[Letter to the Editor]
Response to 'Real culprits of Nogun-ri'
Jessica Y. Ko, Seoul
Korea Herald
February 2, 2001"Facts are facts." The Nogun-ri situation is reminiscent of all U.S. military action in Asia for the past century. The North Koreans may be blamed for breaching international laws on warfare (by pretending to be civilians), but their actions were not new to history, nor were they illegal.
North Korea never signed the Geneva Convention; therefore the laws conducting warfare did not apply to them. Hence, North Korea's atrocious actions during the Korean War, such as the massive killings of captured American and South Korean POWs, which is considered a breach of the convention, was never fully prosecuted.
North Korea's tactics were also not particularly clever in terms of warfare strategies. Disguise, surprise, and attack have been methods used in warfare since its very beginnings. Though a bit inhumane, considering that by disguising himself as a civilian the soldier may place other civilians in danger, it is not wrong or extremely amoral. We are speaking of war, remember.
American participation in the Korean War is not unlike its participation in Asia throughout the past century, especially Vietnam. This is not to say that their involvement here is right or wrong, for that is another issue, but it points strongly at one thing - culture. Still to this day, many foreigners experience "culture shock" when arriving in Asia. Fifty years ago, it was no different. Many of the American soldiers fighting the Korean War were young and poorly trained. South Korean soldiers may have been in the same condition, but they at least had the ability to detect a northern accent when needed. The bottom line is this, as it also happened in Vietnam, American soldiers were unable to detect one good "gook" from another, especially when they hid themselves among refugees.
The Nogun-ri situation is not one in which we need to find culprits. It is one in which we need acknowledgement and remembrance for the Korean civilians who died at Nogun-ri and for the nation of Korea.
American soldiers made a mistake. They mistook civilian refugees as North Korean soldiers in disguise. It is as simple as that. The cover-up and refusal to apologize, however, complicated the matter. Though North Korea and South Korea have started to open their doors to each other, they are still political enemies. You don't expect to hear apologies from enemies. America, on the other hand, as Korea's ally in the past and present, should apologize for their mistake - as a good friend should. If South Korean soldiers, as allies to the Americans, mistakenly shot American civilians in a battle fought on U.S. soil, Americans would want the same.