Washington, DC - On this year of the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea will tour the U.S. to celebrate the enduring Korean-American friendship and to express the deep gratitude the Korean people still feel toward all Americans for preserving their freedom.
“America paid a huge price in blood and tears that we’ll never forget,” said Dr. Bo Hi Pak, who founded the Little Angels in 1962. Pak, a retired diplomat and Korean Army lieutenant colonel, is himself a Korean War veteran.
Over the next two years, the tour will include all 16 nations that contributed troops to the United Nations-led Korean War effort: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Efforts will also be made to invite Russian and Chinese veterans of the first major conflict of the Cold War to participate in ceremonies of reconciliation and closure.
Beginning in the US on June 9, hundreds of Korean War veterans and their families will be treated to performances in Washington, DC, New York City, and Atlanta, Georgia. On June 25, the 60th anniversary day of the beginning of the Korean War, the Little Angels will participate in a ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has given his enthusiastic support to the Little Angels’ tour, saying, “I highly praise and value their efforts.”
South Koreans are gratefully aware of the sacrifice of the international community that protected freedom in their nation, which has become one of the most prosperous in the world. They are coming on a wave of national pride in the 5,000-year-old rich culture of Korea, with its enthralling dance and thrilling music.
The ballet troupe is composed of mostly girls aged 9 to 15. Though young, their professional level of singing and dancing has inspired audiences all over the world for the past 48 years. They have performed at the White House, the United Nations, Buckingham Palace in London, and the Kremlin in Russia.
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives J. Dennis Hastert is general chairman of the Korean War 60th Anniversary Project Committee, which is coordinating the Little Angels tour. He said of the dance troupe, “Their beauty, innocence, and professionalism have been experienced and acknowledged by millions.”
Rep. Charles Rangel of New York said, “I thank the Little Angels for honoring our veterans and the principles for which they fought. God bless our two nations.”
During the Korean War, Rangel served with the all-black 503rd Field Artillery Battalion in the 2nd Infantry Division. His leadership abilities, which were well known in his unit, were severely tested during the Battle of Kunu-ri in November 1950. Suffering shrapnel wounds, Rangel nonetheless shepherded 40 of his fellow GIs behind enemy lines for three days, allowing them to evade capture until returning to safety. The U.S. military recognized his bravery with the Purple Heart, and the Republic of Korea awarded him the Presidential Unit Citation.
The exceptionally bloody conflict, which killed about 1 million South Koreans and 2 million North Koreans, including civilians, ended with an armistice in 1953 after more than 36,000 American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice. Chinese casualties were estimated at almost a million.
“We want to give U.S. veterans a performance that will thrill and delight them, and at the same time astound them with the contrast between the ragged children they remember begging in the gutter in 1953 and those ‘visions of perfection’ they will see on stage today,” said Pak, who is chief executive of the Korean War 60th Anniversary Memorial Committee, which is sponsoring the tour.
The Little Angels were started at a time when life in South Korea was still very poor. There were few resources available, and Pak and his associates had to scrape and sacrifice to make the vision of the dance troupe a reality. As the years passed, the children worked hard and became a world-class group.
“But our most important performances of all,” said Pak, “are awaiting us on this upcoming tour, because they will be perhaps the final ‘thank you’ we can make to our precious Korean War veterans in the twilight years of their lives.”