School students in Hoà Hiệp Nam Ward of Đông Phú Town in the central Phú Yên Province play in a newly built playground with funding from South Korean donors. — Photo courtesy of the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation

PHÚ YÊN — More than 1,100 students from primary schools in Hoà Hiệp Nam ward of Đông Hoà town of the coastal central province will be playing on four newly-built green playgrounds in the new school year with funding from the Lotte Scholarship Foundation, Community Chest of Korea and the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation.

Hyun Woo Kwon, a member of the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation, said the four ‘green playgrounds’, under the V-project, was inaugurated last weekend, providing safe entertainment sites at two school-yards at Nguyễn Viết Xuân and Phạm Văn Đồng and Phú Lạc village.

The V-Project also donated computers and school facilities to the two schools on the opening ceremony of the four ‘green playgrounds.

Hyun Woo Kwon also said the two foundations -- Lotte Scholarship Foundation, Community Chest of Korea – have helped built 12 ‘green playgrounds’ at schools in villages in Quảng Nam, Bình Định and Phú Yên since 2020.

It’s one of a series of charity activities that the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation and the foundations have been supporting for locals in central Việt Nam in healing the wounds of war.

Phú Yên was one of military operation sites in central Việt Nam by South Korean soldiers in 1966.

Many villagers in Thọ Lâm and Đa Ngư in the province were killed by South Korean soldiers during the American war in 1966, and a memorial stele was built at site in commemorating the dead people.

The province was inspired by Korean writer Park Young Han to begin a multi-volume novel: ‘Sông Ba ở nơi rất xa’ (Ba River in a faraway site) in context of the killings area.

The Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation, which was established in 1999, aimed to begin a ‘Sorry to Vietnamese people’ campaign among Koreans, and ask for an official apology.

Thousands of people were killed in a series of massacres by Korean soldiers during the war in central provinces of Việt Nam between 1966 and 1971.

The V-Project expects to build more ‘green’ playgrounds and supports for school students in Việt Nam. — VNS