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NOTE: It was later learned that a similarly named site (aljazeera.com) that has no relation with Al-Jazeera exists and many of the messages below were sent to that site rather than one of the Qatar-based cable news network.
Appeals to release Korean captive Kim Sun-il are flooding the homepage of al-Jazeera, the Arab news network that first played Kim's abduction tape.
Most of these appeals were from Koreans and written in a mixture of English and Korean. They appealed for Kim's release, saying the deployment of Korean troops to Iraq was because of U.S. pressure or that Koreans love Iraq and opposed the war.
A subscriber by the pen name of "Son Ye-ri" wrote that most Koreans opposed sending troops to Iraq, but had no choice because of U.S. pressure. She wrote, "(In Korean) Please understand our position. We will work hard to see the troop deployment plan cancelled. Please let him go. (In English) please, do not kill kimsun il !! please, please, please ..."
Lee Se-hyeon asked for understanding, saying that in Korea, which suffered both Japanese colonization and the Korean War, most people opposed sending troops to Iraq, but the nation is in a situation in which it must side with the United States.
Jeong Yu-gyeong touchingly appealed for Kim's life, saying, "Kim Sun-il went to Iraq because he liked you [Iraqis] ... We are not sending troops to Iraq because we want to. It's just because our nation is weak ... We have no power to defy [the United States] ... Please let Kim live."
One Internet user by the handle of "Haneul Kim" said Kim only went to Iraq to earn money for school, and claimed, "Korea, which is a weak country that is caught in a global political vortex, has no choice but to send troops, but most Koreans don't want war."
There were also many that pleaded for Kim's life, saying that Koreans like Iraqis. Someone writing in English who identified himself as a Korean pleaded, "We are not your enemy. Please don't kill Kim Sun-il. Please don't kill a good person."
A high school junior by the name of "Ji-eun" wrote that Kim went to Iraq to earn money, and he didn't know a thing about the war or the Korean deployment of troops there. She asked his kidnappers not to kill him.
Some didn't hide their anti-American feelings and pleaded for Kim's life while expressing support for the Iraqi masses' struggle against the United States.
One Internet user by the name of "js park" said, "All Koreans support your struggle against the United States, and respect your passion for the war [against the U.S.]," and left a couple of posts saying how all Koreans love Iraq, Iraqis and Iraqi religious groups.
A poster by the name of "kim" said he understood that the "guerrillas" kidnapped Kim in order to protect Iraqi women, children and old people from violence committed by U.S. soldiers. He wrote, "The Korean people, too, have experienced death at the hands of U.S. soldiers, just like the Iraqi people."
There were other posts warning Iraqis that if Kim was killed, Koreans would no longer like Iraqis, and Iraq could become an enemy. A middle school student going by the name of Lee Ung-hee said killing Kim could provoke the fury of Koreans, writing, "Revenge begets revenge, and Koreans don't want that."
Some one going by the Internet handle of "900s from Korea" said, "This is a warning to the armed group [that took Kim]. Whatever you do, don't turn Koreans into devils. Everything hangs with what you do."
A Thai by the name of "Sanan" told Kim's kidnappers not to kill him, saying, "I don't know what the hell is in your head. Think about who you are fighting for."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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