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Anger vented at freed hostages

South Koreans say church members are to blame for crisis.

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's relief at the release of 19 countrymen held hostage by the Taliban gave way Friday to anger at the victims themselves, members of a Christian church who are being criticized for ignoring warnings against travel to Afghanistan.

Critics said the group's actions forced their government into negotiations with the Islamic militants that damaged the nation's international reputation.

A day after the last hostages were let go, some of the church workers apologized for the trouble caused by their captivity, and a few collapsed when told the militants had slain two male colleagues. One hostage said she secretly kept a diary on the lining of her pants.

With the crisis over, South Koreans turned their focus to what went wrong, who is to blame, and what lessons can be drawn from the six-week ordeal.

Public anger toward the hostages had been expressed in one form or another from the beginning, and it rose Friday.

Scathing comments, written with the cloak of anonymity, flooded Internet message boards. Newspapers published critical editorials.

Most noticeable was the feeling that the hostages and the church that sent them to Afghanistan were to blame because they did not heed repeated government warnings to stay away from the volatile Central Asian country.

"They shouldn't have gone there in the first place," said Kim Young Soo, 42, a travel agency employee in Seoul.

[Last modified September 1, 2007, 01:12:53]