There is also the issue of the “Lai Dai Han,” children born to South Korean soldiers and Vietnamese women during the war.
Estimates of their number vary widely, from around 3,000 to 30,000.
The South Korean government has not provided them with compensation or official support.
At the request of the United States, South Korea sent around 320,000 troops to the Vietnam War, mainly fighting in central Vietnam.
More than 50,000 people were reportedly killed on both sides, including nearly 40,000 Vietnamese soldiers.
@kabutaroo During WWII, Japanese soldiers committed rape, pillaging, and horrific crimes in Vietnam as well. Did Japanese people commit war crimes against so many Asian nations that they can’t even remember what they did in Vietnam anymore?
During a visit to Vietnam in 1998, President Kim Dae-jung expressed “regret,” but stopped short of a formal apology.
In 2014, President Park Geun-hye praised South Korean veterans for their service in Vietnam without mentioning the civilian victims.