On January 21^st, 2019, Waseda Institute of Korean Studies and Global Asia Research Center co-organized the special seminar entitled “The Korean War: Towards Digital Memorial and History Education.”  Jongwoo Han, the professor at Syracuse University and the president of Korean Legacy Foundation initiated the lecture by explaining the historical backdrop of economic and political development of South Korea after the Korean War. According to Prof. Han’s contention, South Korea has experienced unprecedented changes after the war in which democratization and rapid economic growth occurred at the same time. He further explained the significance of the Korean War in the history of Korea, the U.S., and other countries that participated in the war.  On top of that, he introduced his work based on the meta data collected from his interviews with the Korean War veterans throughout the U.S. and other participant countries. He also shared oral history on the Korean War participation among those veterans from 21 countries. Professor Han introduced the historical artifacts from his digital archives built up from his interviews with war veterans and their families, placing focus on the meaning of their sacrifices to affect the development of South Korean democracy and economy.

More particularly, Prof. Han introduced the oral histories of Korean War veterans from 21 countries. The veterans illustrated their war time memories vividly in the interviews. Their narratives symbolized geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula and represented tragic moments during the war. Moreover, Dr. Han explained the role of Japan during the Korean war. It is clear that Japan benefited through trade during the wartime and recovered its economy from the ruins of the Pacific War. Even if the U.S. was predominantly engaged in the Korean War, American history textbooks have not yet included this part as a major historical topic. For many, it is left as a ‘Forgotten War’.

At last, Dr. Han explained Korea’s current position in the world history. He pointed out that the Cold War has not finished in the Korean peninsula. The Korean peninsula has been geopolitically sandwiched between various powerful countries such as China, Japan, Russia, and U.S.A. Nevertheless, South Korea’s political and economic reforms have been highly valued as a sustainable development model. In contrast, North Korea’s human rights issues have been constantly discussed over the world. Without a doubt, the closed society of North Korea still exposes various problems economically and politically.  All in all, reunification of the Korean peninsula is one highly concerned issue in the history of Korea, U.S.A. and the world.

The Korean War has been relatively forgotten in the history of the U.S. and the world. The Korean Legacy Foundation performs meaningful work to awaken the people of the world to realize the historical significance of the Korean War. For more information, please refer to the “Korean War Veterans Digital Memorial (KWVDM, http://www.kwvdm.org/) and the KWVDM Foundation (renamed ‘Korean War Legacy Foundation, Inc.’ https://koreanwarlegacy.org/).