Nobody can easily forget the horrible war in Iraq. Apart from the judgment of justice or injustice of the war, many people have been hurt. The wounds should be healed as soon as possible. By whom? They are by us. For humanitarian reasons, we must help the Iraqi out to overcome the barriers before them. Then, how? Iraq is far away from Korea and it is not easy to deliver our hearts to the Iraqi. But, don't worry about it. We already sent our representatives over there, and they are doing really a good job. I'm neither a pro-American nor a warmonger. Just as an ordinary student with common sense, I believe what I see, hear and feel. During our visit to Iraq, I was really proud of Korean soldiers and of myself just because I'm Korean. What the Zaytun needs the most is words of encouragement from all over the mother country, I assume. 
 
The three oppressive things in Iraq are sand, hot winds and temperatures of 45 degrees. The desert was beyond the boundary of my conception. Try to imagine showering with sand in a sauna. Landing from the plane, as a matter of fact, I regretted my decision to come to middle Asia. But I was already in Kuwait and the hot weather was not caused only by the pebble on the beaches. Have you ever heard about "tactic flight"? Since the public security in Iraq is still unstable, visitors could not fly directly to Iraq. A military plane shipped us from Kuwait to Iraq, and it did an act of aerial acrobatics to avoid an unknown attack. I learned what airsickness is. I will never forget it because of my experience of it.
  After many twists and turns, I stepped into the Northern Iraqi area of Erbil where the Zaytun troop is located. It seemed so peaceful even though I could not totally figure it out. At least, there has been no terrorism since June 2005. A non-terror region in Iraq! Don't you think that it is a surprising news? Zaytun means olive in Arabic areas, and olive is a symbol of peace. The Zaytun troop is thoroughly true to its name. Soldiers seemed strong, determined and full of confidence. To cheer them up, students from Yeungnam Univ (YU). entertained them with great performances. Dong-hyun Kim (Graduate 05, College of Music) played songs with a large transverse bamboo flute daeguem, and Soo-jin Yang (03, College of Music) captured the attention of every Zaytun soldier there by singing pansori. Everybody loved it and a round of applause lasted quite a long while.
  In addition to military activities, our "olive" troop was doing many other jobs as well; building schools, hospitals, police stations, a field for shooting, technology education centers and civilian public parks as well as paving roads for Kurds living in Erbil. And it has been helping Kurds by teaching, maintaining computers and cars, making bread, and operating heavy machinery. Nowadays, the new community movement Saemaeul Movement is spreading rapidly there. The mottos of that movement are the same as ones of ours before; "diligence, self-reliance, and cooperation". Furthermore, by holding an athletic meeting or village feast, our troop is taking an active and major role in bringing Kurdish communities together.
  About the relationship between YU. and Salahaddin Univ., the Zaytun troop gave much help to it. The meeting was successful and all of us visitors felt their warm hearts. From transportation to introductions and translation, with its thoughtful consideration, the Zaytun troop was successfully carrying out the mission of international exchange of culture and peace. Professor Woon-seok Park (Dept. of China and Chinese Literature) expressed his sincere appreciation to the Zaytun when we waved goodbye.
  On my way back to Korea, I thought about many things including the future of Iraq. I really hope that the whole nation in Iraq has peace soon. The six days from August 30 to September 5 were a very meaningful time for me, and I wish more people recognize the efforts of Korean soldier stationed in Iraq.

※ If you want more details about the Zaytun troop, then visit the internet site below. ▶ http://www.zaytun.mil.kr/