KOREA FOUNDATION

Special Feature: Korean War Allied Nations 

Korea as Source of Pride and Introspection 

Written by Kyung Eun Heo (Author of We Need to Be Put in a Strange Place)

“Today, we write a new page of our history. You, who fought for the freedom of this country, will now go to a foreign country to protect theirs.” On September 5, 1950—exactly 70 years ago—President Elpidio Quirino gave a stirring speech at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. The speech was given for a send-off ceremony of Filipino troops who would be participating in the Korean War. 

   At the time, the Philippines was a very new republic that had achieved complete independence from long centuries of colonial rule just a few years earlier in 1946. Public support for sending soldiers to fight overseas was in short supply. Despite frosty public opinion, the Philippines became one of the first foreign powers to send troops to Korea, both to fulfill its obligations as a UN member country and to help a country that bore the scars of a similar history of colonization-independence. The Philippines was the third country to send ground troops to Korea (after the US and England) and the first Asian country to send a combat unit. 

   In his speech for the troop send-off that September day, Quirino informed the soldiers standing before him: “You will help [Koreans] to pioneer the lives they want and protect the values that are important to them. You will show the world that we have the will and the power to do so.” The 7,420 Filipino troops who set foot on Korean soil (112 casualties, 299 injured, 16 MIA) kept their promise to the Korean people—a promise that is proven by Korea’s rebuilding and development, which everyone thought was impossible.

   The currency of the Philippines shows how proud the country is of having fought in the Korean War. Typically, a nation’s paper currency displays people, artifacts, and symbols of its history. The banknotes of the Philippines, very interestingly, display illustrations related to the Korean War.

< pic 2 >Portrait of war correspondent
Benigno Aquino on the Phillipine
500peso note

   The former version of the 500 peso bill, which was circulated until 2015, features a portrait of Benigno Aquino (a former senator who participated in the Korean War as a war correspondent), the title of an article Aquino wrote (“1st Cav knives through 38”), and a Korean woman and boy selling flowers to Filipino soldiers. The images show Filipino troops as protectors of Korea’s freedom and democracy and the harsh reality of Korean refugees seeking help amid the ruins of war. I cannot help but hope that, each time they used a 500 peso bill, Filipinos felt pride in their country’s accomplishments.  

    Unfortunately, this bill is no longer used, having been replaced with a newly designed bill. The birth and elimination of the former bill, which featured wartime Korea, reflects the Philippine’s changed notion of their participation in the Korean War as well as the changed global status of both countries.

 

   The year of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War’s outbreak has now passed the midpoint and is rapidly approaching its end. A friend of mine who went to the Philippines every year for volunteer work was unable to go this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is looking forward to 2021. I was particularly sorry about this state of affairs because, after listening to my friend’s stories from 2019 of rebuilding an underdeveloped region and helping the residents of a remote village, I had promised to accompany her to the same village this year. 

   I gave a lot of retrospective thought to that speech given in Manila in September 1950. Now that we are in the position of helping the Filipinos to pioneer the lives they want to attain and protect their most cherished values, I felt simultaneous waves of sorrow and gratitude. When I was in Manila on business a few years ago, someone said to me, “I like Korea. I’m envious of you.” I was unable to forget those words. For the people of the Philippines, Korea is many things—a source of pride, an example of their abilities for the international community, and a chance for introspection.

This content of this article may differ from the editorial direction of the ASEAN Culture House Monthly.