President Aquino's father was war correspondent

Incumbent Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's father, Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., served as a Korean War (1950-53) correspondent.

The back of a P500 pesos currency has a photo of "Ninoy" Aquino as a war correspondent. This is the older currency.

The Philippines sent troops to fight alongside South Korea during the Korean War.

The Philippine Expeditionary Forces joined the U.N.-led coalition in defending the freedom of the South Korean people.

Senator Aquino's wife, the late Cory Aquino, rose to the presidency through a peaceful People Power Revolution in 1986 after the then President Ferdinand Marcos was ousted.

The assassination of Senator Aquino in August 1983 triggered events that led to Marcos's downfall. The Marcoses were accused of looting a massive amount of money from state coffers and faced hundreds of corruption cases and other charges.

Senator Aquino and his wife are the two departed icons of Philippine democracy.

Their son, President Aquino, will arrive in Seoul Thursday for a summit with President Park Geun-hye.

AJP