In Korea, Vietnam War revisited quietly

By Sah Dong-seok

Korean soldiers’ atrocities against civilians during the Vietnam War are an inconvenient truth. However, while death is to be expected in every war, given its cruel nature, such alleged massacres by Koreans are unacceptable.

Korea sent more than 300,000 soldiers to fight in Vietnam, the second-largest foreign delegation after the United States’. During that time, about 50,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and guerillas known as the Viet Kong were killed, compared to only nearly 5,000 Korean troops who died in action.

Although these figures have long been available to the public, there are no official statistics for the Vietnamese civilians massacred by Korean soldiers. However, a series of special reports, done largely by progressive media outlets, has revealed that about 9,000 Vietnamese civilians were massacred in nearly 80 separate instances by the Koreans during their nine-year presence in the country.

While these figures are hard to verify, Vietnamese people believe it to be true ― they’ve erected 50 to 60 so-called “monuments of hatred” across the country condemning Koreans’ alleged brutality.

In April, two survivors of the massacres visited Korea to testify against the Koreans’ wartime atrocities for the first time. During their weeklong stay, they gave vivid, first-hand accounts of the tragedies that befell them, their families and their neighbors. News outlets here turned a blind eye toward their horrific experiences and thus, hardly ever reported them.

One of the two survivors, Nguyen Tan Lan, 64, testified that 65 residents in his village, including his mother and sister, were killed during Korean troops’ search of houses on Feb. 15, 1966. He himself suffered grenade shrapnel wounds in his lower body that still cause him pain.

There have been allegations that Korean soldiers had to search Vietnamese villages and kill civilians indiscriminately because American service members did not want to do it themselves, but such claims have never been verified.

In the years since, there has been little discussion of the actions of the Koreans during the war. The late President Kim Dae-jung, during his visit to Vietnam in 1998, only said he felt “sorry for the unintended suffering caused to the Vietnamese people” during the Cold War era. Like his predecessor, liberal President Roh Moo-hyun stopped short of offering a direct apology, only saying “debt exists in the hearts of the Korean people” during his 2004 visit.

The Hanoi government has never officially raised the issue of the civilian massacres with Seoul, probably because many Vietnamese people believe they won the war against the U.S., the most powerful country in the world, and Korea was not a major adversary. Or, perhaps, the Vietnamese government is thinking strategically ― it might be best to wait before raising such a sensitive issue, given that the country badly needs Korean investment to develop the economy. Why ask for trouble when the victims are demanding neither apology nor compensation?

“Couldn’t be better” may be the best phrase to describe the current relationship between Seoul and Hanoi, especially in terms of investment and trade. Last year, Korea was the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with $7.3 billion, ahead of Japan. Last year, their bilateral trade surpassed $30 billion for the first time, a surge of more than 60 times from the $490 million recorded in 1992 when they were just beginning to restore diplomatic ties. Trade is expected to grow even more with their free trade agreement taking effect by the end of the year.

Since 2009, the diplomatic relationship between the two countries has evolved from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic cooperative partnership. About 130,000 Koreans are now residing in Vietnam and 120,000 Vietnamese in Korea. Of these Vietnamese, 50,000 are married to Koreans.

Seoul and Hanoi have a lot in common, having experienced colonial occupation, national division, war and Confucianism. As neighbors, they need each other politically, economically and culturally. Thus, it would make sense for Korea to stop running from its past with Vietnam just because it’s inconvenient and to issue a genuine apology; this year, which marks the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, might be a suitable time.

Of course, not everyone agrees that Korea should apologize, especially when Vietnam is not asking it to do so. However, taking the initiative to reconcile with the Vietnamese people on a timely occasion can help both countries to move forward together, unlike in the case of Korea and Japan.

Civilian massacres are a cold-blooded reality of war; at the time, Korea had valid reasons to send combatants to Vietnam, including a sense of obligation to help a key ally, the U.S. But it doesn’t mean that we should avoid apologizing for our misdeeds. After all, the blood, sweat and tears of Korean troops in Vietnam laid the foundation for Korea’s “Miracle on the Han River.”

Further, Korea’s proactive approach toward improving relations with Vietnam just might inspire Japan to do the same for its own wartime atrocities.

The writer is the executive editor of The Korea Times. Contact him at sahds@ktimes.com.