World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 days ago
Korean volunteer has supported Ethiopian war veterans for 30 years
Shin Kwang-cheol, head of a Korean veterans’ memorial organization, has spent 30 years supporting Ethiopian veterans of the Korean War.
He began after seeing a 1995 television documentary about veterans who were struggling after Ethiopia’s 1974 revolution.
Many had been branded traitors for fighting for democracy and lived in crowded homes with poor facilities.
Shin helped organize donations and set up a support group in 1996.
Its work has included living-cost help, home repairs, education and projects to create jobs.
The group says it has repaired 137 veterans’ homes since the work began in 2008.
Shin is recovering from cancer surgery and says long flights are becoming harder, but he hopes others will continue the work and wants to help establish a Korean cultural center and Sejong Institute in Ethiopia.
Korean organizer Shin Kwang-cheol has spent 30 years supporting Ethiopian veterans of the Korean War.
He began the effort after seeing a 1995 documentary about veterans who faced hardship and stigma after Ethiopia’s 1974 communist revolution.
A support group formed in 1996 has provided living-cost aid, housing repairs, education and employment support.
The group has repaired 137 veterans’ homes since starting its housing-improvement program in 2008.
Shin hopes to find people who can continue the work for veterans’ descendants.
- Who
- Shin Kwang-cheol, head of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Association (UNPK), and the support group he helped establish.
- What
- They have supported Ethiopian Korean War veterans and their descendants through aid, housing repairs, education and employment programs.
- When
- The effort began in 1995; the support group was formed on June 20, 1996.
- Where
- Ethiopia, including the veterans’ “Korean Village.
- Why
- Shin was moved to help after seeing a documentary about veterans’ difficult lives and the stigma they faced after the 1974 revolution.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
I didn't know the support for Ethiopian veterans that began 30 years ago would last this long. It is the longest-running work of my life, and I have been able to continue it with a sense of reward.
The fact that the Republic of Korea has become a developed country has repaid our sacrifice. It is our joy that the country for which we shed blood has prospered, and the one thing we hope is that you will help our young people live well too.
Chuncheon residents erected a memorial to the Ethiopian Kangnew unit, and Emperor Haile Selassie attended its unveiling.
After watching a documentary about Ethiopian veterans’ hardship, Shin rallied local Rotary Club members to support them.
Shin met Ethiopia’s ambassador to South Korea to convey his intention to provide support.
Shin established the Ethiopian Korean War Veterans Support Association.
The association began a program to improve veterans’ homes.
The association had completed repairs or improvements to 137 homes by this year.
- Organizer
- Shin Kwang-cheol
- Support group formed
- June 20, 1996
- Homes repaired or improved
- 137
- Housing program began
- 2008
- Average cost per home
- About $5,000
- Fundraising in 1995
- About $20,000 at a Chuncheon Rotary Club sports event
Sources
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