Vigil marks Korean massacre

As they stood facing the Peace Sign on College Green near Van Pelt Library, a group of 25 emotionally charged students were thinking about a war. In a candlelight vigil organized by the Korean Students Association, the students gathered to acknowledge the fateful events of July 1950, when, according to some accounts, American soldiers massacred as many as 300 Korean civilians during the infancy of the Korean War. American troops were ordered to fire on anyone trying to move south of their position at No Gun Ri because of fear that North Korean soldiers were among them, the Associated Press reported recently. As a result, American GIs and South Koreans who survived the alleged incident said the soldiers ended up killing an unknown number of civilians. Now, with both the South Korean and United States governments saying they will investigate the matter, Penn students are doing their part to remember those who were killed during those four days in late July. "If we don't continue to try to uncover the truth, we will be doomed to repeat our history," College junior Hoa Duong told the assembled students, who had formed a tight semicircle next to the library. When Duong, chairperson of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, first heard about No Gun Ri, she said, she thought of the Rape of Nanking during Japan's occupation of China in 1937 and the American massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in 1968. In both incidents, troops massacred men, women and children indiscriminately. Though not of Korean heritage, Duong said that "as an American I'm extremely appreciative for what the U.S. government has done [in South Korea]," but that at the same time, events like No Gun Ri "can't be overshadowed." James Yoo, KSA's vice president, agreed. "To be honest, it is a very sticky issue because without American intervention at the time, I would most likely be a farmer in the rice paddy fields now, instead of here at Penn." Nonetheless, he added, "As a student and a person, this is my way of expressing my own personal sorrow over what happened." Duong added that it would be a great injustice not to make some kind of acknowledgement of both the survivors and the victims. Being given the chance to express his own emotions to the group gave Yoo an indescribable feeling, he said. "That people actually came out just makes you feel glad that other people can care about the same issues," he said. And when the students ended their moment of silence Friday evening by blowing out their candles one by one, they made it clear that their remembrance of the injustices of the war would continue. In addition to holding the candlelight vigil, the KSA has been collecting signatures for a petition "to let both the American and South Korean governments know that they are now being held accountable by humanity, ensuring a full and thorough investigation that answers all questions and reveals all details," Yoo said. He added that later this year, the organization hopes to bring one of the AP reporters who covered the story -- as well as the former GIs involved -- to Penn for discussions on No Gun Ri.

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