By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Fifty-nine years after the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, nearly four in 10 South Koreans aren't familiar with the tragic fratricidal war, according to a recent survey.

A survey of 1,000 adults over 19, conducted by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MPAS) in April, showed that 36.9 percent of respondents said they didn't know when the Korean War had broken out.

By age, 56.6 percent of those in their 20s said they didn't know when the war had occurred, while 28.7 percent of those in their 30s and 23 percent of those in their 40s said the same thing, it said.

``This is a very serious problem that more and more people, especially youngsters, are not well aware of or not interested in the Korean War, where millions of South Koreans were killed,'' an official of the Ministry of National Defense said. ``Pan-governmental efforts are required to make people understand properly about the Korean War and, in particular, educate youngsters about the war and history.''

The official referred to a survey last year, suggesting that more than 35 percent of elementary school students misunderstood that the Korean War had broken out following the South's invasion into the North.

The war broke out on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops invaded the South, crossing the 38th parallel, the line diving the two Koreas. Twenty-one countries dispatched troops under the United Nations flag to fight against North Koreans backed by China.

The war resulted in a devastating death toll with at least 2 million Korean civilians killed, according to data. South Korea sustained more than 1 million casualties, while estimated communist casualties were 2 million. Casualties among the United Nations allies totaled 16,532.

The war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The two Koreas remain technically at war.

Cyber Education

In a step toward promoting information about the war, an ad hoc organization of the MND is preparing to open a Web site on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war next year.

``The envisaged Web site, carrying all information on the Korean War, will help people here and abroad learn and understand the war easier and better,'' Brig. Gen. Oh Sang-taeg, general director of the Korean War 60th Anniversary Office, said in a phone interview with The Korea Times.

The office will begin establishing the ``online war memorial'' site as early as beginning August, Oh said.

He said the Web site would model after a French war memorial in which people can get detailed information about war veterans and major battles.

The office is also preparing to hold various events to promote the background and history of the Korean War next year to mark the 60th anniversary of the war, he added.

War Remains Recovery

Efforts to recover the remains of fallen heroes are in full swing.

Since 2000, the remains of about 39,000 soldiers killed in the war have been excavated.

The figure represents only 2.3 percent of the total number of those missing in action, as about 130,000 South Korean soldiers are believed to still be buried across the Korean Peninsula.

According to the defense ministry's Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification (MAKRI), about 60 percent of the missing in action are buried in the South, while some 30 percent are in the North and the remainder are believed to be buried in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas.

``Recovering the remains of our fallen heroes and returning them to their families are our solemn duty,'' Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said in a speech at a ceremony Wednesday to deliver remains of U.N. soldiers killed in the war to the United Nations Command (UNC) in Seoul. The ceremony was held at the Yongsan Garrison where the UNC headquarters is located.

``We'll not stop this recovery work until the remains of the last war veteran are retrieved,'' Lee said.

Last month, officials at MAKRI, launched in 2003, and a team of the U.S. Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action and Accounting Command (JPAC) began joint recovery work for the first time in Gangwon Province.

About 8,100 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for from the war, according to the MAKRI.

Earlier this year, MAKRI opened its new headquarters at the National Cemetery in Seoul with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for identifying war remains such as a digital X-ray imager, 3D scanner and DNA sampling instruments.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr