[Ret. Lieutenant General Heo Pyeong-hwan, former Commander of the South Korean Defense Security Command, and current standing adviser of Our Republican Party.]
A Chinese movie titled “Sacrifice,” or “Jin Gang Chuan,” that glamorizes the Battle of Kumsong, which was the last battle fought during the Korean War, was approved for distribution in South Korea. As the Chinese glamorize this as a victory in which it slaughtered 50,000 South Korean soldiers, the public is enraged and criticizing the release of the movie for dishonoring our fallen soldiers who died after defending their homeland.
However, our people should take this as an opportunity to learn the fact that it was the Republic of Korea’s Army, not the Chinese Communist Army, that won the Battle of Kumsong. The Battle of Kumsong began after the CCP’s Army seized a part of the Kumsong region from June 10 to 18 in 1953, just before the armistice agreement was signed, and conducted a surprise preemptive attack with its 20th Army’s 12 infantry divisions.
However, three ROK Army infantry divisions under the II Corps conducted a counterattack and recaptured every southern part of the Kumsong River region by July 19. This made the CCP Army fail in its goal to capture every region surrounding the Kumsong River. The battle nearly inflicted twice as much damage on the CCP than the ROK Army. As a result, 27,216 Chinese soldiers were killed, 38,700 soldiers were injured, and 1,428 weapons were seized. South Korea suffered 14,373 causalities, not 50,000.
At that time, Kim Il-sung and the CCP tried to seize Cheorwon, the largest rice producing site in the middle region, Keumhwa, and Pyunggang. These areas were often called the ‘iron triangle’. However, the ROK soldiers were able to defeat all their enemies and defended the Cheorwon, Keumhwa, and Pyunggang regions.
Furthermore, the Battle of White Horse was a fierce battle. The territory changed hands 24 times during a 10-day period. While I was commanding the 6th Division, Chinese tourists who were visiting the Memorial of the Battle of White Horse would ask me about General Kim Jong-oh. General Kim was the 9th Division commander who destroyed 40,000 Chinese soldiers under the 38th Corps with 20,000 soldiers under the 9th Division during the Battle of White Horse.
The Chinese soldiers were brutally defeated during the battle of the iron triangle and the Battle of White Horse in particular. The courage and dignity of the South Korean military was deeply engraved in the Chinese people’s minds.
Most South Koreans tended to quietly fear China as it was a big country. However, this was not the case. During the period when people fought with bows and arrows and knives, China was a big country with massive land and population. China was naturally a feared country.
However, nowadays, a strong country is a country that has strong economic and military power based on science and technology with a spirit willing to defend the homeland. In fact, Korea is ahead of China in many fields of science, technology, economy, and military power. However, we underestimate ourselves and are intimidated, and refer to ourselves as a weak country.
In the future, we should not think of China as a big country and be afraid of it and be servile. We have to continuously focus on creating a proud Republic of Korea by developing our science, technology, economic power, advanced weapons, and strengthening our spirit to defend our country. The purpose of this is to make the Republic of Korea a country that no others can treat lightly.
We are now living in a South Korea where we can protect ourselves against any threats if we respond with confidence. Historically, China has never defeated us after invading our country. Let’s not fear China or blame each other based on a single movie that China made to glamorize their absolute defeat in a battle during the Korean War.
