[KS] Su Gi (flag)

[Thomas Duvernay]

I've tried to do this on a personal level, but it looks like I will have to
bring it up a notch.  For the past few years, I have tried to get the flag
of the Korean commander of Kanghwa Island (1871), General Uh Je-yeon,
returned to Korea.  It was captured by US forces in 1871.  Residents of
Kanghwa Island, the Kanghwa County Office and even the grandson of Gen. Uh
have asked for help in getting the flag returned.  I have sent letters to my
state rep, senator and also to the DoD and even to President Clinton.  The
reply was always about the same-- "We appreciate your concern, but no."
Today, I received another such letter; unless others show an interest in its
being returned, no effort will be made by the US gov't to return the flag.
An excerpt from the letter I sent to the president is as follows:

<<To be sure, Korea should thank the US for inadvertantly saving the flag
(http://www.ncmc.cc.mi.us/esl/1871/kwg46.jpg) from
almost certain destruction; all other such flags perished over the years
from age, neglect and war. Now, however, there is no reason to retain the
flag of a friendly nation. Currently, it resides, rolled up on a bottom
shelf, at the United States Naval Academy Museum (see
http://www.ncmc.cc.mi.us/esl/1871/usnasugi.jpg), where nobody can appreciate
it.
I understand the technical points involved, such as it can only be released
back to Korea by an Act of Congress and that the US is reluctant to do such
a thing, as other countries would ask for their items back, too. I think
both points can be worked around. First, with your influence, a bill could
be introduced into Congress for such an act. Second, the flag doesn't
necessarily need to be given back to Korea outright; it could be "loaned on
a permanent basis." In this way, it technically still would belong to the
United States, but could be appreciated by the country from which it came.

Of course, history is history and we cannot rewrite it. By today's
standards, the US should never have been in Korea; the way the US went up
the Salt River in 1871 could be likened to a foreign warship going up the
Mississippi-- would the US have allowed it? What would the US position be
today if the British had captured something irreplaceable from our country
back in the 18th or 19th C? It is true that US forces risked their lives to
capture that flag, but it is also true that Korean forces risked and lost
their lives to keep it.>>

This flag would be considered a national treasure in Korea.  Please contact
me if you would like to help get it returned.

Thanks.

Thomas
goongdo at hotmail.com

http://www.ncmc.cc.mi.us/esl/1871/index.html





%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%