Korean War Veterans

On Saturday 11 December we had the opportunity to meet with Korean War Veterans, who were invited by the Reading Korean School (RKS). RKS have been coming to The Abbey over a period of time to teach us about Korean language and culture.

It was a very enriching experience as we are studying the Cold War in History. It was really amazing to be able to talk with those who were actually present instead of simply reading from a textbook.

We got to hear all about their personal experiences, which really shed a new light and a new perspective on the war, and the veterans themselves were lovely people who were completely ready to indulge our curiosity.

We asked them many questions about the war which they readily replied to with their unique experiences. For example, one of them told us how he had to bury himself deep into the ground in order to stay warm due to the harsh winters in Korea. Another one of the veterans actually could not tell us all that much as he did a top secret government job which was really cool!

We learnt about the respect that they harbour for the country and the respect that the country has for them, as they had been invited back to Korea by the government.

In a really sweet moment, one of the veterans presented the Reading Korean School with a statue of two brothers who fought on opposite sides, one North and one South Korean. The veterans believed it would mean more to the school and help them learn about their heritage.

Overall, it was a really great experience and we were surprised that not more people came – it was really informative; the veterans were lovely and we all got kimbap!

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