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| The monument to the Philippines in Kyonggi-do near Seoul, South Korea. |
Returning the favor (somewhat): Icheon
Citizen to play Azkals United for charity
by rick olivares
Sixty-two years ago, the
Philippines sent 7,420 soldiers to join the Allied troops fighting in the
Korean War as part of the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK). In
order to train for the mountain warfare, PEFTOK trained in the mountains of
Marikina, but nothing could prepare them for the brutal winter that awaited
them in Korea.
When the fighting ended
in 1955, 112 Filipinos died while another 313 were wounded. Sixteen servicemen
remain missing in action to this day.
When South Korean side, Icheon Citizen
arrives in the morning of Friday, January 20, 2012, for a football charity
match the following day, it significance has not been lost on me. Sixty-two
years ago, the Philippines went to the Korean peninsula to battle the forces of
communism along with 15 other countries and we paid for it in blood and the
lives of 112 soldiers.
Weeks after Typhoon Sendong devastated
parts of Mindanao, it is the turn of the South Koreans – through this third
division team – to help out not by going to war but to play a football charity
match for the victims of Mother Nature’s fury.
It’s apples and oranges for sure. But
help is help and such is the healing power of football.
----------------------
1 Hwang Sae Ha – GK
8 Lim Hyun Woo - MF
9 Moon Joo Won – MF
10 Lee Jin Yong – FW
11 Yang Ji Hoon – FW
12 Ko Sung In – FW
13 Kim Kyung Hwan – DF
14 Park Chun Sin – FW
16 Kim Seung Cheol – FW
18 Park Jin Young – MF
19 Jeong Jun Ho – DF
20 Ko Kyung Joon – DF
26 Ko Jung Han – MF
31 Jin Jae Young – GK
32 Bin Tae Kwan – FW
33 Go Hyun Bok – DF
37 Kwon Hyuk Tae – DF
Thanks to Art Villasanta for the
picture! Check out peftok.blogspot.com.
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