VOA慢速英语2014 韩国僧人照看敌军墓地

 

AS IT IS 2014-11-11 South Korean Monk¹ Cares for Cemetery² of Enemy Soldiers 韩国僧人照看敌军墓地

When the Korean War ended in 1953 with a cease-fire agreement, the remains³ of thousands of soldiers were left in both North and South Korea.

In 1996, the South Korean government chose land close to the neutral area between North and South Korea to re-bury the bodies of some enemy fighters. The burial place is in Paju, north of the South Korean capital, Seoul.

A man there says it is his spiritual duty to care for the souls of the dead.

The burial grounds are next to a road that stretches from Seoul to the fences of the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. Few Koreans know the cemetery is there. But 56-year-old Muk-gai does. He is a Buddhist⁴ monk, a religious worker. He says the cemetery is a holy place.

You are listening to Muk-gai beating on a drum and chanting. He says the sounds will ease the suffering of the spirits that he says visit the cemetery. He beats his small drum as he walks past the headstones. The remains of 769 North Korean soldiers are buried on the grounds. The soldiers came to fight South Korea. But Muk-gai does not think of them as enemies.

The monk says once they are dead, we should forgive everything they did in life. He says that is an Eastern tradition.  

Muk-gai says he did not know much about this cemetery until three years ago. He says that is when ghosts in military clothing and with large open wounds began visiting him. He says they told him they missed their families and needed love. He says the spirits visited him repeatedly for three months until he began caring for them in the cemetery.

He says at first he was frightened by the spirits, but that fear went away. He says the soldiers have not grown older since they died. He says they still look young. He feels like they are his sons.

The bodies of about 400 Chinese soldiers were buried here until earlier this year when they were returned to China. But tensions between North and South Korea mean the 769 bodies in this cemetery will probably not be sent back home anytime soon.

Some North Koreans who fled to the South say they are sad about that. Park Gun-ha is a North Korean defector. Like most other men in the North, he served in his country’s military. He says the soldiers in the graveyard⁵ should be returned home.

Mr. Park says it is a political issue. He says the soldiers did not choose to go to war -- they were sent by their leaders. 

In addition to holding the North Korean soldiers who died during the Korean War, the cemetery also has the remains of men who came to fight the South many years later. They include the “commandos” who attempted to take the life of South Korea’s president in 1968.

Andre Salmon⁶ is a Korean War historian. He says North Korea may not want those bodies returned.

“I can’t speak for the North Korean government -- this is purely⁷ speculation⁸ on my behalf -- that this was a deniable operation, a black operation, so if they accepted the bodies back, they're accepting that they conducted the operation.”

Muk-gai says he will continue caring for the cemetery until there is finally peace. Some South Koreans have criticized the monk for his actions. But he says he believes he is doing the right thing.

He says people used to ask him why he was caring for the enemy, and tried to stop him. But he believes he has changed their minds.

As he leaves the cemetery, he taps his drum and bows toward the graves.

1 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

2 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

5 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

6 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。