The War Memorial of Korea, a sanctuary of South Korean security. ⒸHanmi Ilbo

There is a very dry and clear truth commonly accepted in criminology: "Once can be an accidental mistake, but if it happens twice, it is clear intent and a meticulous 'design'."

Just a few days ago, when the War Memorial of Korea, a sanctuary of South Korean security, displayed a children's poster depicting the Korean War from the Chinese Communist Party's perspective as 'Resist America, Aid Korea,' we wanted to believe it was a one-time administrative error by a clueless outsourced company.

However, a second disaster has indeed occurred. The plan by the Korean War Memorial Foundation, under the Ministry of National Defense, to gather elementary, middle, and high school teachers from across the country and send them on a subsidized trip to China's 'Anti-US Aid Korea Memorial Hall' in Dandong has been exposed.

This bizarre scheme, intended to send our children's teachers to a brainwashing center that denies North Korea's invasion, mocks our military, and justifies aggression – at this point, it is not incompetence or a mistake. It is a complete 'subversive design' to dismantle the constitutional legitimacy of the Republic of Korea from within and offer it at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party.

In the face of this chilling violation of our constitution, I cannot help but coldly recall the sensitive and meticulous standards of the left-leaning faction.

If having one's name associated with a tumbler event is a grave crime that defiles the ten days of Gwangju, what in the world is this act of a state agency stepping forward to praise the history of a war criminal who massacred millions of South Korean and UN soldiers, using taxpayer money to indoctrinate teachers?

Is the blood of Gwangju a sacred sanctuary that must be met with foaming outrage at the slightest touch, while the blood of the Korean War can be freely defiled and violated through the lens of an enemy nation, packaged merely as a 'simple tour along the route'? How are we to deal with this heinous and nauseating Ministry of National Defense that makes a religion out of the wounds of its own side while eagerly dancing on the graves of the patriotic martyrs who defended the nation?

I warn you, respect for history is never a one-way street.

If the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Ministry of National Defense attempt to cover up the ideological manipulation by the War Memorial, which has gone mad, with flimsy excuses like "it was removed due to a tight schedule," I will no longer be confined by the moral taboos you have set.

If the government once again stands by and allows the noble blood of the Korean War, which defended the nation, to be defiled through the perspective of an enemy nation, I, too, will henceforth call the May 18th Uprising, which you so sanctify, the 'Gwangju Incident' without hesitation. If you insult the heroes who defended the foundations of the Republic of Korea, why should I meticulously show deference and treat only the wounds of your faction as sacred?

Unless the root cause of this horrific situation, where a state agency attempted to import and implant red doctrine into teachers' minds, is thoroughly investigated and eradicated, this nation is no different from being euthanized in a bloodless civil war.

◆ Writer Park Ju-hyun

Composer, music director, columnist, and essayist. Actively expresses opinions on political, current affairs, and social issues on Facebook, gaining the empathy of many. Published the essay collection 'Crossing the Sea of Storms'.