Citizens pay tribute to fallen soldiers

By Lee Hyo-sik

Military commanders, politicians, government officials and thousands of citizens paid tribute Wednesday to two fallen Marines — Sgt. Seo Jeong-woo, 22, and Pvt. Moon Gwang-wuk, 20, who were killed on Yeongpyeong Island Tuesday as a result of North Korea’s sudden artillery attack.

A memorial altar for the two has been set up at the Armed Forces Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. In cyberspace, tens of thousands of Internet users have been posting comments on the personal homepages of the dead soldiers. Twitter and other online social media were overrun with messages expressing condolences to the bereaved family members and friends.

Mourners condemned North Korea’s attack, which also killed two civilians and wounded 16 other soldiers, on the island situated near the disputed western border and called on the government to take stern military and other action to punish those responsible for the provocation.

The bodies of the two fallen soldiers were flown by military helicopter to the Armed Forces Hospital.

The memorial alter has been open to the public since 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, with a group of retired Marines becoming the first to pay tribute to the dead soldiers and hundreds of soldiers and citizens followed throughout the day.

Politicians, including Chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party Sohn Hak-kyu, also paid their respects to the deceased and consoled bereaved family members. About 50 bereaved family members of the two dead soldiers have been greeting mourners.

Family members have refused to hold funeral proceedings for Seo and Moon, demanding the military manage the deceased in a more respectful manner and fully explain how and where the two soldiers were killed.

According to the Marines, Seo left the base Tuesday for his last vacation. But he had to return to the post, following the North’s attack on the island. He was killed on his way back.

A day earlier, he wrote a message on his homepage that he wanted to go on vacation as scheduled, hoping the weather is good enough for the ferry to operate normally between Yeongpyeong and Incheon.

One of Seo’s family member said he died for his country. “I am really sorry for the young man who would have had a bright future ahead of him.”

A relative of Moon also said he always wanted to become a Marine. “It is just unbelievable that such a horrible thing happened to him only three months after he joined the force. My heart is broken into thousands of pieces. But I cannot imagine how heartbroken his parents must be.”

One Twitter user wrote, saying the parents of the two dead soldiers must be deeply saddened. “I hope there will be no more undue sacrifice of such innocent lives.”