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| The late Col. Kim Dong-suk in monochrome and in color / Courtesy of Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs |
By Kang Seung-woo
Faded black-and-white photos of over 100 Korean War veterans will be restored as part of a plan by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) to transform the monochrome pictures into color on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement.
The list of beneficiaries of the commemorative project includes Gen. Kim Doo-man, who conducted 100 sorties for the first time in the history of South Korea's Air Force during the Korean War, Col. Edward Forney of the U.S. Marine Corps, who served as the evacuation control officer during the Hungnam Evacuation, and the late Col. Kim Dong-suk, a legendary South Korean spy who provided critical information about the North Korean military to the United Nations forces during the war.
Black-and-white photos of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Gen. Matthew Ridgway and South Korean Gen. Paik Sun-yup, will also be transformed into color images. All of them, along with Col. Kim Dong-suk, were recognized as Korean War heroes by the U.S. government in 2000.
According to the MPVA, Monday, the process uses an artificial intelligence tool called generative facial prior-generative adversarial networks (GFP-GAN), which can restore damaged and low-resolution portraits. The project is intended to remember the appearances of the war veterans as they participated in the conflict 70 years ago through the present point of view.
To this end, the Jaseng Medical Foundation organized and sponsored the project, while students from Sungkyunkwan University majoring in software and artificial intelligence will be involved in colorizing pictures of the veterans who fought to defend freedom and democracy on the Korean Peninsula during the 1950 to 1953 war.
The ministry plans to collect photos of the veterans in March and April and restore them by June. The restored photos will be framed and delivered to war veterans and their bereaved families. In addition, a related exhibition will be held around July 27 when the armistice was signed between North Korean and Chinese forces and the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC).
"This project was launched to evoke the brightest moments in the lives of the war heroes who gave their lives to protect the freedom of South Korea on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement," Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik said.
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| The Marine Corp. Col. Edward Forney in monochrome and in color / Courtesy of Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs |
"We hope that the restoration project will serve as a meaningful opportunity for the people and future generations to remember them as unforgettable and immortal heroes."
Meanwhile, the ministry held a signing ceremony at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul for the project.
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