Remembering the 55 warriors in the Yellow Sea

Kim Oh-bok
The author is a member of the policy advisory committee of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and mother of late Sergeant Seo Jeong-woo, killed in the Yeonpyeong Island battle.

March 22 is the ninth West Sea Defense Day. The government has held commemorative ceremonies on the fourth Friday of every March since 2016 in memory of the 55 warriors who died in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, the Cheonan’s sinking and the shelling in Yeonpyeong Island, elevating security awareness and strengthening determination to protect the nation.

I am heartbroken around this time of year as a mother of one of the 55 soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country in the West Sea. As everyone remembers, North Korea’s provocations continued even after the 1950-53 Korean War. Six people were killed in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in June 2002 after North Korea’s violation of the Northern Limit Line.

Forty-six more Korean soldiers were killed on March 26, 2010, when North Korea attacked and sank the ROKS Cheonan during patrol. North Korea bombarded Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 of the same year, killing two soldiers and two civilians, and it was no different from a war.

Awooden mine buried by North Korea near the demilitarized zone exploded on Aug. 4, 2015, a, costing two sergeants their legs. In June 2023, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration promoted the Patriots and Veterans Affairs Agency to Seoul’s Veterans Ministry in order to better remember the heroes who sacrificed for the country and spread a culture of respect.

I’ve had to spend my son’s birthday without him for the past 14 years while resenting North Korea’s provocations since the late Sergeant Seo Jeong-woo was killed on Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. I visited his grave at the Daejeon National Cemetery during the holidays and lived in pain. With the promotion of the Veterans Ministry, I hoped the culture of respecting veterans and protecting heroes would spread regardless of political differences.

However, rather than protecting the honor of young soldiers who were sacrificed, some are rubbing salt on the wounds of veterans. In August 2023, I heard that Gwangju was building a park to honor Jeong Yul-seong, a war criminal who composed songs for the North Korean and Chinese forces. I have been campaigning against that park.

While North Korea’s provocations and threats continued at the beginning of the year, I was shocked to hear the opposition leader saying that hostile actions should cease. “We must try not to undermine the efforts of our predecessors and North Korean leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il Sung,” he said. The bereaved families of the 55 Yellow Sea warriors and surviving soldiers were furious as Kim Il Sung, who started the Korean War, and Kim Jong-il, who led nuclear development, were glorified as pacifists.

Rather than comforting the young people who are struggling to overcome their trauma, some people are harming them further. Politicians make the parents of children lost to North Korean forces cry again. Others speak ill of the victims of the Cheonan’s sinking. The plan to create a park in memory of Jeong Yul-seong neglects the pain of the children of the Korean War’s victims. It is a nasty move to defame the young people who sacrificed their lives to protect this country.

We hope that West Sea Defense Day will be a chance to look back on such distorted remarks and actions. Security and veteran affairs are two sides of the same coin.

Just as national security is precious, protecting the honor of heroes who lost their lives trying to protect their country is the cornerstone of both national security and patriotism. These are the thoughts of a mother who is heartbroken after losing her son to North Korea’s provocations.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.