In the early morning hours of June 25, 1950, behind artillery fire, North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel, setting off the Korean War. In South Korea it is usually simply referred to as yu-gi-oh (육이오), which means “6-25”, the date the Korean War started, and in North Korea it is known as the Fatherland Liberation War, or choguk haebang chonjaeng (조국해방전쟁).
While it is near-universally accepted that North Korea invaded South Korea, North Korea’s state-run media often uses the term “bukchim” (북침) when referring to the war, meaning “an invasion of North Korea”, as that is how it is written in official North Korean history (and until recently, Chinese history).
Netizens reacted with predictable disbelief and mockery.
From Nate:
North Korea: “The Korean War was provoked by the U.S. Imperialists and South Korea”…And Still Claims North Korea Was Invaded
Taking advantage of a Korean War that has been 62 years long, North Korea continues to claim that the Korean War was “provoked by the U.S. imperialists and their South Korean puppets” and that North Korea was invaded.
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), penned an article titled ‘The Road to Peace and Reunification Through Our Military First Policy’ on the 25th which read: “On this day 62 years ago, the U.S. imperialists and their South Korean dogs provoked a war of aggression [against North Korea].
“With our army and our people, and the steel invincibility of our Great Leader Kim Il-sung, we bravely fought as one against the world’s mightiest army, the American imperialists, to defend the freedom and independence of our country.
“It has been 60 years since the last gun was fired, but our people are still living under the threat of continuous war. Even now, in order to implement a strategy to attack us, the U.S. builds up their military strength and frantically stages large-scale military drills.
“Our military-first politics is a hard-bitten weapon in a sharp fight with imperialist reactionaries, in order to strengthen the dignity of our people and the sovereignty of our nation.
“Judging the Lee Myung-bak regime and keeping the Saenuri Party from returning to power is a necessary task in order to keep the peace on the Korean peninsula, improve the relationship between North and South Korea, and open a venue of reunification of our fatherland.”
Comments from Nate:
김형준:
Let’s keep in mind the Korean War was an invasion from North Korea…
김도석:
So it’s been 62 years since the Korean War…let’s remember the men who died to keep a strong democracy. [Netizen lists stats and figures on US and UN casualties during the Korean War.] Kim Dae-jung…are you reading this from Hell? Have those bastards committed acts of brutality?
조안나:
Shut the fuck up.
이정은:
It reminds me of a kid who has a habit off shooting off at the mouth whenever I see a “National Liberation” [pro-North Korean] Progressive Party member open his or her mouth, especially Lee Jung-hee [a left-leaning politician in South Korea]…a journalist asked her, “Who do you think started the Korean War?” Lee responded, “It is unclear if it was an invasion from North Korea or invasion from South Korea. I cannot speak about the conditions now, they will become clear later.”
강준수:
Look at the United States. They knew nothing about our country yet they came and helped preserve democracy in our young, small country. They sent 572,000 soldiers, 54,246 who were killed and 104,284 who were wounded. So sad…yoo yoo…Thank you, USA! Also, Koreans ignore that Thailand sent 12,845 soldiers during the Korean War, 129 of whom were killed and 1139 wounded…South Korean soldiers were basically good-for-nothing and could hardly call themselves soldiers.
이재영:
Even on Christmas the site labels [ad banners] change, yet the outbreak of the Korean War is not important enough [to merit a banner]? This country is getting weirder and weirder…
전국관:
People and groups who praise, protect and encourage North Korea like the Democratic United Party, the Unified Progressive Party, the National Liberation Progressive Party, Democratic Labor Union, Handaeryon (Korean University Students Association), the Korean Teachers’ and Education Workers’ Union, and entertainers like Myung Kye-nam, Moon Sung-geun, Yoon Do-hyun, Kim Mi-hwa, Kim Yeo-jin, and Kim Jae-dong need to educate themselves in deportation politics or be deported themselves. [Several of the above celebrities were supposedly put on the controversial “KBS blacklist” for paying tribute to the late progressive president Roh Moo-hyun, or having otherwise liberal political views. KBS is a government-run channel in South Korea.]
강준원:
South Korea says it was a North Korean invasion. The US says it was a North Korean invasion. Turkey says it was a North Korean invasion. The rest of the world knows that the Korean War was a North Korean invasion of South Korea but only two parties say it was a South Korean invasion from South Korea…North Korea and South Korean liberals. Is anyone seeing what I’m getting at here? Lee Jung-hee?
이민영:
Because they [North Korea] oppose the Saenuri Party the Saenuri Party must stay the ruling party.
김용우:
It’s like a dog yapping.
이재영:
Of course North Koreans are like that ke ke ke, South Korea also has a lot of these kinds of people
이창식:
Hey you bastards…during war you think you’re sending the soldiers out on a vacation? You pathetic commies…if you guys live like [the soldiers], you would not avoid looking shabby your whole life.
김민성:
Shall we fight [another] war? North Korea, you fucking sons of bitches!
하중근:
Are these people going completely crazy?
송수영:
List of jongpuk: Lee Jung-hee, Kang Ki-kab, Park Won-soon, Han Myeong-sook, Moon Seung-gun, No Hoe-chan, Shim Sang-jung, Lee Hui-ho, Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Gong Ji-young, Kim Jae-dong, Moon Jae-in, Kim Mi-hwa, Kim Yeo-jin, Jeong Dong-young, Han Sang-ryeol, Oh Jong-ryeol, Park Ji-won, Park Young-sun, Myung Kae-nam, Kim Ji-yoon, Lee Sang-kyu, Lee Seok-gi, Kim Jae-yeon, Jo Ki-sook, Lim Soo-kyeong, Lee Hae-chan (added).
김정옥:
The lies and instigations by the liberals and the Teachers’ Unions make me really wish they would just die. When I was a high school student some teachers taught that the South was invaded by the North, but that the US incited it. The biggest instigators [of the war] are said to be Syngman Rhee and the USA…I found that they taught like that although it was already found from [Dean] Acheson’s speech that North Korea and China prepared for war [with help from] the Soviet Union. After I graduated, I too was a liberal zombie, until I converted. I wish the liberal zombies in our country along with the Teachers’ Unions would just drop dead. They are liars and North Korean spies.
김효일:
Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun are traitors in South Korean history because they distorted the Korean War and prettied up the Kim Il-sung dynasty in an attempt to get rid of differences so the Sunshine Policy would work.
정택수:
Lee Jung-hee…that bitch…
박군환:
Brainwashed little bugs. Let’s look at it this way…Lee Jung-hee will not answer [when asked] if the Korean War was started by a North Korean or South Korean invasion. If some crazy politician said he or she would not answer when asked if the invasion of our country by Japan was not an invasion, but part of Japan’s claim that they invaded to keep the imperialist European powers out of East Asia, do you think that politician would be able to live in Korea? Yet people keep electing these liberal insects to the National Assembly. After doing these kinds of ridiculous things, these liberal insects are so brainwashed they do not even know what went wrong [after they said it].
김효중:
Keep the Saenuri Party in as the ruling party…don’t ever let the progressives take control…
