Update: Don’t miss, “The Battle of Uijongbu” at ROK Drop.

Original post: Today, 25 June, is the 57th anniversary of the Korean War, which ended in a cease fire on 27 July 1953.

South Korea had 58,127 combat deaths and at least 80,000 POW/MIA; North Korea had 215,000 dead, 303,000 wounded, and 120,000 MIA or POW, while the U.S. had 36,940 dead, 103,000 wounded, 8,142 MIA, and 3,746 POW. China had an estimated 400,000 dead and nearly 500,000 wounded. An unknown number of Korean civilians died, but the number is in the millions. More information at the Korean War Project.

With North Korean antics continuing despite (or perhaps because of) years of the South’s “Sunshine Policy,” of engagement at all costs, which has included a good bit of historical revisionism portraying North Korea in a much better way that previously, some are noticing that the younger generations are losing touch with this aspect of their history:

Four out of 10 Koreans in their 20s to 40s don’t know which year the Korean War broke out, a poll on the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the conflict suggests. Gallup Korea polled 1,005 adults at the request of the Chosun Ilbo. Asked when the Korean War broke out, 61.8 percent of the respondents correctly answered 1950, 38.2 percent replied “I don’t know,” and the remainder gave wrong years.

Views of North Korea were slightly more critical than in previous years, with more respondents pointing to the North’s military strength and provocation, and a stronger view that the Korean War was an unlawful invasion by the North. But more respondents also showed no interest in defending their nation, agreeing with the statement, “If a war breaks out, I won’t return home.”

ROK General Paik Sun-yup (Ret.) is calling for Koreans to remember:

Monday is the 57th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Despite the elapse of nearly six decades, Paik Sun-yup (87) is often mentioned a war hero not only in the country but also in the United States and Japan. The veteran still participates in major events involving the Korean War without fail. In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo at the Korean War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul on Friday, Gen. Paik said, “So long as the Kim Jong-il regime exists, we must not forget the Korean War.”

As there seems to be very little in the Korean press on this subject today, I think Gen. Paik is absolutely correct.