Mi-Seon Shim and Hyo-Sun Shin
The picture of the pin above is a 20th-anniversary pin commemorating Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon. On June 13, 2002, in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, a U.S. armored tank driven by two U.S. military personnel ran over Hyo-Soon and Mi-Sun, both 14. The eighth-grade girls died on the spot. South Korea’s Ministry of Justice requested the U.S. waive the right to try the two soldiers in the U.S. so that South Korea could try them.
The U.S. has shown a strong tendency to prioritize militarism and political interests over human rights, especially those of women and girls. Sexual assault and harassment within the U.S. military remain a persistent problem. This problem is compounded when considering foreign installations, where extraterritoriality jurisdiction applies under Status of Forces Agreements, or SOFAs. These agreements often allow the U.S. to retain exclusive jurisdiction over its service members in many countries, including the ROK and Japan. U.S. military personnel overseas face lighter or sometimes no punishment for an array of human rights violations, including sexual violence committed in host countries. Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon were just two of the many victims affected by U.S. militarism overseas and unjustly handled cases of U.S. military sexual violence in South Korea, which hosts the third-largest U.S. military presence overseas and the largest overseas installation at Camp Humphreys.
On June 13, 2002, a U.S. Army tracked vehicle (AVLM) driven by Sergeant Mark Walker and commanded by Sergeant Fernando Nino, both stationed at Camp Red Cloud, ran over two eighth-grade girls, Hyo-Sun Shin (신효순) and Mi-Seon Shim (심미선), on the Yangju highway in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The girls, who were walking to meet friends in Uijeongbu to celebrate Hyo-Sun’s birthday the following day, died instantly. Days later, students from Uijeongbu Girls’ High School held a candlelight vigil in front of Camp Red Cloud, the 2nd Infantry Division, where Walker and Nino were stationed. Soon, students from Uijeongbu Boys’ High School and other citizens joined the demonstration. One of the South Korean organizers for the 2024 ESJF Study Tour was Sooyong Maeng, a high school history teacher who addresses this tragic history in his classroom curriculum. Maeng was a 7th grader attending a middle school near Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon’s school at the time of the tragedy. Maeng’s older sister attended the same school, Uijeongbu Girls’ High School, as Mi-Seon’s older sister.
In response to these unjust deaths, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice requested that the U.S. waive its right to try the two soldiers. Referring to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), however, the U.S. rejected the request. SOFA grants the U.S. exclusive jurisdiction over its military personnel in many host countries, including South Korea and Japan. As a result, U.S. personnel stationed abroad often face lighter or no punishment for various offenses, including serious human rights violations committed in host countries.
On November 20, 2002, a U.S. court-martial found both soldiers not guilty of negligent homicide. Ten days later, what began in Uijeongbu grew into the first mass candlelight vigil in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, drawing about 30,000 participants. Peaceful demonstrations commemorating the girls, protesting their deaths, and demanding changes to SOFA continued every weekend from November 2002 through late January 2003.
Though the text of SOFA remained largely unchanged, these demonstrations—driven by public outrage over the incident and perceived inadequacies of the agreement—led to significant changes in how it was implemented.
The candlelight vigils are widely recognized as the origin of Korea’s modern candlelight protest tradition, which later played a central role in the impeachment and conviction of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017 on corruption-related charges.
The images below are from the 22nd anniversary commemorating the death of Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon.
Image credit: ESJF
The below 2012 poem was dedicated to Mi-Seon and Hyo-Sun on the 10th anniversary of their deaths when the civic memorial “Girls’ Dreams” (소녀의 꿈) was built with public donations. It’s engraved onto two memorial sculptures symbolizing the girls. The four-panel memorial (see the ones in purple below), by Kim Seo-Kyung (김서경) and Kim Eun-Sung (김운성), is made up of candle-shaped holes arranged into a fully bloomed flower. The mural was painted by six artists, including Lee Gu-Young (이구영), who attended the 22nd anniversary on June 12, 2024.
Poem translation: Sung Sohn
On June 13, 2002, a U.S. Army tracked vehicle (AVLM) driven by Sergeant Mark Walker and commanded by Sergeant Fernando Nino, both stationed at Camp Red Cloud, ran over two eighth-grade girls, Hyo-Sun Shin (신효순) and Mi-Seon Shim (심미선), on the Yangju highway in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The girls, who were walking to meet friends in Uijeongbu to celebrate Hyo-Sun’s birthday the following day, died instantly. Days later, students from Uijeongbu Girls’ High School held a candlelight vigil in front of Camp Red Cloud, the 2nd Infantry Division, where Walker and Nino were stationed. Soon, students from Uijeongbu Boys’ High School and other citizens joined the demonstration. One of the South Korean organizers for the 2024 ESJF Study Tour was Sooyong Maeng, a high school history teacher who addresses this tragic history in his classroom curriculum. Maeng was a 7th grader attending a middle school near Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon’s school at the time of the tragedy. Maeng’s older sister attended the same school, Uijeongbu Girls’ High School, as Mi-Seon’s older sister.
In response to these unjust deaths, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice requested that the U.S. waive its right to try the two soldiers. Referring to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), however, the U.S. rejected the request. SOFA grants the U.S. exclusive jurisdiction over its military personnel in many host countries, including South Korea and Japan. As a result, U.S. personnel stationed abroad often face lighter or no punishment for various offenses, including serious human rights violations committed in host countries.
On November 20, 2002, a U.S. court-martial found both soldiers not guilty of negligent homicide. Ten days later, what began in Uijeongbu grew into the first mass candlelight vigil in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, drawing about 30,000 participants. Peaceful demonstrations commemorating the girls, protesting their deaths, and demanding changes to SOFA continued every weekend from November 2002 through late January 2003.
Though the text of SOFA remained largely unchanged, these demonstrations—driven by public outrage over the incident and perceived inadequacies of the agreement—led to significant changes in how it was implemented.
The candlelight vigils are widely recognized as the origin of Korea’s modern candlelight protest tradition, which later played a central role in the impeachment and conviction of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017 on corruption-related charges.
The images below are from the 22nd anniversary commemorating the death of Hyo-Sun and Mi-Seon.
Image credit: ESJF
The below 2012 poem was dedicated to Mi-Seon and Hyo-Sun on the 10th anniversary of their deaths when the civic memorial “Girls’ Dreams” (소녀의 꿈) was built with public donations. It’s engraved onto two memorial sculptures symbolizing the girls. The four-panel memorial (see the ones in purple below), by Kim Seo-Kyung (김서경) and Kim Eun-Sung (김운성), is made up of candle-shaped holes arranged into a fully bloomed flower. The mural was painted by six artists, including Lee Gu-Young (이구영), who attended the 22nd anniversary on June 12, 2024.
Poem translation: Sung Sohn
Bright green June hills ever so heart-wrenching
Mi-Seon and Hyo-Sun, you fell over ever so tragically
When candlelight in our hands
Turns into a bright torch light
Wind will carry your dreams to bloom
“Girls’ Dreams,” Peace Park
June 12, 2012
푸르러 서글픈 유월의 언덕
애처로이 쓰러진 미선아, 효순아
손에 손 촛불
횃불로 타오를 때
너희 꿈 바람 실려 피어나리니
2012년 6월 12일
2012년 미선 효순 추모비건립위원회
2012년 미선 효순 추모 10주기 행사준비위원회
Mi-Seon and Hyo-Sun, you fell over ever so tragically
When candlelight in our hands
Turns into a bright torch light
Wind will carry your dreams to bloom
“Girls’ Dreams,” Peace Park
June 12, 2012
푸르러 서글픈 유월의 언덕
애처로이 쓰러진 미선아, 효순아
손에 손 촛불
횃불로 타오를 때
너희 꿈 바람 실려 피어나리니
2012년 6월 12일
2012년 미선 효순 추모비건립위원회
2012년 미선 효순 추모 10주기 행사준비위원회
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Peace Park, June 12, 2024
From left: Lee Gu-Young, Kim Seo-Kyung, Kim Eun-Sung. Image credit: ESJF |
Peace Park, June 12, 2024
From left: Kim Eun-Sung, Kim Seo-Kyung, Lee Gu-Young. Image credit: ESJF |