美国国家公共电台 NPR--South Korea's government ordered to pay woman who survived a Vietnam War massacre

South Korea's government ordered to pay woman who survived a Vietnam War massacre¹

Transcript²

A survivor³ of a Vietnam War massacre committed by South Korean troops fighting alongside the U.S. sued the South Korean government for compensation — and won.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

When the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam 50 years ago this week, one American ally fought on. Among U.S. allies, South Korea sent the most troops to fight in Vietnam. Now NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul on how a Vietnamese woman won an unprecedented⁴ and controversial lawsuit⁵ over a wartime massacre by some of those South Korean forces.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Traditional firecrackers of the Tet celebration became the fireworks of war.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁶: It was February 12, 1968, less than two weeks into the Tet Offensive launched by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops. Nguyen Thi Thanh remembers being surprised to see South Korean marines entering her village of Phong Nhi. She says the marines gunned down residents indiscriminately. Nguyen and her family hid in a bomb shelter.

NGUYEN THI THANH: (Through interpreter) The Korean soldiers found us and forced us to come out. If we didn't, they would have dropped a grenade into the shelter. It was a terrifying situation. Everyone started to come out, and as they did, they were shot one by one.

KUHN: Nguyen, then 8, was shot in the waist. Her mother, two brothers, a sister and cousin were killed.

NGUYEN: (Through interpreter) I wish I had been killed with my mother because it became a horrible obsession⁸ for me. I remember my younger brother. If I could have saved him, he'd be alive today.

KUHN: Nguyen, now 63, says South Korean Marines killed more than 70 people in her village and a neighboring one. A U.S. military report on the incident concludes that the South Koreans probably committed atrocities⁹. Less than a month later, U.S. troops would massacre more than 500 civilians¹¹ in the hamlet of My Lai. Seoul National University historian Park Tae-gyun says the Vietnam War was a painful experience for South Koreans. First, they were colonized¹² by Japan before World War II and then invaded by North Korea in the Korean War.

PARK TAE-GYUN: (Through interpreter) We always say that we are the victims of Japanese imperialism¹³ and demand an apology from Japan. But we are not looking squarely at the damage we have done.

KUHN: A former South Korean marine⁷ named Ryu Jin-sung testified in court. He says that as his unit approached the village of Phong Nhi, shots were fired, and one marine was wounded. Finding out who among the villagers was Viet Cong, he says, was not easy.

RYU JIN-SUNG: (Through interpreter) You can't tell whether someone's an innocent civilian¹⁰ or an enemy spy. So the easiest way was to kill everyone.

KUHN: Ryu says he also told the court what he heard from his fellow South Korean marines.

RYU: (Through interpreter) After we had returned to the base, fellow platoon members talked about their killings¹⁴ in vivid detail, as if they were some sort of heroic tales.

KUHN: Ryu was just one of about 320,000 troops South Korea sent to Vietnam, partly to repay the U.S. for defending the South in the Korean War and partly to keep the U.S. from pulling its troops out of the South. The Tet Offensive led to President Nixon's decision to draw down U.S. combat troops in Vietnam, which he announced in a November 1969 speech.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

RICHARD NIXON: In the previous administration, we Americanized the war in Vietnam. In this administration, we are Vietnamizing the search for peace.

KUHN: As the U.S. began to pull out, the South Koreans fought on. By the end of 1972, there were 50% more South Korean troops in Vietnam than U.S. soldiers. Historian Park Tae-gyun says that another reason South Korea sent troops was that the U.S. paid Seoul some $5 billion in wages and assistance from 1965 to 1973. Over 5,000 South Koreans died in the war. Many more were injured or traumatized. Park says they were both victims mobilized by their government, but also perpetrators.

PARK: (Through interpreter) I think the first step in solving the veterans issue is for the South Korean government to apologize to Vietnam and compensate¹⁵ the Vietnamese victims.

KUHN: On Feb. 8, a Seoul court ordered the South Korean government to compensate Nguyen Thi Thanh $24,000. But Defense¹⁶ Minister Lee Jong-Sup denied that South Korean Marines had massacred anyone. Nguyen Thi Thanh praised the court's verdict but said the minister had lost his humanity.

NGUYEN: (Through interpreter) He should come to my village and hear the stories the villagers tell about their family members who died under the guns of the South Korean soldiers.

KUHN: Former marine Ryu Jin-sung, meanwhile, says he's been attacked by fellow veterans over his court testimony¹⁷.

RYU: (Through interpreter) Part of me doubted whether I did the right thing for the country and for our society, whether what I did was something to be proud of or whether I should have just kept my mouth shut.

KUHN: Historian Park Tae-gyun says that the Vietnam experience could complicate¹⁸ future U.S. requests for its allies, South Korea, to send troops to fight in foreign wars.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.

1 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

9 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

13 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

14 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

15 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

18 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。