“30 years of love for Ethiopian war veterans… we must continue it to our descendants.”

“I had no idea that the support for Ethiopian veterans that I started 30 years ago would last this long. It’s the longest I’ve done this in my life, and I’ve been able to continue it with great satisfaction.”

The visit of the descendants of Ethiopian veterans, who became a hot topic by singing Arirang in front of President Lee Jae-myung in June of this year, was thanks to the efforts of Shin Gwang-cheol, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Association (UNPK).

Chairman Shin's first relationship with Ethiopia dates back to May 1968.

At that time, the citizens of Chuncheon erected a memorial to the war in Gongjicheon to commemorate the sacrifice of the Ethiopian Gangnyu unit who participated in the Korean War, and Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie attended the unveiling ceremony.

Chairman Shin, who was a middle school student at the time, handed a bouquet of flowers to the emperor as a student representative and wondered, 'What kind of person is the emperor?'

After enlisting in the military in 1975, he was surprised to read an article in a newspaper that said, 'Ethiopia's emperor was murdered in the communist revolution.'

As time passed and he was in his 40s, he worked in overseas trade, joined the Rotary Club in the Chuncheon area, and gradually learned the joy of volunteering. In June 1995, he came across a documentary on TV that changed his life.

The broadcast that featured the June 25 special included the reality of Ethiopian war veterans living miserable lives as they were branded traitors to their nation because they ‘fought for democracy’ after communism in 1974.

Feeling a sense of duty to help them, Chairman Shin called 18 local Rotary club executives, watched the broadcast again, and agreed to support them together.

On the 29th of the same month, Chairman Shin met with the Ethiopian Ambassador to Korea in Hannam-dong, Seoul and expressed his support, and held a Rotary Club sports competition in Chuncheon, raising about 20,000 dollars.

Since then, donations have been made from various organizations and organizations, raising a total of about $100,000.

Chairman Shin, who visited the site to find a way to support veterans, was speechless at the miserable local situation.

Compared to the ‘Korean Village’ where they lived, the small town felt cozy.

During the rainy season, the rivers often overflowed and filled with water, and the lives of five or six people crammed into small houses with no windows, let alone water facilities, brought tears to those who visited the site.

Accordingly, Chairman Shin formed the Ethiopian Korean War Veterans Support Association on June 20, 1996.

It was an organization created to support the local area efficiently, avoiding the efforts of various organizations to help with heavy heating.

The first sponsor chairperson was actress Son Sook, who hosted the radio program ‘Women’s Generation’ at the time.

However, the following year, the IMF foreign exchange crisis broke out, and the number of sponsors from about 2,000 was reduced to 50.

Still, Chairman Shin continued his support group activities even if it meant sacrificing his personal funds.

The ways in which the support association helped veterans were broadly divided into four categories: support for living expenses, housing repairs, educational activities, and job creation.

In particular, beyond simple cash support, we established bicycle assembly plants and carpet factories to provide them with a source of income, and together with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and KOICA, we spent $100,000 to build river embankments to prevent flooding during the rainy season.

As Korea's interest in war veterans continued, the local government also took steps to improve Korean Village roads and provide veterans' pensions.

In addition, efforts were made to repair housing so that veterans who sacrificed their youth to prevent communism on the Korean Peninsula could spend the rest of their lives comfortably.

The support association started the veterans' housing improvement project in 2008 and has completed renovations and repairs on a total of 137 homes as of this year.

This project, which costs an average of $5,000 per building, was able to proceed smoothly with large donations from the Asan Cultural Foundation, KEPCO MCS, and Korea Maritime Union.

Chairman Shin was also present at the start of the 'Kangnyu Choir', which is composed of descendants of Ethiopian war veterans.

10 years ago, a class where we sang Korean songs together to effectively teach Korean to local students led to the formation of a choir, and starting with a performance at the National Foundation Day event at the Korean Embassy in Ethiopia, our skills gradually grew as we performed on various stages.

With the support of LG Group, they visited Korea on June 24th of this year and performed around the country, and concluded their 36-day schedule with their final performance at the UN Veterans' Day event hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on July 27th.

A war veteran who was present said, "You have fully repaid our sacrifices by helping Korea become a developed country. It is our joy that the country we shed blood for is now prospering, and one thing we ask is that you help our young people also live well."

Chairman Shin, who will soon be in his mid-70s, wants to dedicate himself to establishing a King Sejong Institute and the Korean Cultural Center in Ethiopia, a country that participated in the Korean War.

However, they say that age and health are obstacles.

Although I am recovering my health after undergoing cancer surgery early this year, long flights are becoming increasingly difficult.

Accordingly, we are looking for someone who will continue our mission to repay the sacrifices made by Ethiopian war veterans toward Korea.

Chairman Shin said on the 10th, "When I counted the personal wealth I have accumulated over the past 30 years, the total was about 4 billion won. I have considered this as not my money from the beginning, and neither I nor my family nor the employees of the business regret any of it."

He added, "I am always grateful for the strong support of my family and employees," and added, "If you are interested in following in my footsteps for the sake of Ethiopian veterans and sponsors, please contact the Korean War Veterans Memorial Association at any time."