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Promising News from the Korean Peninsula
By
Bob Orrick
Fifty-two years after 90,000 North Koreans invaded South Korea at 4 a.m. on June 25, 1950 and almost fifty years since the cease fire between the United Nations Force and the Chinese and North Korean Communists was signed at Panmunjom, a few Koreans were allowed to see relatives not seen since before that June 25th day. In today's world of news that is anything but encouraging, the reports out of Seoul are like bright lights in a dark sky; they shine with brilliance, and with that brilliance, comes hope.
According to a report filed by Reuters and datelined Seoul, the two countries agreed "to begin clearing mines along their border and to set up a military hotline to smooth work on a re-linking railways as separated families ended three days of reunions." Two points to be considered: one, the railways that run north and south have been severed for half a century, and two, the reunion of families. It is hard, I believe, for Canadians to imagine how difficult life has been for some Korean families who have not seen their kinfolk for more than fifty years; yet live but a few miles apart.
Back in the dark days of the Korean War, the United Nations naval and air force bombarded and bombed the eastern railway that connected the North and South Koreas. The eastern railway ran close to the shore and became a favourite target for the ships and airplanes. It was not always easy to hit a moving train. The Communists would stop in a tunnel, build up steam, release the brakes and then swoosh across a narrow gap before entering another tunnel where the process would be repeated. The railway and the trains that used it posed a threat to the UN Force because it was the primary supply route from the north and China. Cut the supply and you cut the means to continue to wage war. The price the UN paid for shelling and bombing the railway was downed aircraft and struck ships. For Canada, HMCS Iroquois took a direct hit on 'B' gun mount; two died instantly - one officer and one rating - and several others were injured, some seriously. The dead are buried in the Yokohama British Commonwealth War Cemetery, Japan along with 22 other Canadians who died fighting communism half a century ago. In all, Canada gave 516 of her sons to the Korean War.
The Reuters story mentions reunions between members of families split apart by the war. Perhaps more than any other communist regime, North Korea exercised a stranglehold over its citizens and forbade them to have any contact with outsiders, family members or not. All outside news was censored, the television stations carried but one message - the United States started the War - and radios were able to receive only one signal, the government's propaganda station.
Lin Paik of British Columbia served in the Republic of Korea navy and saw service during the Korean War. In 1967, he and his wife emigrated to Canada. About five years ago, he told this story.
"About every five years, my wife and I go back to Korea for a visit. One time we returned my wife went to Pyongyang, North Korea to visit with her sister. She had not seen nor even heard from her since 1945. My wife was permitted a two-week visit, but was allowed only three nights to be with her sister at her home. The rest of the time was spent sightseeing and looking at many, many hundreds of statues of Kim il Sung. My sister was told that communism is best."
"During the visit, my wife talked to her sister about the Korean War. She said that it was a Sunday and that everybody was at church when the North Korean communists attacked the South. Her sister told her, 'No, no, never say that again!' This is how conditioned the North Korean people are. Their government won't let the people know the truth. The North Korean people can't hear anything, can't learn anything. There is only one television channel and that is controlled by the government. Radios are fixed so that only one station can be heard. My wife was not pleased about that."
"My wife was only allowed to stay three nights with her sister. The government didn't want them to be together for longer than that because my wife may tell her sister about how things are outside North Korea and change her mind. The rest of the time my wife stayed in a hotel; so my wife complained to the government and said that she wanted to see her sister. My wife told the North Korean government that she would announce this policy to the Canadians when she got home to Canada. Then, they allowed her sister to come to the hotel, but only during the daytime. After not seeing each other for fifty years, to have only three days together. It is incredible what the communists will do to a family."
"One other thing, they watch each other; even husband and wife watch each other. If one or the other notices any change in attitude, they must report it to the government. It is exactly the same thing that went on in Germany in the 1930s."
"My wife's sister can't leave North Korea; she can't go. She was born in Seoul [South Korea] and went to school there, then married a fellow from the north. She moved north with him. When the Korean War started, she had to stay in North Korea although her husband was not in the army."
That quotation was excerpted from Indelible Memories -Canadian sailors in Korea 1950-55, subtitled A retrospective look at the Korean War.
Communist hard-liner, Kim il Sung died at age 82 years in July 1994 of an apparent heart attack. His son, Kim Jong-il, assumed the leadership of the government. Apparently, he is not as hard-line as his late father was, and that bodes well for the reunion of families and the two countries.
In all, sixteen combatant countries answered South Korea's plea for help and an additional five sent medical aid. In alphabetical order the combatant countries were: Australia, two infantry battalions, naval forces, one fighter squadron; Belgium, one infantry battalion, air transport; Canada, one reinforced infantry brigade, naval forces, one squadron of transport aircraft in addition 22 RCAF pilots flew with the U.S. Fifth Air Force, dry cargo vessels [10,000 tons] and facilities of Canadian Pacific Airline between Vancouver and Tokyo; Colombia, one infantry battalion, one naval frigate; Ethiopia, one infantry battalion; France, one infantry battalion; Greece, one infantry battalion, transport aircraft; Luxembourg, one infantry company; Netherlands, one infantry regiment, naval forces; New Zealand, one artillery regiment, naval forces; Philippines, one infantry battalion, one company of tanks; South Africa, one fighter squadron; Thailand, one infantry battalion, naval forces, air naval transport; Turkey, one infantry brigade; the United Kingdom, two reinforced infantry brigades, naval forces, two squadrons of Sunderland flying boats, supply vessels and one hospital ship; and the United States, three army corps and one marine division both with supporting elements, naval forces, air forces with supporting elements, air transport, supply vessels and large scale hospital facilities. And, of course, South Korea with its armed forces. The non-combatant countries were: Denmark, India, Italy, Norway and Sweden.
So, the news that the relationship between the two Koreas seems to be improving, is good news indeed!
Bob is hoping that readers will take the time to think about his column to the extent that they may decide to send an email to syears@senioryears.com and comment, either positively or negatively about what they have read. We will display letters at Talking Back to Bob.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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