Korean Cultural Centre AU sat down with Australian Korean War veterans Rear Admiral Ian Crawford, J ‘Johny' Bineham, and S ‘Ray' Seaver to recall their participation in the Korean War on the occasion of the exhibition '1951: the critical year of the Korean War' marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong, where Australian forces vigorously fought against the Chinese offensive during the Korean War.
Spencer 'Ray' SEAVER served the Korean War as a pilot in No. 77 Squadron.
"One of the problems with the Korean War is, very few people in Australia knew where Korea was. They knew very little about it. And I've taken an interest in Korean history, and that's been an interesting journey just learning about how Korea became Korea."
John Bineham served as a front line Australian soldier in the Korean War.
"The one thing that really sustains me, is when I returned, to see South Korea and... it was a bit emotional. To see South Korea, and see the change, it's a highly successful country. Because, so many things happened in the Korean War that were really nasty.... when you look at South Korea now, you would think "This is really positive." And, that really sustains me."
Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Ian Crawford AO AM (Mil) sailed to Korea with the Australian Navy as a teenager. He served in missions to evacuate isolated United Nations units and to support operations behind the advancing North Korean line in extremely tough conditions.
“The armistice today is very important. It's an opportunity to remember what we achieved in Korea and to remember those who are no longer with us, those who died in the war. And there are only about 2,500 of us left now.
And there's a little group missing in action which I have been helping with. We have a group of families who are haunted by not knowing what happened to their loved ones.. and we still have 43 missing in action from the Korean war.”
'1951: the critical year of the Korean War' exhibition
〰️ Dates: 23 April – 2 July 2021 (Weekdays, 10am-6pm)
〰️ Venue: Korean Cultural Centre gallery (Ground Fl, 255 Elizabeth St. Sydney NSW 2000)
〰️ Entry: Free
〰️ Website: http://www.koreanculture.org.au/1951-kapyong