Still technically at war

By Park Moo-jong

Tomorrow is the 66th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, but dubbed "June 25 War" by South Koreans.

The fratricidal conflict, however, is not over unfortunately.

The divided Korean peninsula is still technically at war with no peace treaty between the North and the South.

Under an armistice agreement between North Korea and the United Nations, not between the two Koreas, the tragic war that cost as many as 3 million won lives is still unfinished.

Sixty-six years have passed since the North Korean communists, supported by the then Soviet Union, invaded the South with Soviet-made tanks in the lead on that early "peaceful" morning, otherwise, of June 25, 1950.

Not to forget the communists' act of brutality, we used to sing the "Song of June 25" on that day until the 1970s.

The song, created in 1952, by composer Kim Dong-jin and poet Park Tu-jin, begins: "Ah, ah, can we forget? How can we dare forget the day, the very day when the enemy overran the fatherland......"

Yes, we cannot and should not forget the day. But how about now?

The song has been seldom heard for the past four decades. Except for senior citizens mostly over 60, few know the song.

Those who were born after the terrible day have no memory of the horrible conflict. They know of that June only through their parents, teachers and history books.

As times go by, the tragic war is fading away from the memory of the people, except for those who experienced it, namely those over 66.

People over 65 make up only 13 percent or 6.5 million of the total population of about 50 million as of the end of 2015.

In other words, only 13 out of one hundred people have a memory of the war, though vaguely. It means that June 25 is just a concept to 87 percent of the 50 million people in the South.

The June 25 War has been already forgotten by most South Koreans, even if they face every day one of the most hostile enemies in the world just 40 km north of their capital city of Seoul with a 10 million population.

More serious is the stark reality that the growing generation has little knowledge of the tragic war that totally devastated their land before they were born due to the poor history education at schools.

Even many of young people doubt North Korea started the war, apparently because of distorted history education as falsely claimed by some pro-North Korea and progressive scholars, politicians and activists.

On the "Korean War Veterans Memorial" erected in Washington D.C. on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice is an inscription: "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."

How can they say that they "defended" South Korea, if the country started the aggressive war.

U.S. President Barrack Obama gave a speech to the U.S. soldiers stationed in Yongsan base, about the historical significance of the Korean War when he visited Seoul to attend the G20 Summit Seoul in 2010.

He said, "Because the Korean War ended where it began geographically, some used the phrase 'Die for a Tie' to describe the sacrifice of those who fought here. But as we look around at this thriving democracy and its grateful, hopeful citizens, one thing is clear: This was no tie. This was a victory. It was a victory then, and it is a victory today."

The U.S. President said it was a "victory." If the Korean War was started by South Korea to unify the divided peninsula and the U.S. joined such an invasion, he could not say it was a victory in a war that ended in a ceasefire at the border where the war began.

The expression of victory means that they successfully defended the territory of the Republic of Korea and guarded democracy from invaders.

How could the United Nations and a total of 67 countries help South Korea, if the then small country in Asia provoked the terrible war?

History shows the truth. In spite of the historical facts about the war, the pro-North Korean groups in our society are desperate to brainwash the growing generation with their false and absurd theories and claims.

They are even raising doubt about the outcome of an international investigation of the Cheonan warship incident in 2010 that found that the South Korean navy boat was sunk in the West Sea, killing 48 seamen, by a North Korean torpedo fired by a midget submarine.

How about the situation of today?

The North has been stepping up its quest for nuclear prowess despite its poor economy with the launching of various types of missiles against mounting international criticism and sanctions.

The reality is that the North is ceaselessly threatening the South by using almost every kind of curse, for example saying, ''we will terminate Cheong Wa Dae and turn Seoul into a sea of fire...."

The "most” serious thing is that we, the South Koreans, are getting immune to such threats, including the development of weapons of mass destruction, while wasting time on useless ideological conflicts.

Now is the time for us to make every effort first to help the groups that have caused ideological disputes and political and social unrest, though belatedly, face up to the reality on the peninsula.

More dreadful is internal conflict than the North Korean threats.

Park Moo-jong is the advisor of The Korea Times. He had served as president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after he had worked as reporter of the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojong@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com.