38th Parallel: The 71st Anniversary of the Korean War
Our latest exhibit, 38th Parallel: The 71st Anniversary of the Korean War examines what is commonly known as the “Forgotten War” that occurred in the time between WWII and the Vietnam War. Almost two dozen countries were involved and sent troops, Canada included.
After WWII, Korea, which had been annexed by Japan in 1910, was divided along the 38th parallel. North Korea was occupied by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea was occupied by the United States. These two territories soon became separate sovereign nations with both claiming to be the one true Korean government and neither recognizing the other. Tensions rose along the border as the two opposing sides began to clash.
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and the Korean War began. It would last for three years until the war ended in a stalemate, neither side happy. Most nations were hesitant to declare war as they had just been at war for six years and did not want to be a part of another long, drawn-out conflict, but intervened as part of a United Nations initiative to restore peace, their first ever. Over 26000 Canadians were deployed to Korea over the next three years and over 7000 served after the armistice was signed. There were almost one million South Korean civilian casualties and 1.5 million North Korean civilian casualties. As many as two million children were orphaned by the end of the war.
IMAGE FROM ECYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
Our aim for this exhibit was to acknowledge and honour those who lived through and served in this forgotten war. Coquitlam is home to one of the largest Korean populations in Canada and also home to some of the last remaining Korean War veterans.
One of the people we connected with as we prepared this exhibit was Chang Uy Hong, who was four years old when the war began. His family became refugees and spent the war seeking safety and witnessing the atrocities of the war. As an adult Mr. Hong served in the Republic of Korea’s air force as a jet fighter mechanic, and later in life immigrated to Canada. In Canada he became a member of the Honorary Korean War Veterans’ Association and met many of the veterans who fought for his country. He is the president of the Korean War Cenotaph Committee.
MR. HONG STANDING NEXT TO THE EXHIBIT AT COQUITLAM LIBRARY CITY CENTRE.
Another was Frank Smyth. He was 17 in 1950 when the war began. After unsuccessfully attempting to join the war effort because he was too young, he eventually trained in the Canadian Provost Corps (the Military Police) and served in Korea after the war had ended. At the time, it was uncertain whether or not the ceasefire would hold, so he served in Korea for two years. He later went on to serve in many of Canada’s Peacekeeping operations around the world until he was granted a voluntary leave of service in 1970.
On May 21 at noon join us for a Heritage Live! With special guest Frank Smyth. Mr. Smyth will give a small presentation about his time serving in Korea, followed by a question and answer period. If you have any questions for Mr. Smyth, you are welcome to email us at museum@coquitlamheritage.ca.
We also have a worksheet about the Korean War available to download that is aimed towards children aged 8-12. You can find it here.
Lastly, Mr. Hong has graciously provided us some fridge magnets that commemorate the war and the cenotaph. These are available to pick up at Mackin House.
38th Parallel: The 71st Anniversary of the Korean War is on display at Coquitlam Public Library City Centre until May 31, 2021. Our hope is to bring attention to this war that impacted the lives of so many. For those that lost their lives in this war, military and civilian, we remember them.