By Riyad Moosoody, Researcher in Global Security at the Asia Institute.
This series of articles will examine how a conflict on such a small East Asian peninsula had such a profound impact on the entire international geopolitical system.
Although the Korean War was suspended by an armistice in 1953, it is still not over. The political, economic, and cultural consequences continue to affect the populations of Northeast Asia, the Asia-Pacific region, and the whole world.
In a way, the historical importance of the Korean War was not fully recognized, and neither were its origins—at least not until recently. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that those who fought were ignored rather than forgotten, a situation that stems more from ignorance than from any discredit toward the many war veterans. This makes the Korean War a sacred obligation today—to find the remains of the war dead and to remember their sacrifice.
On the military side, one might have thought that the might of the United States military would quickly overwhelm the North Korean forces, but this was not the case. American budget cuts paralyzed the first efforts to push the North Koreans back toward the 38th parallel along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). One of the lasting legacies of the war was the realization that the United States needed a large standing army.
However, on a brighter note, the Korean War saw enormous progress in the medical treatment of military casualties, at least on the United Nations Command (UNC) side. Although the medical branch of the United States Far East Command was as unprepared as its non-medical counterparts, Marine medicine and surgery provided hospital care for Marines directly in the field.
On the economic front, American aid did not only help Japan rebuild—it also helped South Korea gradually emerge from the poverty into which the war had plunged it. Between 1950 and 1960, U.S. assistance laid the foundation for recovery. By 1953, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world (Tcha, 2003, p.2).
In July 1995, Business Week published a headline reading: “Korea Headed for High Tech’s Top Tier” (Holstein and Nakarmi, 1995). In record time, Korea had gone from being a producer of second-rate goods in the developing world to a leader in the high-tech industry. Samsung’s success is one of the best examples of this transformation.¹
Why, then, after such a resounding economic success, does the American–South Korean alliance that made it possible seem to be in more trouble than ever? Why are South Koreans, who appear to have benefited the most from the bilateral relationship, so critical of it?
Americans—both politicians and the general public—are perplexed by what they see as a recent and sudden rise in anti-Americanism in South Korea. Some are outraged by what they consider an ungrateful attitude. For their part, “pro-American” South Koreans claim that only a small minority is truly anti-American. Others argue that this sentiment is a protest against the “unilateralism” of the current U.S. administration, not against the United States itself (Steinberg, 2004, p.74). Still others believe it reflects South Korea’s desire to pursue a more independent foreign policy—a sign of the nation’s political maturity and democratic growth.
As for the cultural consequences, how did a small, divided country like South Korea go from having virtually no Christianity—barely 1% of the population in 1900—to producing more missionaries than any other country in the world except the United States? No one could have predicted such a religious transformation 200 years ago.
Lastly, what triggered large-scale Korean immigration after the Korean War? Historian Bruce Cumings estimates that around 8,000 Koreans—mainly refugees, war brides, and orphans—entered the United States between 1953 and 1960.² Associations were formed to place Korean children for adoption, as they were often not accepted within Korean society (Lee, 2018, p.127).
¹ See Chris Rowley, Taewon Sohn, and Johngseok Bae (2002). Managing Korean Business: Organization, Culture, Human Resources and Change. New York: Frank Cass Publishers, pp.137–161.
² Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History.
Series Index
1 The Korean War and Its Global Legacy: From Battlefields to Adoption Airlifts
2. Adoptions after the Korean War
3. Explaining the South Korean Economic Miracle
4. Medical Innovations During the Korean War
5. New Archives Analysis on the Origins of the Korean War
6. The Korean War Transformed the Cold War?
7. Religion After the Korean War on the Peninsula
8. American Intervention in Korea
9. A Focus on Some Veterans in South Korea and France
10. Anti-Americanism in South Korean Society
Repatriation of remains of Korean War dead - a present progressive of sacred duty
In 2018, North Korea launched the process of returning the remains of U.S. servicemen killed in the Korean War, as it pledged in June 2018 at a historic summit with the United States. The announcement coincided with a symbolic date—June 27, the anniversary of the armistice.
This initiative marked the last of the four commitments in the Singapore Declaration signed on June 12 by Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un:
“The United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pledge to recover the remains of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action and immediately repatriate those who have already been identified.”
According to Washington, this was “a significant first step in resuming repatriation” and in launching “field operations in North Korea to locate some 5,300 Americans who never returned home.”
At an honorable carry ceremony held on July 27, 2018, at Osan Air Base, North Korea transferred 55 boxes of remains believed to be of Americans missing in the Korean War. The boxes were received on August 1, 2018, in a second ceremony held in Hawaii.
“We are optimistic that the August 1, 2018, repatriation is the first tangible action of others, with which we will be able to account for more of our missing from the Korean War,” said Kelly McKeague, Director of the Defense Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA), at a White House media briefing.
Joint recovery operations in North Korea had been suspended in 2005 due to security concerns raised by then-President George W. Bush. The DPAA’s mission is to search for, find, and account for missing Defense Department personnel from the Korean War.
Operation Glory was an American effort to repatriate remains from North Korea at the end of the Korean War. In recent years, South Korea has also embarked on a meticulous program of excavation and identification of the bodies of fallen soldiers still missing.
“Find My Hero” is the name of the campaign launched by South Korea to encourage families of descendants to share their DNA in order to identify the remains of veterans of the war.
Lee Tucker, a DPAA public affairs official, emphasized that South Korean soldiers fought alongside U.S. troops during that war against North Korea.
“This, like the past repatriation, is due to the strong partnership between the DPAA and South Korea's Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action (KIA) Recovery and Identification (MAKRI),” Tucker said.
“It is the incredible improvements in technology, advancements in forensic science, and the strong partnership between DPAA and MAKRI that led to these identifications.”
The war may have occurred a long time ago; however, for millions of Koreans—both in the North and the South—it remains very much alive.
Today, things are changing. Thanks to advances in DNA research and an agreement between the two Koreas in 2018, excavations in the border zone (DMZ) have begun. Seoul has decided to invest significant time and resources in identifying the remains.
Every year, about 100,000 South Korean soldiers are mobilized for the excavations. It is an almost impossible task: in laboratories, scientists attempt to cross-reference these remains with the DNA of descendants. It is a titanic project of vital importance to many South Korean families.
When families are finally able to bury their dead, the emotion is profound. In South Korea, more than 40,000 people have already taken part in this campaign and carried out genetic surveys.
In 2023, the DPAA announced that U.S. Army Corporal Charles R. Patten, 24, of Lebanon, Missouri, killed during the war, had his remains restituted on June 7, 2023.
To identify Patten, scientists from the DPAA Lab used dental and anthropological analysis, chest radiograph comparison, and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) used mitochondrial DNA analysis. Corporal Patten was buried in Lawson, Missouri.
In the same year, in South Korea, the remains of some South Korean soldiers who died in the Korean War were returned home for the first time in 73 years, after being repatriated from Hawaii by an F-35 military transport aircraft.
A repatriation ceremony was held at Seoul Airport in the presence of the President of South Korea and senior officials. The wooden coffins, covered with the national flag Taegeukgi, were received with great respect.
Some remains had been recovered by the U.S. Army during the conflict and preserved in Hawaii. Others were discovered by North Korea between 1990 and 1994 or exhumed jointly by the U.S. and North Korean armies between 1996 and 2005 before being transferred to the United States.
Since 2012, South Korea has received the remains of a total of 313 dead soldiers repatriated on seven occasions, 19 of whom have been identified.
The repatriation of remains and the joint work conducted by the DPAA and MAKRI continue to this day—fulfilling a sacred obligation shared by both nations to honor the fallen and bring closure to their families.
About the Author
Riyad Moosoody is a researcher in Global Security at the Asia Institute. His work focuses on the role of the United States on the Korean Peninsula, the historiography of the Korean War, and the continuing geopolitical impact of the conflict. Born in Mauritius, he studied Law at the University of Strasbourg and U.S. History at the University of Bordeaux and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has received fellowships from the American Institute and the French Ministry of Defence for his PhD research and is fluent in English and French.
Korean version available here.
