Viet Cong forces occupying South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, President Dương Văn Minh (1916-2001) of free South Vietnam declared unconditional surrender to North Vietnam, bringing the 30-year Vietnam War to an end. Black and white photo converted to color.

Fifty-one years ago today, April 30, 1975. The iron gate of the Presidential Palace of Free South Vietnam, boasting the world's fourth-largest air force, collapsed in vain before the tanks of the North Vietnamese army. 

On that day of defeat, when a nation was erased forever from the map, some called it "national liberation" and felt exhilaration, while others defined it as a history of ruin created by pacifism and a "tragedy of a distant land." However, the reality we face in 2026 serves as a reminder that the specter of South Vietnam's fall is haunting the Korean Peninsula.

Historically, the downfall of a nation has begun not with external invasion, but with the "moral and intellectual self-destruction of rulers and the leadership class." This was the case in the process by which Joseon, a dynasty of 500 years, had its national sovereignty usurped by Japan.

In the late Joseon Dynasty, the leadership class ignored the rapidly changing international landscape and was engrossed in corrupt factional strife to protect their vested interests. The lives of the common people were plunged into hardship, and with trust in the leadership at rock bottom, the nation lost even the minimal immunity to resist external threats and crumbled from within before the enemy even fired a shot.

1. The 'Security Anesthetic' in the Name of a Peace Agreement

The fuse that led to the fall of South Vietnam was not guns and swords, but a single piece of paper called the "Paris Peace Accords (1973)." Amidst cheers for the Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. troops withdrew, and South Vietnam was disarmed. Peace is first destroyed when the balance of power is broken. At the time, South Vietnam's "pacifists," under the emotional slogan of "our people together," voluntarily disarmed themselves of security.

Today, the Republic of Korea bears a chilling resemblance to the incompetence of South Vietnam on the verge of collapse and late Joseon.

Despite the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons, there are calls for the early retrieval of wartime operational control, and there is a push to restore the "September 19 Military Agreement," which restricts our military's surveillance capabilities.

The foreshadowing of South Vietnam's fall, which dismantled its security, is being replicated in 2026 by "anti-American propaganda" and "asymmetric peace theories." This is a modern variation of how late Joseon rulers clung to the dogmatic frameworks of "servitude" and "pretext" and rejected opportunities for modernization.

2. Internal Enemies Who Incited 'Ideological Brain Death'

The main culprits behind the fall of South Vietnam were internal enemies. The "peace drumming" of spies who infiltrated politics, religion, society, and the military became a passageway for invasion. The current Republic of Korea, despite being in a state of armistice, plans to reduce front-line border troops by a quarter, advocates for the restoration of the "September 19 Military Agreement" that self-censors our intelligence capabilities, and insists on sole self-defense in an era of interconnected alliances where no country can achieve complete self-defense. Voices that deny the nation's legitimacy are protected under the guise of democracy, and those who defend North Korea's nuclear threat are allowed to speak.

The most fatal slogan spread by internal pacifists and North Vietnamese spies just before the fall of South Vietnam to deceive the citizens was: "Surrender rather than war, peace rather than freedom." This evokes the sophistry that "even the worst peace is better than war." They were the performers of defeatism. They forgot the truth that a nation not prepared for war will face not peace, but subjugation and massacre.

They are blurring the essence of the issue by treating security conflicts as ideological struggles. Is the integration of military academies aimed at eradicating the identity of each branch, the "DMZ Peace Utilization Bill" that exploits security gaps in the demilitarized zone, the "September 19 Military Agreement" and the "National Intelligence Service Act Amendment" which represent the voluntary castration of anti-North Korea intelligence, and the forceful push for "wartime operational control retrieval" that incites cracks in the ROK-US alliance, all driven by the pursuit of partisan interests even when the nation is in crisis? Or is it due to ignorance that creates crises? The specter of their intentions is unknown.

3. After the Fall of South Vietnam, Pacifists Were the First to Be Purged

What followed the fall of South Vietnam was not peace, but a massive purge of blood. Many of the one million boat people who risked their lives at sea in search of freedom became lost souls in the cold ocean. After the fall, approximately 1 to 2.5 million people were forcibly detained in "re-education camps," and 50,000 to 160,000 of them died from execution, illness, or other causes. Pacifists who advocated for the "people" and agreed to the peace accords were classified as "opportunists" and were the first to be executed or sent to camps.

We must now ask ourselves.

If South Vietnam's false peace scenario becomes a reality on the Korean Peninsula, will the rulers and leaders who are currently dulling the edge of security be spared from such purges? For whose benefit are peace and sole self-defense, without the guarantee of North Korea's complete denuclearization, being pursued? Who are the irresponsible individuals pushing our children's future towards being "21st-century boat people"?

Just as the end was tragic for the traitors of late Joseon who sold their country for personal gain, the future of those who use national security as a tool for political infighting will also be tragic unless they undergo a desperate awakening and change of heart.

4. Peace Is Achieved Not Through the Begging of the Weak, But Through the 'Resolve' of the Strong

The history of defeat, deceived by peace, repeats itself. Peace that relies on the enemy's goodwill is an act of suicide. Peace is not something to be begged for; it is achieved solely through overwhelming strength and the dedication and responsibility of the leadership. We must not repeat the betrayal and folly of dismantling our own security in the name of peace.

What we need now is not sentimental pacifism. We need the wisdom to penetrate the harsh reality and the unyielding resolve to protect our nation. Let us remember that the fall of South Vietnam and late Joseon was an end brought about by the self-destruction of the leadership. These tragedies are not frozen relics of the past. They are the future of the Republic of Korea that will be upon us if we do not awaken.

"If you want peace, prepare for war." Let the rulers and leadership first remember this old adage, reflect it in security policies, and unite the people. Only then will the specter of South Vietnam's fall disappear. For our freedom and lives, we must now awaken from the winter slumber of security.

◆ Park Pil-gyu, Commissioner

Editor, Hankook Ilbo

40th graduating class, Korea Military Academy