S. Korea to offer scholarship to children of Korean War veterans

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will launch a scholarship program for the
children of Korean War veterans from underdeveloped countries to repay their
sacrifice during the military conflict that killed some 150,000 U.N. forces,
officials said Wednesday.
Twenty-one nations helped South Korea repel invading North Korean troops in the
1950-53 Korean War as part of U.S.-led U.N. forces. The conflict ended in a
truce, not a peace treaty, technically leaving the two Koreas still at war.
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said in a press release that it
will forge a deal with non-governmental organization World Together Thursday and
start offering academic support from March.
The bursaries, the first of which will go to children of Ethiopian veterans, will
be raised with a collection of ???pin money??? voluntarily offered by government
officials, the ministry said.
Some 1.2 million won (US$1,050) was collected last month with officials at the
veterans and defense ministries, and the national weather agency paying 1,000 won
or less each out of their monthly wages.
More ministries are expected to join the move so that the country can expand the
scholarship program to other underdeveloped countries, the veterans ministry
said.
"This program is very meaningful in a sense we are able to financially repay the
nations that fought for us during the crisis six decades ago and thereby
strengthen ties with our past and future allies,???the ministry said in the
release.
There is no official record of how many lives were lost during the war, but
historians suggest about 970,000 South Koreans, 1.7 million North Koreans,
150,000 U.N. forces, mostly Americans, and 900,000 Chinese died.
Ethiopia, one of the most impoverished nations in the world, sent 3,518 troops to
the Korean War. Of them, 121 were killed in action.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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