Aired (April 14, 2024): Sa tulong ng historian na si Dr. Melanie Turingan, ating alamin ang kuwento sa likod ng viral na comment na ‘Battle of Yultong.’
Watch episodes of 'AHA!' every Sunday morning on GMA Network, hosted by Drew Arellano. #AHAGMA #AHAmazingLearning
Watch episodes of 'AHA!' every Sunday morning on GMA Network, hosted by Drew Arellano. #AHAGMA #AHAmazingLearning
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00:00 Have you ever watched a TikTok?
00:02 You probably have read it somewhere in the comment section.
00:06 Or maybe you're just copying it?
00:09 Oh yeah, Battle of Yultong.
00:13 Hehe, but wait, what is that?
00:17 The trending Battle of Yultong?
00:20 Do you know what really happened in our history?
00:23 [Music]
00:30 It all started when a Korean posted a bad comment online
00:35 about Filipinos who were fighting against our keyboard warriors.
00:39 It was a reminder of the battle of Yultong in the 1950s.
00:45 After that, the Koreans asked for a pardon.
00:48 So, what's our connection to the Philippines?
00:51 We're joined by Professor Melanie Turingan,
00:55 Doctor of Philosophy in Philippine Studies,
00:57 to give us a little insight.
01:00 According to the history of the world,
01:02 there was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea
01:05 that resulted in the so-called Korean War
01:09 from June 1950 to July 1953,
01:13 where North Korea's ally was China,
01:16 while America and the United Nations joined South Korea.
01:20 The history of that was,
01:22 at that time, the UN General Head was Carlos Romulo.
01:29 So, because we had a very high position in the United Nations,
01:34 it became one of his commitments
01:37 that the Philippines should send a representative
01:41 to support the United Nations' commitment to peace.
01:47 So, America and other countries like Turkey and Puerto Rico helped.
01:54 The battle of Yultong lasted for more than three years.
01:58 It lasted from April 22 to April 23, 1951.
02:06 It was fought by the 10th Battalion Command Team
02:12 sent by the Philippines against Chinese communists,
02:18 North Korean military officers.
02:21 900 to 1,000 contingents were sent by the Philippines.
02:27 And, unfortunately, 40,000 Chinese and North Koreans.
02:34 The country of Battle of Yultong was famous
02:39 for the place where the war was fought.
02:42 The area where you can see Yultong Hill
02:47 is almost on the boundary of the 38th parallel.
02:52 So, that's the division between North and South Korea.
02:56 Since the North is bigger than the South,
02:59 there were more Chinese people there
03:02 to enter the territory of the Allied Powers.
03:08 Despite being defeated in the war,
03:11 there were still some factors that made it difficult for the Filipinos.
03:15 They were not prepared.
03:20 They were prepared because they had the ability,
03:23 they were officers, they were military men.
03:26 But when it came to that, the first trial was cold.
03:30 So, their habit of wearing clothes in the Philippines was not good.
03:36 So, they were trained by the US in advanced technologies.
03:42 But since the US was fighting,
03:44 they were left with their technology,
03:46 so they trained.
03:48 This is where the Filipino geniuses came out.
03:52 Because the place was not familiar to them,
03:54 they studied it.
03:56 And there's a story behind that here in AHA.
04:02 We found one of the 900 Filipinos who was sent to Korea during the war.
04:07 Here in Tralac.
04:10 This is Lolo Simeon.
04:13 At the age of 94, he was still fresh with the experiences he had during the Battle of Yultong.
04:18 He often told his children about it.
04:21 It started when he worked in a hospital.
04:25 He was an officer there.
04:27 He was encouraged to volunteer.
04:30 He volunteered to be a soldier.
04:33 And he was placed in that position.
04:36 Lolo Simeon's father dreamed of becoming a soldier.
04:40 So, he volunteered himself.
04:44 And the first war he fought was the Battle of Yultong.
04:49 I was 20 years old.
04:51 I was a medical aid man.
04:53 My job was to provide first aid.
05:00 I was the first to receive treatment.
05:03 Before I could see a doctor,
05:06 I would get a cloth and tie it here.
05:10 Then I would put my hand here.
05:14 I would pull it.
05:17 Pull.
05:18 He will never forget the loud sounds of the war.
05:29 We had automatic machines.
05:36 We put in a syringe.
05:41 We tied it.
05:45 As soon as it was stretched,
05:49 it would shoot.
05:51 The pine trees were not strong and big.
05:55 When they were tied,
05:57 it would break.
05:58 The big head of the pine tree would fall.
06:03 It was estimated that 11 to 15 Filipino leaders died.
06:11 At that time, Lolo Simeon was already convinced that he would not be able to return home alive.
06:17 He was in the medical service.
06:20 He said that they were the target.
06:23 They were the target so that no one could give medicine to other soldiers.
06:29 Their lives were very dangerous.
06:32 Since they were the target,
06:34 he had to think about how he would live.
06:38 And at the same time, how he would help his fellow Filipinos.
06:41 But despite the fear,
06:43 their belief was that
06:44 I would not give up.
06:47 According to some historians,
06:49 the most powerful weapon of the Filipinos was the TAPAC.
06:53 It was a triangle.
06:57 On one end, the first Turkish block entered,
07:01 it failed.
07:03 The next was the Puerto Rican block,
07:05 it failed.
07:06 The next was the Filipino block,
07:08 it almost failed.
07:09 But since they were brave,
07:12 they responded.
07:13 The Chinese did not anticipate that they would not be ready.
07:21 And unknowingly,
07:23 there were also guards on the top of the terrain
07:25 who were watching over what was happening below.
07:28 So the enemy was caught off guard
07:30 even if there were more of them.
07:32 So they had no choice but to retreat.
07:35 In two days of fighting,
07:37 the Filipinos won against 40,000 enemies.
07:40 The Filipinos are the ones who are fighting in Yoltong.
07:45 The Filipinos are very emotional,
07:50 so emotion bound.
07:52 So, instead of loving and treating our fellow Filipinos as family,
07:58 we will use their death
08:01 to make us stronger.
08:04 After the battle of Yoltong,
08:05 they brought back the pride of our country.
08:09 Since then,
08:11 Grandfather Simeon did not continue his military service.
08:13 Instead, he focused on his family
08:16 and looked for other fun.
08:18 But he was proud that the first and last war
08:22 was really a historical one.
08:23 And his remaining remembrance from the battle of Yoltong,
08:27 his dog tag that he gave to his grandson.
08:32 What is the dog tag for?
08:34 In military terms,
08:35 it serves as an identification tag
08:37 of a soldier who was part of his uniform.
08:40 Why is this important?
08:42 It serves as an identity of a soldier
08:46 so that if he is ever injured,
08:48 he can easily be identified and recognized
08:51 and be returned to his loved ones.
08:53 The battle of Yoltong is a good study
08:56 because in the Philippines,
08:58 we are used to celebrating
09:02 the occasion of Kasawiano.
09:05 So, imagine,
09:07 April 9 is a holiday,
09:10 Day of Bail,
09:11 or it is a good day to remember
09:13 because it is the day of Kagitingan.
09:15 But that day is in line with the Fall of Bataan
09:20 where almost 10,000 Filipinos died
09:24 from starvation and poverty during the journey
09:28 from Mariveles to Pampanga to Tarlac.
09:32 This is an important aspect of history
09:35 because it is a success.
09:38 The Philippines does not fight directly,
09:42 but as a country that has peace in the whole world.
09:48 For Grandfather Simeon and other Filipinos
09:51 who fought in the battle of Yoltong,
09:53 Salute!
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