"The transformation of South Korea"

I can remember being in Seoul -- oh, I don't know, six, eight, 10, 12 months ago, and I was in the top of a tall building, and the Korean -- maybe it was longer now, maybe 10 or 12 months -- the Korean parliament was just voting on whether or not they should send any troops into Iraq to help the coalition. And I was on about the eighth or 10th floor, and there was a reception and people were milling around, having a drink and talking, and a woman reporter -- I don't know, 40, 45 years old -- came up to me and said, "May I ask you some questions?" I said, "Sure." And she said, "Why in the world should Korea -- the Korean people send their young people halfway across the world to Iraq to get killed or wounded?" And I looked at her and thought to myself, "She obviously doesn't know much about the Korean War." And I thought -- I had just come from laying a wreath at the Korean War Memorial there and seeing the name of a friend from high school who was killed there actually on the last day of the war -- and I said to her, "Look out there. Look at what this country's done. Look at the opportunity people have. Look at you. That would not have happened if people had asked that question in the United States and said, 'Why in the world should we send American troops over to Korea, halfway around the world, to get killed or wounded?'" And it's important that she understand that. It's important that we all understand that.

8 Comments

rositta | November 22, 2006 10:05 PM | Reply

Do you think she understood? It's easy to forget and maybe they are not taught in school.

ET | November 22, 2006 11:06 PM | Reply

That reason has to be repeated again and again. It's why we are in Afghanistan; it's why the US is, and we should be, in Iraq. Because we are one species, who live in various parts of the world, and we owe it to each other, to help when help is needed. A more practical reason is simply that Evil, like cancer, spreads. We have to stop it and enable healthy societies to develop.

enough | November 22, 2006 11:34 PM | Reply

We are not taught in school. And yet, some of us have come to right thinking.
enough

rebarbarian | November 23, 2006 6:20 AM | Reply

We are not taught in school. We are indoctrinated. And then again in university. Then the MSM repeats and reinforces the "proper" view.

Entropy pal | November 23, 2006 9:36 AM | Reply

I agree with the original comments, but if ANYONE thinks that Iraq or especially Afghanistan will look remotely like South Korea in 20 years, please speak up. My prediction is they will still be decaying, backward-ass fiefdoms dominated by warlords and fundamentalist religion. They will manage to take all of the gains of the last few years and discard them with impunity. The odds are long and the betting booths are now open.

The Phantom | November 23, 2006 9:49 AM | Reply

Well, that's the point isn't it? Anybody looking at Germany or Japan or Korea right after the hostilities ended would have bet the same way.

MikeM | November 23, 2006 10:58 AM | Reply

Entropy, you may be right, Bahgdad and Kabul in 20 years may not look like Seoul in 1973, but if we do the job right, they could.

Alex | November 23, 2006 5:40 PM | Reply

For a bit of perspective, read this "travelogue":

http://1stopkorea.com/index.htm?nk-trip1.htm~mainframe

And then try to imagine South Korea's anti-free-trade protests occurring under such a regime.

It's saddening to realize that even South Korea is starting to jump on the blame-America bandwagon. You'd figure that one glance over that border would have them kissing the feet of any American in range. Just goes to show how ignorant and unappreciative people can be when they learn to take freedom for granted.

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"The transformation of South Korea"

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"The transformation of South Korea"

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8 Comments

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Yanks, mostly

Canadian, eh?

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