The Heroes of Korea [Photo Essay Contest]
The Korea JoongAng Daily hosted its first photo essay contest for elementary, middle and high school students on the theme: “Promote the beauty of Korea to foreign countries." The contest ran from October to November. Photos containing scenes of traditional culture, family love, places to see and tasty treats in Korea were submitted for the contest.
Jacob Min-Jae Kim from Seoul International School won the bronze prize in the elementary school category for this photo essay.
Has someone ever claimed your favorite toy as theirs even though you have marked your name on it with a permanent marker? How would you feel if your neighbor suddenly said that you need to move out of your house because it is no longer yours but theirs? Well, for many decades, Japan has wrongfully claimed Dokdo as their island. For as long as Korea has existed, Dokdo has as well. Dokdo is to Korea as Hawaii is to the United States. There are Korean people who have protected Dokdo from Japan. They are the heroes of Korea, and they are also the definition of beauty of Korea.
Dokdo is a name given to a group of islands off the coast of Ulleung Island.There are two main islands and 30 smaller rocks that make up Dokdo. After the Japanese colonization of Korea,Japan established sovereignty over all of Korea. However, Japanese rule ended on August 15, 1945. Since then, there has been an ongoing dispute over Dokdo islands. Japan says that it is theirs by giving the name “Takeshima”. Korea says that the islands have been theirs since ancient times. Currently, Dokdo is under the protection of the Korean miltary. This was made possible because of the heroes who protected the islands from being overtaken by Japan.
The first of the heroes is by the name of Soon Chil Hong. He is a general in the military who organized the Dokdo Voluntary Guard in 1953 in the midst of the Korean War. He knew that Japan would try to take over Dokdo when everyone else would be busy fighting in a war. So, he sold all of his belongings and bought guns and
other arms to protect Dokdo from being invaded by Japan. His efforts worked, because Japan could not take over the islands at that time. The ship that they sent to overtake Dokdo islands actually reverted back to Japan after the Dokdo Voluntary Guard shot several gun fires and bombs at the Japanese ships that tried to invade the island. This was the last attempt by Japan to physically take over Dokdo. After this incident, Hong and his people returned back home to Ulleung Island.
The second of the heroes is by the name of Jong Deok Choi. He is the first registered resident of Dokdo. This means that Dokdo is his permanent home. Living in Dokdo is not easy because there’s no convenient store, school, hospital, or even a neighbor nearby. But for Choi, he was actually the first and only resident on this island at the time. He made Dokdo his home from March 1965 until his death in 1987. His address was 67 Mountain, Dodong-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung County, North Gyeongsan province. Now, more than 2,000 people have registered their address on this island. If it weren’t for Jong Deok Choi’s bravery, Dokdo may still have been an uninhabited island. This would have been easier for Japan to claim the island as theirs.
Korea is a very beautiful country because of the heroes who have fought hard to protect it from being overtaken by other countries. The heroes in the past have given up the comforts of their homes to fight for Dokdo so that we can enjoy freedom and liberty. In my opinion, the beauty of Korea lies with these heroes.
By Jacob Min-Jae Kim, Seoul International School
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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