1998 Korea Trip
RECOGNIZE THIS CITY?
It is Seoul, Korea - 1998. This picture was taken out of a 15th floor window at the Hotel Sofitel in Seoul this October. The sight is one of many amazing scenes which five of our board members saw while on a business trip to Korea from September 27 October 4. Our board president, Bob Kenney of Decatur, journeyed to the Land of the Morning Calm with trustees Clyde Fruth of Freeport, Yang Ho Song and Jae Won Lee of Chicago. They were invited to Korea by the Republic of Korea Veterans Association (KVA). Mr. Song is the president of the Midwest Chapter of the KVA in the United States, and it was through that connection that we were invited to Korea to present our case for the museum to Korean veterans groups and military dignitaries. Arrangements were made for our group to be attached to an entirely different group of veterans and spouses who went to Korea on the KWVA/KVA revisit program. Our board had to pay for the plane fare, but once in Korea, the KVA paid for all food and lodging. We feel a great sense of gratitude to the Korean Veterans Association for giving the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library such a wonderful opportunity to share the news about our national museum project.
Our plane fare of $1,405 per person was discounted by the Korean Air Lines company by $665. Funds from the Tuscola marketing grant received earlier this year paid the remainder of each fare. Our group was asked to arrive one day ahead of schedule in order to be special guests at a Korean Marine Corps anniversary celebration of the retaking of Seoul. That first night’s stay for our five board members ($260) was paid from the museum’s general operating account. All other expenses (taxis, admission fees, food, incidentals) in Korea were paid out of the pockets of the five board members who traveled there. In case you are a Korean War veteran and don’t know it, the people of the Republic of Korea are extremely grateful for the sacrifices made by American veterans during the Korean War. Koreans who lived through the war clearly remember the suffering of not just their own people, but also the suffering of all Korean War veterans, no matter from what part of the world they came to help defeat the communist enemy. The people of South Korea have done their very best to show appreciation for the veterans who kept their country free. One great example of this is the revisit program sponsored by the KVA. Those who go to Korea on the program are treated like royalty. Little wonder, then, that in its determination to pay tribute to our country’s veterans, the KVA was intrigued to hear about the plans for a national museum to honor Korean War veterans. Not only did they cover the lodging and meal expenses for our five board members, they also provided transportation from the Seoul International Airport and to and from various meetings while we were in Seoul. The KVA helped us immeasurably to extend news about the national museum project outside of the borders of the United States. The trip to Korea also enabled us to meet a great group of people who stayed at the Hotel Sofitel as part of the KVA revisit program.
The meetings in Korea began before our five even had time to change into clean clothes and freshen up after a 14 hour plane ride. When the plane arrived two hours late, the group was driven directly to the Marine Corps Association anniversary celebration and reception. Afterward (looking pretty scruffy in our plane trip attire, but determined to plunge ahead in our mission), we attended an elaborate private luncheon in Seoul with several Marine dignitaries. It was a "working lunch" because the museum project was discussed in detail—both in Korean and English. The next day began with a visit to the Korean Veterans Association headquarters, where our group held a series of meetings with top dignitaries of the KVA. This was followed by a visit the dignitaries at the Police Headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday, including a tour of the police museum. In addition, the group had an audience with the director of the National War Memorial, and a private tour conducted by the museum’s curator. That night, there was an elaborate ROK Association reception for visiting Korean War veterans. Board member Clyde Fruth and museum member Paul Wolfgeher of Independence, Missouri, were among those Korean War veterans who received the Ambassador for Peace medal. Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the nation’s armed forces, and there were elaborate events all day long including a two and a half hour parade on the streets of Seoul. Thursday night the museum group and KWVA/KVA revisit group attended a private reception for the president of South Korea (Mr. Kenney and Mr. Lee got to shake his hand!). On Friday, board members Clyde Fruth, Yang Ho Song, and Jae Won Lee went to the equivalent of America’s West Point where they met with military officials and toured the academy museum. In the meantime, Bob Kenney traveled to Panmunjom to see the site of the peace talks. At the neighboring memorial park, they found tributes to various military groups that served in Korea during the war years. Saturday morning, the group met with Curley Knepp, quartermaster of the VFW post in Songtan, Korea (near Osan). That post now has 300 life members and some 657 total members. The board members also met with James Kang, a missionary who works for MACK at Kyonggido. KVA revisit participant, Urban Rump of Georgia, was instrumental in collecting over $400 from American veterans for MACK, and he turned the money over to Mr. Kang that Saturday morning. Later that day, Mr. Song treated the museum group to a tour of the Seoul Tower that afternoon. The day culminated with a visit from the same Marine dignitaries who were among the first to welcome us to Korea on September 27. The plane left Korea for Chicago the next day. It was no small feat to attend as many meetings in as many different buildings as our board members did while in Korea. The traffic in American cities like Chicago cannot begin to compare with the traffic jams in Seoul -- a city with over 11 million inhabitants and two million cars (not to mention buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and trucks).
Much in the way of introducing the museum project to Korea was accomplished in the short number of days we were in Korea. That is because day meetings gave way to evening events in which the board members continued to make contact with influential veterans. Among those we met and discussed the museum with were: Kim Hong Jun, Director of the National Security Department, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency; Col. (ROK Army Ret.) Yon-Soo Kim, Director of International Affairs Department, Korean Veterans Association; Ha, Tae-Chul, curator/translator for the Korean War Memorial in Seoul; Lee, Young-Sup, chief, International Affairs Division, The Korean Veterans Association; Major General (ROK Army Ret.) Eun Pyo, Hong, President, War Memorial Museum; Major General (ROKAF) Chang, Ho-Kun, Assistant Chief of Staff, ROK/US Combined Forces Command; James Mayo, commander, District III, Department of Pacific Areas VFW; Choi, J.B., honored Marine who put up the flag on the day the ROK Marines retook Seoul; Lt. General (Ret) Kim, Sung Eun, Marine Corps commandant with 28 years in the Korean Marines; Jung-Mo Park, platoon leader of the Marine Division that restored the ROK flag to its rightful place of honor when Seoul was retaken; Korean Marine Corps Colonel (Ret) Kim Kwan Jin; General (Ret) Ki Chun Kang, honorary president, Korea Israel Friendship Association in Seoul; In Hwan Kim, vice president, Pan West Trading Corporation; Col. E.B. Carr, Deputy Commander/Chief of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Korea; Col. Carl Kropf, US Army Public Affairs Officer; Koh, Woo Sang, consultant, Samsong Industries; Choi, Kyu Bong, vice chairman, Korea National-Foundation Association, Korean War Veterans Society; Curley B. Knepp, Air Force Audit Agency; Major Rainier Bellone, US Army liaison officer to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission; Lt. Colonel Stephen Tharp, United States Army assistant secretary, United Nations Command; and Lt. General (Ret) Choi, Kap Jin, Secretary General, Korean Veterans Association. During a KVA reception, we were greeted by Maj. General Chang, Tae-Won (ROKA), General Lee, Jun (ROKA), Vice Admiral Ko, Chung-Tok (ROKN), General Kim, Hong-Rae (ROKAF), Maj. General Kim, Dong-Ho (ROKAF), and Lt. General Choi, Kap-Jin (ROKMC).
The results of the trip are already being felt. The Korean Marine Corps Association, a veterans group of 700,000, has decided to officially support the national museum in Illinois. An announcement is expected in the November issue of their newsletter. Some of the Marine dignitaries are now planning a trip to Tuscola after winter breaks to see Chicago, the down state Illinois museum site, and Douglas County’s Amish community. Soon after our return to the States, a private high school in Inchon contacted us to set up a cultural exchange program between students of the school in Korea and schools in the United States. The Korean Marine Corps Association and the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library are formulating plans for a trip to Korea in the year 2000, and our members and their guests will be encouraged to join us. Get your passports in order and plan to take advantage of discounted air fares, discounts on lodging and meals, pre-arranged transportation, organized tours, and guides who will make you feel safe and comfortable during your stay in Korea on this special co-sponsored trip. Details on trip costs and tour agenda will be forthcoming in a future issue of the museum’s newsletter. Members of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library receive four issues of the newsletter each year.
Korean War veteran Paul Wolfgeher of Independence, Missouri stands on the North Korean side of the peace talk building on the DMZ in the fall of 1998. "ROK Ready" soldiers stand guard behind him.
Korean War veteran and museum trustee Clyde Fruth received the peace medal during a ROK ceremony in Seoul. Clyde was a forward observer with the 25h Infantry Division, 90th Field Artillery, A Battery during the Korean War.
A motley crew of American visitors to Seoul, Korea. All pictured here were participants in a KVA/KWVA revisit program to Korea in the fall of 1998. Included in the participants were museum trustees Jae Won Lee, Yang Ho Song, Clyde Fruth and Bob Kenney. The trustees were special guests of the ROK Association as they visited veterans organizations in Seoul to explain the national museum project.