By Choe Chong-dae
I am encouraged by courageous figures who overcome crises. They achieve this through deep insight and following the wisdom of sometimes ignoring orders from superiors. In Korea, such people later become regarded as national heroes.
One man I admire is Ahn Jong-sam (1903~1977), the police chief of Gurye County, South Jeolla Province, who saved 480 civilians during the Korean War. I was delighted to hear the recent news that a statue for Ahn Jong-sam was erected in the yard of the Gurye police station in memory of his outstanding effort to release innocent people from prison.
While serving at Gurye police station as its chief, Ahn received a special order to summarily execute prisoners suspected of being pro-North Korean leftists, just before North Korea’s invading army reached the Gurye area.
However, he was aware of the fact that many were innocent villagers and ignorant of ideologies. Having wisely considered this situation, he made a great decision to release 480 people against orders from his superior in view of the significance of life rather than over a conflict of ideology. Despite the fact that the order to execute the suspicious North Korean sympathizers came from the Headquarters of the National Policy Agency of Korea, Ahn released the imprisoned people at risk to his own life.
Ahn delivered a speech to them in a solemn voice “I might be executed for the crime of mutiny, but my righteous spirit will remain all of you. Therefore, please pray for my spirit if I die in the future. ” Ahn ’s speech strongly inspired the released people. His courageous decision to release them was recognized by his superiors as righteous action. In recognition of his courageous righteousness, he was promoted to the rank of senior superintendent.
During the Korean War, the South Korean government executed many political prisoners who were under suspicion of helping the enemy. They even killed their own innocent civilians after accusing them of collaborating with the enemy.
Regrettably, the South Korean police and the military executed the suspected leftists without proper judicial procedures. The victims were neither given a trial, or an official accusation, nor even told why they were to be executed. However, the police chief Ahn investigated his prisoners carefully, and finding that they were not collaborating with the North Korean Army, spared their lives.
Another hero during the Korean War was General Kim Yeoung-hwan (1921-1954) who saved the Tripitaka, preserved at Haein Temple in South Gyeongsang province. It was saved from bombing. Haein Temple, was later designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The Tripitaka is a Korean collection of Buddhist scripture, carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks during the 13th century. It is one of the most complete and unique Buddhist texts in the world.
The United Nations Command Forces had instructed General Kim (then an Air force Colonel) to bombard the temple because pro-North Korean leftists had hidden in the temple. However, General Kim disobeyed the UNC Forces’ order in consideration of precious historical value of the temple as well as the Tripitaka.
Having heard explanations about the priceless value of the temple, the UNC Forces finally praised him. “It is fortunate for the Republic of Korea because of a courageous military leader like you".
In commemoration of General Kim's courageous spirit of disobedience, a memorial was erected in front of the temple and a commemorative service for him was held at the temple in 2010.
I presume that several hours is enough to burn the temple down, but it takes more than a thousand years to build up such a magnificent historical building. It is safe to assume that innocent people and our important cultural heritage would have been sacrificed and destroyed if it were not for the courageous and righteous decision to disobey a superior’s order.
The courageous spirit and philanthropic missions of Police Chief Ahn and General Kim made a profound impact in my mind.
Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times, the president of Dea-kwang International Co., as well as a director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at dkic98@chol.com.