“한국 해군의 숨겨진 역사, 『1975 사이공 대탈출』 독후감 코리아헤럴드 게재”

[강남 소비자저널=정현아 기자]

비밀에서 역사로: 대한민국 해군의 십자성 작전

「1975 사이공 대탈출」은 1975년 4월, 남베트남 패망을 앞두고 대한민국 정부가 수행한 ‘십자성 작전’의 전말을 최초로 공개한 역사 기록서이다. 이 작전은 대한민국 해군이 남베트남 교민과 현지 피란민 1,902명을 안전하게 철수시킨 대규모 민간인 구출 작전으로, 30년 이상 군사 기밀로 묶여 있다가 최근에야 세상에 알려지기 시작했다.
저자인 이문학 선생은 당시 해군 작전과장으로서 십자성 작전을 기획하고 수행한 핵심 관계자 중 한 명이었다. 그는 생생한 증언과 미공개 자료를 바탕으로, 대한민국 해군의 치밀한 작전 수행 과정과 극적인 탈출 순간들을 기록했다. 특히, 미군조차 실패한 철수 작전 속에서 대한민국 해군이 단 한 명의 사상자 없이 작전을 성공시킨 과정은 세계적으로도 유례를 찾기 어려운 역사적 성과로 평가된다.
이 책은 단순한 전쟁사가 아니라, 국가의 책무와 군인의 사명감, 그리고 대한민국 해군의 작전 능력을 재조명하는 기록이다. 특히, 대한민국 정부와 군이 전시 상황에서 자국민 보호를 위해 수행한 최초의 해외 철수 작전이라는 점에서, 이후 진행된 ‘미라클 작전’(2021년 아프가니스탄 철수)과 ‘프라미스 작전’(2023년 수단 철수)과도 연결되는 중요한 선례를 제공한다. 당시 대한민국 해군은 적의 포위망 속에서도 교민과 난민들을 끝까지 포기하지 않았으며, 정부의 철수 지시가 내려진 후에도 작전 성공 가능성이 희박한 상황에서 끝까지 임무를 수행했다.
오랜 시간 역사 속에 묻혀 있던 십자성 작전이 이 책을 통해 비로소 전 국민 앞에 공개된다. 대한민국 군과 해군이 수행한 역사적 임무가 널리 알려지고, 후대에 기억될 수 있게 되기를 기대한다.
또한, 한국군의 전투병 파병 60주년을 맞아 베트남전쟁의 발발 배경과 과정, 한국군 파병에 얽힌 모든 것을 독자들이 쉽게 이해하고 재미있게 볼수 있도록 부록으로 수록했다. 이 책은 전쟁과 평화, 그리고 국가의 역할에 대해 다시금 생각해보게 만드는 계기가 될 것이다. [출처:한국도서출판정보센터]

최근 발간하여 전국시점에서 판매되며 화제가 되고있는 “1975 사이공 대탈출 “도서에 대한 독후감이 코리아헤럴드(영문판)에 게재되어 여기 전재합니다. [ 1975 사이공 대탈출 이문학 저자 제공]

Opinion Viewpoints

[Kim Seong-kon] What to learn from ‘Escape From Sigon 1975

Recently, I read an important book titled “Escape From Saigon, 1975.” It’s a memoir written by retired Korean Navy commander Lee Moon-hak and Chung Ho-young, a former journalist at Kookbang Ilbo, or Defense Daily. Reading this mesmerizing book was like watching a riveting war movie about an adventurous military rescue operation.

“Escape From Saigon, 1975” is about the Korean Navy’s evacuation of Korean civilians residing in Vietnam just before Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. In the mission, called “Operation Cross Star,” the Korean Navy dispatched three landing ship tanks from Korea, loaded with relief supplies for the South Vietnamese government. On their return voyage, they planned to covertly evacuate Korean civilians from Saigon.

Commander Lee Moon-hak oversaw this difficult mission. Despite numerous hidden obstacles and dangers, the operation was accomplished successfully, without a single casualty, thanks to the admirable efforts of our naval officers and Ambassador Kim Yeong-gwan who possessed a strong sense of duty, honor and professionalism.

During the Vietnam War, at the request of the US government, Korea dispatched approximately 30,000 combat and non-combat troops to South Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. Among them, about 5,000 Korean soldiers were killed in action and could not return to their home country.

The Vietnamese government of the present day is admirable because it has the capacity to acknowledge the past and move on to the future. Indeed, Vietnam does not seem to harbor grudges against its former adversaries and is willing to cooperate with them to build a better future. Today, South Korea and Vietnam are good friends. In a 2023 survey, South Korea topped a list of Vietnamese people’s favorite countries. Many South Koreans, too, consider Vietnam to be a good friend and reliable business partner.

The arrival of the book, “Escape From Saigon, 1975,” was timely because it reminded us of the striking resemblance between Korea and Vietnam. For example, Vietnam was divided by the communist North and the capitalist South after liberation, and so was Korea. Inside South Vietnam, there were those who were called the Viet Cong, or Vietnamese communists. They thought that North Vietnam had legitimacy because its leader Ho Chi Minh fought in the independence war against the colonizer. Therefore, they supported North Vietnam. In South Korea, too, there were those who clandestinely supported North Korea in the past.

US troops fought both in the Korean War and in the Vietnam War to prevent the expansion of communism in Asia. In both wars, the US government pulled out its troops by signing a truce in 1953 and holding peace talks in 1973, respectively.

The book stated that few people anticipated the defeat of South Vietnam by the North. When leaving Vietnam, US troops handed over an abundant supply of advanced weapons to the South Vietnamese army. As a result, South Vietnam had the world’s 4th strongest Air Force, and more than 1 million soldiers armed with US weapons. But it was unable to turn that advantage into victory.

Today, South Korea boasts that its military power is the 5th in the world, but the ranking is based on numbers of soldiers and conventional weapons, economic power and other factors. Thus, the ranking may be a hollow decoration for a country without nuclear weapons.

The memoir also said that North Vietnamese politicians were confident that they could unify the country only if there were no US troops in the South. Indeed, two years after US troops left South Vietnam, the North invaded and occupied the South. The same thing could happen to South Korea, too.

Another reason for the fall of South Vietnam was its internal divisions and disruptions. People believed that their political leader was dictatorial, and their government was incompetent and corrupt. The protests were intense and fierce: Buddhist monks frequently died after setting themselves on fire in public places and college students’ rallies filled the streets.

In today’s South Korea, our society is also divided and polarized by two different ideologies. Foreigners are worried, watching the paralyzed administration, tyrannical legislature, and ideology-oriented judiciary. In “Escape From Saigon, 1975,” the authors wrote that watching the internal turmoil in the South, North Vietnamese politicians knew they could conquer South Vietnam easily.

The two authors of the book argue that the people in South Vietnam were so obtuse to the crisis that they did not prepare for the worst. Moreover, they observe that the South Vietnamese people wrongly believed that America would not abandon them easily.

For South Korea, as it faces its own times of crisis, this is a point worth noting

Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.