Cheonan remembered with hope of peace
Family members of the 46 fallen sailors from the warship Cheonan attend a ceremony at Daejeon National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the sinking of the ship, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Kim Jae-won
Citizens expressed a variety of views on the third anniversary of the sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, with some asking for further diplomatic engagement with North Korea while others called for stern measures to be taken.
The Cheonan sank off the country’s west coast on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. An international investigation led by the government here concluded that the vessel was attacked by a North Korean torpedo fired from a midget submarine.
“The incident is heartbreaking because so many personnel died on duty. Both Koreas should continue to have talks to build trust and reconciliation,” said Song Ki-dal, 65, a service worker in Daegu.
However, Baek Kyung-jong, 56, a small business operator, said he feels anxious about the current situation between the two Koreas and wanted the government to take stern measures against the North.
“The Park Geun-hye government failed to show a proper response against the North’s provocation. It is crucial that the Park administration should take steps to give us greater confidence that we are in a safe situation,” he said.
“If this uncertain predicament continues, no one can say that something like the tragedy which happened three years ago won’t occur again,” he added.
Park Myung-duk, 70, former high school principal, stressed the importance of security and called for strong countermeasures to be taken against the North’s provocations.
“Security should come first, whatever the cost we have to pay even if that means a preemptive war on the Korean Peninsula. I regret that the lackluster policy of the former governments enabled the North to go out of control.”
Experts say that the Cheonan incident underscored that keeping peace is one of the most urgent issues in the country.
“It is a reminder and a lesson in how important easing the tension on the Korean Peninsula is at a time when inter-Korean relations are at a very low ebb with Pyongyang pushing more provocations,” said Paik Hak-soon, a senior researcher at Sejong Institute.
“The South and the North should start engaging in dialogue to prevent the current situation from exacerbating.”
Some young people doubt the results of the investigation into the cause of the Cheonan’s sinking. They criticized the inquiry and asked for better strategies to be drawn up in the event of future incidents.
“The government should have been much more transparent in its investigation of the cause as well as of their plan to prevent or respond to similar tragedies occurring in the future,” said Choi Jung-hwan, 24, an employee in the information technology industry.
Hong Chan-moon, 25, a student at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said that North Korea seeks to gain leverage in negotiations through such provocations, but that this won’t be realized.
“Such events are only escalatory and will not help them (North Korea) achieve whatever they aim to gain at the negotiation table.”