All wars are a mistake. Sometimes, war may seem inevitable. But if one deeply examines war, it is always sparked inadvertently by poor judgment, excessive greed or the pure madness of politicians. In the famous film and Broadway musical, “Hair,” for example, the Vietnam War is metaphorically portrayed as a huge mistake of political and military leaders. And it is the people, not politicians, who must suffer and die during war. The Korean War, too, was a fatal mistake that could have been prevented, had it not been for the poor judgment of Dean Acheson, Joseph Stalin and Kim Il-sung.

Thanks to the timely U.S. and U.N. intervention, however, South Korea was saved from communism. Otherwise, we could never have achieved the much-envied economic prosperity and democratization we proudly enjoy today. Leftist Koreans love to condemn the United States, shouting the much-abused anti-American slogan, “U.S. Imperialists, who gave you the right to act as the international police?” It never seems to occur to them, however, that had it not been for the U.S. intervention during the Korean War, we could have become a starving Communist country, just like North Korea today.

Worse, we could have suffered through a notorious three-generation dictatorial regime under the flag of the DPRK. We would not have been allowed the freedom of speech and press, cell phones and the Internet. Whether pro-American or anti-American, it is an undeniable fact we Koreans must acknowledge.

On June 6 and 25, we honor Memorial Day and the anniversary of the Korean War. Regrettably, we do not seem to observe the two important days properly. Since Memorial Day is a holiday, most people are busy vacationing, instead of remembering those who died for the country. For example, few Koreans seem to mourn for the 46 sailors who were either killed or declared missing after the North Korean attack on the Cheonan naval ship, not to mention remember their names.

Since the anniversary of the Korean War is not a holiday, most people spend the day working busily, forgetting its importance. Those of the younger generations who did not directly experience the war especially seem to lack interest. Alas, the Korean War has become “The Forgotten War” even in Korea. Our politicians, too, seem apathetic about retrieving the bones of our soldiers who died during the Korean War.

While the U.S. government has been buying the bones of the American soldiers who died on the Korean Peninsula from North Korea, our government has done virtually nothing. Even when we gave an astronomical amount of money to North Korean leaders under the name of the sunshine policy, we did not request the return of the bones of our soldiers. Who would be willing to die for such an ungrateful country?

Meanwhile, radical leftists, who have learned distorted histories from Maoist or Stalinist books, wrongfully teach our young students that the Korean War was a U.S. imperialist war that crushed Koreans’ dreams of unification. Obviously, these radicals want to see the reunification carried out by North, not by South, and thus desecrate the heroic deaths of those who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of South Korea.

Korean leftists argue that if we are not submissive to North Korea and do not tolerate the North’s threats and bullying, there will be another war in the Korean Peninsula. That is not true. The war may come if we are divided into North Korean sympathizers and non-sympathizers, because North Korean political and military leaders may misjudge that South Koreans are ready to welcome them if and when they cross the demarcation line. Perhaps that is why ex-President Syngman Rhee, a stout anti-Communist, preached: “United we live, divided we die.”

The Korean Peninsula is said to be the most dangerous place on earth, with the two Koreas facing off with extreme hostility and antagonism. Under such circumstances, pro-North Korean Communist sympathizers, who think of South Korea as an illegitimate nation, may be a serious threat to national security. And yet, they pervade every nook and cranny of our society today. It is a shame that South Korea is divided into two mutually exclusive camps, the left and the right, while it faces an aggressive neighbor to the north.

June constantly reminds us of how precarious our current political situation is. We do not need to be conservative to understand the need to stay alert. We may not realize it, but the Korean Peninsula still remains a dangerous place to live. Unless we guard ourselves properly in advance, we may be hit by a deadly blow from our hostile neighbor once again. In English there is a maxim: “You cannot choose your neighbor.”

Unfortunately, we have a bad neighbor. Since we cannot move to another place, we have to put up with the unwanted neighbor and deal with the consequences. Sometimes we may need to call the police to settle the dispute. But before that, our family should not be divided. As Lincoln once put it, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.