait long after his electoral success to confirm its warmongering stance: he already added drones and amphibious units to his suicidal wishlist**.

But let's not forget that South Korea too can move in the wrong direction. Under Lee Myung-bak, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was torpedoed, and the teaching of History at school undermined, contributing to an already acute education crisis***. Park Geun-hye does intend to fix this, and she recently declared "The history of a country is like the soul of the people. If a person grows to be a citizen without proper knowledge of history, that person could be left without a soul".


Shame on #Korea: can't celebrate #Armistice, criticize #Japan #revisionism & stop teaching #History http://bit.ly/14821zL @koreatimes1
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/360904693637054467

But this is not just about the soul of the people as individuals: it's about the people as a nation, at the very fundamentals of democracy. Remember that you'll always find a minority who'd love to see Korea follow Japan's path and submit its whole political system to a tiny yet almighty anti-democratic force, to the risk of renouncing democracy altogether.

So this is not just about teaching History, but about doing it fairly. Korea doesn't need more twisted and biases takes at history, and we regularly come across these, be it in MB's Museum of Contemporary History, or in recent commemorations of the June Uprising.

Again, this President of the Republic of Korea has a historic opportunity to lead the region by example, and to expose impostors from all horizons starting by the ones who are undermining the nation from within. For that to happen, she must make sure her own familial history is properly and fairly taught at school.

Then she can ask the same to Mr. Abe with a resounding legitimacy, and ask the Korean people to resume its indispensable truth and reconciliation effort.


Seoul Village 2013
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* see "Report: since armistice signing, DMZ has shrunk by 43%" (he Hankyoreh - 130725)
** see previous episodes: "Shinzo Abe: an offensive Defense White Paper ahead of the elections... and Constitutional Revolution", followed by "To better bridge the gap between Japan, Korea, and China, let's measure the gap within Japan". And now "Japan Defense Paper Calls for Strengthened Military" (Chosun Ilbo 20130727)
*** a recurent theme on this excuse for a blog, see latest mention in the final paragraphs of "Teaching Geography - Dokdo Inside" (March 20, 2013), which allows me not to mention here that even more embarrassing pro-creationism episode... Not to mention today's news ("History ignored in classrooms" - Korean Times 20130726).

Am I My Hanok's Keeper? Peter E. Bartholomew's Defense and Illustration of Korean Architecture

Like many Westerners appalled by the hanok genocide in Korea, I'm often playing God blaming Cain ("Where's your hanok?" - "I don't know, am I my hanok's keeper?" - "What have you done? Listen! Your cultural heritage’s blood cries out to your lineage from the ground"). Of course, this gallic brat cockily ranting around is not only useless but undermining the cause.

Hopefully, the cause of hanok preservation did progress dramatically, thanks to voices that carried much more than sterile criticism: true love for Korean architecture only actual hanok's keepers could manifest. And "The Guardian of The Hanok" managed to bring change because he could reach both Korean authorities and the general public.

Last Tuesday, Peter E. Bartholomew faced a large and already won-over audience for his lecture organized by the Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch: "Catastrophic Losses of Korea's Architectural Heritage from 1910 and Continuing Today". He could have continued for days and much more this vibrant defense and illustration of Korean architecture.



Peter E. Bartholomew, a.k.a. The Guardian of Hanok


The "Guardian of the Hanok" started his love affair with Korea's traditional architecture in 1968, when he arrived from the States in Gangneung, Gangwon-do. For five years, Bartholomew stayed in Seongyojang, an amazing three-century-old residence which, still today, belongs to a former royal family. Emerging from a sea of lotus, here's the pavillion where a younger (and, judging by his own pictures, a hairier) Peter had his first experience of hanok restoration:

 

Bartholomew illustrated his exciting presentation of the science, aesthetics, philosophy, and poetry of hanok with hundreds of pictures covering all periods, styles, and regions, including from his own hanok in Dongsomun-dong, Seongbuk-gu, where he's been living for more than 30 years.

I will simply add this spectacular view over Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu for three reasons:




- First, it shows a key yet little known element of hanok architecture mentioned by Peter: the reddish layer of dense clay under the roof tiles, which are here about to be rearranged.
- Second, that's the opportunity to say hello to Robert J. Fouser: another great hanok keeper (just finishing his lovely home in Seochon), Robert recently wrote about this most charming but endangered neighborhood in Seoul Magazine (see "Seoul's Hanok Island: Unhyeongung Royal Residence and Ikseon-dong" and Robert Koehler's photographs)
- Third, it exposes at the same time the beauty, the strength, and the fragility of Korean architecture, as it is in the nude. Note the tile 'backbones' marking the roof lines, and the roof at the lower corner of the picture ("georgeous curves", would probably say "The Guardian of the Hanok").

Peter E. Bartholomew painted an impressive census of the 15 to 20,000 architectural treasures directly controlled by Korean administrations in 1910, from royal palaces to local governments or military compounds. He then told the sad story of annihilation. Not even one percent survived after three man-made tragedies: the Japanese occupation, the Korean war, and of course, the architectural and urban genocide that followed and still today continues.

This story became even more personal for him when he had to lead the resistance against the planned destruction of his neighborhood's last traditional houses. Bartholomew showed us the 2004 official document proving how hanoks were specifically targeted to pave the way for a major development across Dongsomun-dong. The group of hanok keepers managed to save the neighborhood - making many speculators unhappy -, and eventually won in court against the Seoul Metropolitan Government (an episode mentioned in "The Empress's Last Bang").

This decision of justice (and the media coverage it caused) was a defining moment in the fight for preservation: being associated to the destruction of hanok clearly became politically incorrect, and really bad PR at the international level, particularly following the global outcry over the mass destruction of hutongs ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics*. Sign of the times: Seoul mayor named the "Guardian of the Hanok" a honorary citizen the year following the battle in court.

If much pedagogy remains to be done to change mindsets, mainstream media are now more and more often documenting cases, serving the cause, and the perceived value of hanok has clearly evolved, even if that's not always a good thing (see "Stop The Hanok Genocide... And Stop Revival As Reenactment" or more recently "Build a hanok and they will come - Marketing impostures and genuine slow urbanism"). Maybe recurrent programs could help: in France, for instance, such TV programs as "Chefs d'oeuvres en peril" (1960s) or "La France defiguree" (1970s) helped raised public awareness. Preservation movements gained momentum, architectural treasures got saved, and ultimately more sustainable policies emerged.

Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration (cha.go.kr) and other organizations are already doing a lot for the architectural heritage, but there's an emergency to save treasures that are neither in protected areas nor under the spotlights.

Seoul Village 2013
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* NB: I'm pretty sure similar architectural tragedies are happening across Asia. Keepers of the world, unite?

---
ADDENDUM 20130331 - RASKB video of the conference:

TRCK : families of victims demand essential follow-up

As many feared (see "TRCK lost in translation or lost in transition ?"), Korea's excellent Truth and Reconciliation Commission appears to have been deliberately torpedoed during its final year. Feeling betrayed by this spectacular turnaround, families of victims issued the following statement :

"[Statement] Truth and Reconciliation Commission, light up the last conscience!!

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea has finished their investigation and has 5 months left to complete their term until this December. It will pass into history after fulfilling its 4-year mission as a governmental specialized agency.

At first, the TRC had been launched with nation-wide anticipation for conducting fact-finding investigation about the forbidden area of the past incidents in this society. However, that praise had turned to suspicion at the last stage of its term because of the following reasons.

After change of political regime, the TRC was reorganized with figures that are far from fact-finding. There had been even internal attempts to try to turn over the investigation result which the TRC had perseveringly made progress in until the middle and latter stage of its term. There had also been arbitrary decisions of the TRC.

Regardless of their political backgrounds, those disappointing results spontaneously remind us of what they had done in the past. It is unbelievable that the personnel from New Right, which is regarded to have a distorted view of history, conduct a truth and reconciliation task.

The New Right thinks Japanese Occupation period as a touchstone of modernized society in Korean history and worships Japan as an unforgettable benefactor who blessed our country. Moreover, they are the writing staff of <>, which directly challenges the traditional textbook. They even say they inherited a tradition of notorious ‘Iljinhoe’ in Japanese Occupation period. It is surely quite a sight how they treat our past incidents.

After Youngjo Lee, chairperson of the TRC, controlled the organization, what he has been repeating is that past decisions could be overturned, the commission decision is merely a judgment of majority of the commission members and the commission at that time made an impetuous decision. At the same time, he fools around the bereaved family by saying that the commission is putting forth its best effort to get the best result.

Until now when the investigation has ended, among all the accepted cases, 8,173 petitions are in relation to civilian massacres. 6,701 cases out of 8,173 were identified, 721 cases were dismissed, 445 were incompetent to proceed, and the rest is etc. Compared to the former chairpersons, the rate of dismission and incompetence is much higher. It is OK to say that the commission issued the indulgence to the former government of Seungman Lee.

Regarding damage due to the U.S military bombing, 56 cases out of 157 (35.6%) were decided to get investigated. After Youngjo Lee seized the power as head of TRC, decisions about those cases were delayed continuously and one or two days before time limit, a stack of cases were brought in to the committee of the whole. As a result, 101 cases were categorized as incompetent.

The former chairman Byungook Ahn said that even though the U.S. military needed to bomb, because bombardment without a proper civilian rescue act is clearly a breach of international humanitarian law and law of war, it is hard to evade the responsibility for the U.S. On the other hand, the current chairman Youngjo Lee takes a stance that the U.S bombing would not be legally problematic because intention or illegality was not proved with the criteria of urgent military necessity. If Lee’s parents or whole family were massacred by the bombing, he would not dare to say something which makes non-sense.

Although a great number of civilians died due to massacre by their own government and the U.S mistake, there seems to be no sense of guiltiness in the current government, which is quite surprising. As long as exist the current government which named the former Syngman Lee regime as a father of Korea’s founder and the board members of the TRC who flatter the current government, it seems to have a long way to recover the honor of victims who were butchered unfairly during the Korean war.

It is also worrisome about the contents of the final report which will be presented to the president at the end of this year. If the expression “regret”, which Japanese politician often uses, will be repeated, what is the point of the report?

Although it is late, we call upon staff of the TRC for awakening. For the very last period, we hope they recover the reputation of the civilian victims with their best effort.

In this sense, we urge them to recommend the government the followings. The government should give another chance to the bereaved family who has not applied for their inquiry. A Special Law of reparation and compensation for the bereaved family with an identified case should be enacted. An organization which discuss about excavation of missing corpse, laying the body in state, coming up the follow-up measures of the TRC should be launched. A memorial park and reconciliation foundation should be established.

When those measures are taken, it is a start to regain the impaired reputation of the victims and dry tears of the left family.

We sincerely hope that a great enlightenment of the TRC members becomes a sound of conscience and it be heard loud and clear.

July 23, 2010

Civilian victims of bereaved family union of Korean War
Chairman Wonrok Oh
Representatives Yonghae Yang, Jonghyun Kim, Gwangho Kim, Youngsun Seo, Joonpyo Jang, Namsoon Park, Taejoon Lee"

Sounds like actual "fair society", doesn't it ?

Seoul Village 2010

"6.25 and I"

Following their moving daily series of testimonies ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, Chosun Ilbo recently published "6.25 and I" ("나와 6.25" - 6.25전쟁 60주년 조선일보 특별기획 - ISBN 8991965008*).

Ordinary Korean citizen tell their own stories of pain and tragedies, but also of short but intense moments of simple joy. This series stimulated more testimonies from readers to their own families, contributing to the vast remembrance effort across the nation.

I hope this book will be translated some day. Its message is as often in this case universal.

And don't forget : only a few days left until the end of the "1950 Seoul - 6.25 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition".

Seoul Village 2010

* available at Kyobo Book Center

1950 Seoul - 6.25 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition

If Korean War was a nationwide tragedy, Seoul suffered more than its share of destruction as a prize changing hands four times during the conflict, its population constantly on the move, trying to flee battlefields or retaliations from new occupants.

Korean War started almost 60 years ago, on June 25th, 1950 - also known as "6.25".

North Koreans entered Seoul via Uijeongbu only two days later, and it took them two more to claim the capital city as their own. In the process, bridges over Han river were destroyed, leaving some ROK units caught on the wrong side. UN forces fought their way back in after Incheon Landing (Sept 15), allowing McArthur and Syngman Rhee to enter Seoul on September 29. The city fell again on January 3, 1951 (all the population leaving ahead of NK and Chinese troops - only 3,000 of Seoul's 130,000 citizens stayed), and was finally liberated two months later, on March 14. One month later, the flow of refugees (particularly from the North) pushed the population up to 320,000.

Seoul forged much of its modern identity during those crucial months, and Seoul Museum of History decided to focus on the year 1950 for its latest photo exhibition. As usual, the museum pay much attention to the daily lives of Seoul citizens, the memory of a people, the scars and hopes of a city. Propaganda is exposed as it was, not for a political agenda like in that awful exhibition at Cheonggyecheon. Meant for a Korean audience*, the exhibition is of course a must for everyone.


1950 Seoul - 6.25 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition
Seoul Museum of History - Special Exhibition Gallery B
20100617 ~ 20100808
50 Saemunan-gil / 2-1 Shinmunro-2-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 110-062
Phone : 120 (Dasan hotline)


Seoul Village 2010

* recent polls show that 33% couldn't tell the right year for 6.25, with of course significant differences depending on the age : "only" 24.5% of those over 50, 21.3% for those in their 40s, 24.4% for 30s, but an astonishing 47.4% for the 19 to 29 year olds.

Korean War : a photo exhibition at Cheonggyecheon

Don't get fooled by the UN flag : a highly conservative "freedom" movement is behind the photo exhibition on Cheonggyecheon Plaza which, instead of promoting peace and progress, too often radiates pure resentment and hatred.

Don't get me wrong :
- here is an interesting exhibition about key episodes of the Korean War (until March 18)
- that tragedy was started by the North
- Korea can thank the UN and all the countries who helped save not only half the peninsula, but also more than a few Northeners who refused to subscribe to Kim Il-sung's agenda (including NK POWs, who overwhelmingly opted for the South after 1953)

It's just that the not so subtle propaganda trickling down every other panel (along with a persistant rain that day) almost ruins the visit. And instead of Confucian wisdom and hope, the final message ("Never changed") exudes blind anger. It can be summed up like this : stop talking to North Koreans, they still want to get South Korea, and there will never be peace with such obtuse and stubborn people (I second that : peace is not likely to happen with this kind of dangerous ultra-radicals in Seoul to face that kind of dangerous ultra-radicals in Pyeongyang).

So it's a little bit like visiting Seodaemun Prison : you only have one side of the coin, a clumsily edited good v. evil, black-and-white fairyscarytale. There, you learn a lot about the horrors perpetrated for decades by Japanese torturers, but not one single word is written about the abuses that followed, perpetrated for many long years by the Korean government (as if you wrote the final book about Abu Ghraib without mentioning the post-Saddam mess). Here, you can expect many lyrical digressions about religion, but certainly not the full picture of a really nasty civil war (yeah, I know : all wars are nasty, and all civil wars are even nastier).

The only way to fix things and to prevent such tragedies from happening again is to promote truth and reconciliation, not to maintain obsolete propagandas and censorships. Praise the heroes yes, but please show some respect for innocent victims from all sides.

Ultra-conservatives will probably consider this exhibition a success because it exposes in the most direct fashion their basic points of view to the face of the world. Unfortunately for them, just like their attempt to silence the Truth and Reconciliation Commission*, this exhibition backfires and eventually exposes their imposture, sending the worst possible message to foreign visitors : not only North Korea is not changing, but some retrograde people in South Korea still refuse to see their own country become a great nation, and only manage to bring more shame upon themselves.

As a French citizen, I am very much humbled by the courage of countrymen who fought for peace and freedom in Korea, but ashamed to see the tricolore flag associated with such an agenda.

Seoul Village 2010

* see "TRCK lost in translation or lost in transition ?"

Binding praise for South Korea

The New York Times just delivered an important message to the world : "South Korea Admits Civilian Massacre During War" (20091127).

The message is not "South Korea committed civilian massacre during War" : that monstruous fact was already known as the National Guidance Alliance / Bodo League Massacre (보도연맹 사건).

The real message is : "South Korea is a great country and at peace with itself because it admits its past wrongdoings".

At last !*

Well... South Korea is almost there, but not there yet.

First, the journalist doesn't go all the way, and basically stops at the realization that the announcement from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (news conference last Tuesday, see also communique below**) "marked the first time a state investigative agency confirmed the nature and scale of what is known as "the National Guidance League Incident" _ one of the most horrific and controversial episodes of the 1950-53 war."

Second, and as we've seen before*, "a state investigative agency" is not exactly "South Korea", and for South Korea to really accept its status as a great country, the Korean Government has yet to fulfill its duties and prolong the fantastic job of the TRCK. What strikes the reader when he goes through this communique (and most previous communiques from the Commission) is of course the litany of horrors, but also the mantra at the end of each case :

The Commission recommended the government to issue an official apology, provide support for memorial services, revise official documents including the family registry, and strengthen peace and human rights-related education.
Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.
Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.
Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education
Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.
...
Of course, a South Korean president officially apologized for the state's illegal actions against civilian victims (the late Roh Moo-hyun on January 24, 2008), but each and every case has to be recognized and correctly dealt with. That's a long but indispensable process.

Third, this article exposes one side of one coin. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission re-establishes Truth for victims of pro-North as well as pro-South forces, Truth for victims of Japanese rule as well as Korean authoritarian regimes***... Furthermore, beyond Truth, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is promoting Reconciliation, in spite of limited support from the Government. I recently welcomed the news of a joint memorial for victims of all sides held in Naju, but others took place in Ulsan (precisely for Bodo League victims), Andong, Pyeongtaek...

Korea will be fully liberated when the reconciliation process is completed.

Tears will be shed, including tears from people who committed atrocities****... but yes, Reconciliation feels really good when everybody is there : in Andong, the Ministry of Defense did issue an official apology to the civilians who were killed there by the military and local police.

Forget about the 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul. This is President Lee Myung-bak's unique opportunity to shine at the global level : an Obamaesque "Change has come to Korea" would resonate for generations to come.


Seoul Village 2009

* see previous focuses on transitional justice in Korea (and recent changes in Japan) :
- "Joint Memorial in the Land of the Mourning Calm"
- "Truth and Reconciliation : which model for Korea ?"
- "A Common History"
- "President Lee, keep digging"

----

** TRCK's communique (Monday, November 23, 2009)

National Guidance Alliance (Bodo League)-related Massacres in the Gunwi, Gyeongju, and Daegu Regions - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission ascertained that at least 99 local residents in Gunwi, Gyeongju, and Daegu were massacred between July and August 1950 by the military and local police and CIC after being blacklisted or accused of being members of the National Guidance Alliance.

In July 1950, dispatched CIC forces and local policemen arrested and temporarily detained members of the National Guidance Alliance at local police stations or detainment centers. The detainees were categorized into three different groups before being transported to Naenam-myeon, Ubo-myeon, and Gunwi-gun and massacred.

The Commission recommended the government to issue an official apology, provide support for memorial services, revise official documents including the family registry, and strengthen peace and human rights-related education.

National Guidance Alliance-related Massacres in the Goryeong, Seongju, and Chilgok Regions in Jeonnam Province - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission found that a number of civilians were killed by the local police, military, CIC, and military police after being accused of cooperating with leftists or being a member of the National Guidance Alliance (NGA). The killings took place between July and August 1950 in the Goryeong, Seongju, and Chilgok-gun regions in Gyeongbuk Province .

NGA members were either arrested by local police or summoned to nearby police stations and detained. As North Korean troops advanced southward, the army and military police took custody of the detainees before killing them.

Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.

National Guidance Alliance-related Massacres in Miryang, Gyeongnam Province - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission ascertained that members of the National Guidance Alliance in the Miryang region were massacred by the local police and the Gyeongnam CIC between July and August 1950.

The victimized NGA members and those in preventive detention were forcefully confined to various warehouses before being executed in August 1950.

Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.

National Guidance Alliance-related Massacres in Yangsan, Gyeongnam Province - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission found that regional members of the NGA and those in preventive detention were killed by the local police and CIC forces between July and August 1950.

The victims were either forcefully arrested by the police or summoned to the police station where they were detained or transferred to nearby detainment centers before being executed in August 1950.

Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.

National Guidance Alliance-related Massacres in Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk Province - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission ascertained that in July 1950, approximately 270 regional NGA members and those held in preventive detention were illegally victimized by the military and police forces in Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk Province.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War, the 23rd Regiment of the 3rd Army and Yeongdeok Police were concerned that NGA members may collaborate with the North Korean People’s Army and sabotage operations behind the frontlines. In order to prevent this, the police and army executed the NGA members.

Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.

National Guidance Alliance-related Massacres in Busan and Sacheon - Verified on Sept. 8, 2009

The Commission found that the regional NGA members and those in preventive detention were killed by the Busan CIC and the military and local police between July and September 1950.

The NGA members in the Busan and Sacheon regions were forcefully arrested or summoned to local police stations where they were detained before being executed.

Hereby, the Commission recommended the government to officially apologize to the victims, support memorial services, revise the family registry and other historical records, and provide peace and human rights education.

www.jinsil.go.kr/english

*** note that abuses from Korean authoritarian regimes were not all ignored by their partners... and in at least one occasion a US representative sanctioned a massacre, as related here by Charles J. HANLEY (AP) :



**** like this "bujangnim" (Mr Chief), recalling the horror of a massacre :

Joint Memorial in the Land of the Mourning Calm

Dado-myeon, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do : a place like many others.

Here too, many people died during the Korean War. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea established the sad score at 176-104 in "favor" of Southern officials against communists.

The Hankyoreh related this morning ("Commemorating victims of the Korean War" - Hankyoreh 20091116) how last Friday, 200 residents overcame old resistances to commemorate, all together, all victims in a joint memorial service.

The journalist quoted a spokesperson who had these words of wisdom : "We think that the victims would wish for their descendents to strengthen the community through forgiveness and cooperation".

There is no better way of looking towards the future : assessing the past, accepting it, recognizing all victims, respecting their memories, curing anger and bitterness by embracing reconciliation.

Dado-myeon, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do : a place like many others.

For one day capital of reunited Korea, and forever in our hearts.


Seoul Village 2009

* see "Truth and Reconciliation : which model for Korea ?"


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ADDENDUM 20091103

A few more joint memorials (source TRCK) :

20091017 - Joint Memorial Service for Civilian Victims in the Ganghwa and Gyodong-do Region
The joint memorial service for civilian victims in the Ganghwa and Gyodong-do regions was held on October 17, 2009. Sponsored by the regional bereaved family association (Representative Seo Young-seon), the memorial ceremony was prepared to console the spirits of the dead who were killed around the time of the January 4th Retreat in 1951. From the Commission’s investigation last March, the 183 civilian victims who were identified were honored at this ceremony. The 5th regiment chief of the Jeonjin Marine Corps, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Defense, Kim Tae-young, said in his memorial address, “We, the military of the nation, will put forth our utmost effort to protect the lives and the property of the people, and the findings of these investigations will be our lessons from the past.”

20091019 - Unveiling Ceremony of the Yeosun Incident Memorial Statue
On October 19, 2009, a memorial service was held in front of the Yeosun Incident Memorial Statue in the city of Yeosu . The ceremony was attended by some 100 people including civil activists, bereaved families, etc. The statue was erected to commemorate the incident, which took place 60 years ago. It bears a detailed engraving that describes the brutal truth of the incident.

20091020 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims of the Yeosun Incident
Commemorating the 61st anniversary of the Yeosun Incident, some 150 people including bereaved family members, gathered in a field at Suncheon Palma Gymnasium on October 20, 2009. During the ceremony, a memorial service for 439 civilian victims, who were identified through the Commission’s investigation, was held. For the first time, the government subsidized the cost of the memorial service due to the Commission’s case report.
The regiment chief of Suncheon 95th Regiment spoke on behalf of the Ministry of Defense when he said in his memorial address, “It is fortunate to console the spirits of the victims and restore their honor. Our army will put forth our utmost effort to protect the lives and the property of the people, and thus, meeting a high expectation placed upon my shoulders.”
Additionally, he said, “It was fortunate that the Commission’s truth verification was publicized to restore the honor of the victims and their families. Taking this as an exemplary case, the army will do our best to protect the lives and the property of the victims in order to meet the expectations of the people.”

20091021 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims in the Haenam Region
The joint memorial ceremony for civilian victims in the Haenam region was held on October 21, 2009. Approximately 150 people attended the ceremony, including Kim Dong-choon, the Commission’s standing commissioner; Im Tae-hwan, a representative of the Pan-national Civilian Massacre Victims’ Association; and Kim Chil-seong, a police chief of the Haenam Police.
The ceremony began with the opening remarks of Choi Myung-jin, an anchor for the Christian Broadcasting Station, and also a representative of the National Bereaved Family Association. This was followed by a ritual dance for the dead, an introduction of the Commission’s investigation, and the dictation of memorial addresses by Kim Dong-choon, the Commission’s standing commissioner, and the regional police chief.

20091022 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims in the Wando RegionThe joint memorial ceremony for civilian victims in the Wando region was held on October 22, 2009. Approximately 400 attendees were present at the ceremony, including Kim Dong-choon, the Commission’s standing commissioner; Oh Won-rok, a chairperson of the National Bereaved Family Association of Civilian Victims; Kim Jong-sik, the governor of Wando-gun; and Kim Jae-seok, the police chief of the Wando Coast Guard. The memorial ceremony was comprised of a funeral ritual and traditional ritual dance, a report introducing the investigation process at the Commission, a memorial poem reading, and a flower offering.

20091023 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims in the Yeosu and Suncheon Regions
The joint memorial ceremony for civilian victims in the Yeosu and Suncheon regions was held on October 23, 2009. Some 150 attendees were present at the ceremony including bereaved family members. A traditional funeral ritual for the victims was followed by memorial addresses, a narration of memorial poems, and a flower offering.

20091031 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims in the Pyeongtaek Region
A joint memorial ceremony for civilian victims in the Pyeongtaek region was held on October 31, 2009. Approximately 100 people attended the event. The ceremony included a reading of the memorial statement, traditional funeral rituals, a presentation on the Commission’s investigation results, a flower offering, etc. Unable to attend the ceremony, Kang Hee-rak, the police chief of the Korean National Police Agency and Ahn Byung-ook, the president of the Commission, sent their memorial addresses to the ceremony. These addresses were based on the findings of the Commission’s investigation of ‘Civilian Massacre in Pyeongtaek Cheongbuk-myeon Region.’

20091104 - Joint Memorial Service for Victims Related to the National Guidance Alliance Incidents in Ulsan Region
A joint memorial ceremony for victims of the National Guidance Alliance was held on Nov. 4, 2009, in Ulsan. Approximately 500 people attended the ceremony, including Song Ki-in, the former president of the TRCK; Park Maeng-woo, the city mayor of Ulsan; Yun Myung-hee, the chairperson of the Ulsan City Council; etc. In his memorial statement, Park stated that the Ulsan National Guidance Alliance Incident was such a horrible atrocity beyond description due to the massive victimization of civilians by the state. He found it fortunate that people could gather on that day to console the spirits of the dead.
The Commission verified that 407 registered members of the National Guidance Alliance were shot to death by the state power in August 1950. This was the first time the National Guidance Alliance Register was publicized. On January 24, 2008, the former president of the Republic of Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, officially apologized for the state’s illegal action against civilian victims.

20091105 - Joint Memorial Ceremony for Civilian Victims of the Andong Region
A joint memorial ceremony for civilian victims in the Andong region was held on November 5, 2009. Hosted by the regional bereaved family association, some 150 attendees paid their honor and respect to the victims. The attendees included Kim Dong-choon, the standing commissioner of the TRCK; Kim Hwi-dong, Andong City Mayor; Yoo Seok-woo, the chairperson of the Andong City Council; etc.
The event included a traditional funeral ceremony, a ritual ceremony, a spiritual funeral performance, and a flower offering. The Ministry of Defense issued an official apology to the civilians who were killed in Andong City by the military and local police. The Commission identified 64 victims.

President Lee, please keep digging

War is always a tragedy, and civil war always an even dirtier mess. Korean War was no exception, with infamous abuses from all sides of the conflict.

Under Roh Moo-hyun's watch, Korea decided to get the record straight and face its own troubled past. An independant commission had to be set up for the task : The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic Of Korea (TCRK)*.

That was a noble and courageous step forward, necessary to secure the future of democracy. And the ultranationalists who denounce the Commission and keep lobbying against it are actually undermining Korea as a nation. They don't like to hear about previously taboo topics (such as Gwangju Massacre), but I guess they would love to see Japan taking the same sound and courageous steps regarding its own history...

These extremists may be winning (and thus Korea losing), because the mandate for the commission set up for the task is unlikely to be renewed later this year. I learned the shocking news from CHOE Sang-hun's essential paper about Korean War secrets in today's NYT / IHT**.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission ** is doing a terrific job, confirming 50 mass killings of civilians, locating 168 mass graves, and on the way to recovering the remains of 1,700 civilians by April 2010.

Along with sad cases from Goyang and Gwangamri***, the journalist brought up this very true comment from Heonik Kweon : "what South Korea now does with these ruins of the 20th century will surely have huge implications on how the country will define its identity in the new century and its moral standing in the regional and world community".

So President Lee, leave Korean greenbelts alone, but please keep digging for truth, even if it's inconvenient, and particularly if it's inconvenient.

And in the unfortunate event of a rebuke, I hope some whealthy citizens will keep this essential quest afloat.


SM - Seoul Village 2009

* The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic Of Korea (jinsil.go.kr) :

Under the Framework Act on Clearing up Past Incidents for Truth and Reconciliation, the Commission’s purpose is to foster national legitimacy and reconcile the past for the sake of national unity by honoring those who participated in anti-Japanese movements and exposing the truth by investigating incidents regarding human rights abuses, violence, and massacres occurring since Japanese rule to the present time, specifically during the nation’s authoritarian regimes.

** "Korea Investigates Atrocities in Race Against Time" (New York Times 20090904)

*** judging by the map I guess that's Gwangam-ri in Illo-eup, Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do. That's the point I'll position on the map.