A Korean War veteran who died in Gangwon Island at the age of 16... Returning to my hometown Jeju after 75 years
Remains of those killed in the Korean War return to their hometown Jeju after 75 years
Quick Look
- The remains of the late Sergeant Park Jang-su, who died at the age of 16 during the Korean War, returned to his hometown Jeju Island after 75 years and were buried at the Jeju National Defense Center.
- The Ministry of National Defense's remains excavation and identification team held a burial ceremony on the 12th with about 150 people, including the bereaved family members, attending.
- The deceased was the 280th South Korean soldier killed in action who was identified and returned to his family since the start of the remains excavation project in 2000.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The remains of the late Sergeant Park Jang-su, who died at the age of 16 in the fierce battle of Goseong, Gangwon-do during the Korean War, have returned to his hometown Jeju Island after 75 years. The deceased was born in 1935 in Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo-si, as the eldest son of nine children. He enlisted on September 1, 1950, when he was 15 years old, and died the following year on May 13, 1951, while participating in the Yangyang-Ganseong advance as a member of the 11th Division. The government posthumously awarded him the Hwarang Military Merit Medal in 1954. The remains were recovered by a state-owned professional excavation team in September 2011, and after DNA extraction, the search for the bereaved family was delayed, but their identity was confirmed when they met with her younger sister, Park Jang-sook, and collected samples during an intensive search for the bereaved family in Jeju Island in March of this year.
The remains of the late Sergeant Park Jang-su, who died at the age of 16 in the fierce battle of Goseong, Gangwon-do during the Korean War, returned to his hometown of Jeju Island after 75 years and were laid to rest.
On the 12th, the Ministry of National Defense's remains excavation and identification team held a burial ceremony for the late Sergeant Park Jang-su at the National Jeju Defense Center with about 150 people in attendance, including the bereaved family, Jeju Island's administrative governor, and veterans groups.
At the request of the bereaved family, this burial ceremony was held with the highest level of respect in Jeju Island, the deceased's hometown.
The deceased, who was born in Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo-si in 1935 as the eldest son of nine children (5 sons and 4 daughters), enlisted on September 1, 1950, when he was 15 years old. And on May 13, 1951, the year after enlistment, he participated in the 'Yangyang-Gansong Advance Battle' as a member of the 11th Division and was killed in action.
The Yangyang-Gansong Advance was an operation in which the ROK Army moved northward, pushing back the Chinese and North Korean troops from the east coast and the Seorak Mountain area. It is evaluated as an important operation that led to the recovery of areas on the eastern front such as Yangyang and Goseong.
In honor of the deceased's achievements, the government posthumously awarded him the Hwarang Military Merit Medal in 1954.
The remains of the deceased were recovered by a state-owned professional excavation team in September 2011. A tip-off that villagers buried the remains of South Korean soldiers after a battle took place at that location became a crucial clue to the recovery.
DNA was extracted from the recovered remains, but it took a considerable amount of time to find the bereaved family. Identification was postponed because there were no samples of the bereaved to compare.
Then, in March of this year, during the 'Jeju Island Intensive Search for Bereaved Families' period, a state-owned group's family search officer met the deceased's younger sister, Park Jang-sook (74), at her residence and collected samples, confirming her family relationship with the deceased.
Park, the younger sister who was born in 1952 after the deceased's death, said, "When I heard the news that my brother's remains were found, I cried endlessly, thinking, 'Is this a dream or reality?'" and added, "I am grateful to the Ministry of National Defense for finding the remains."
The deceased is the 280th South Korean soldier killed in action to be identified and returned to his family since the start of the remains excavation project in April 2000, and the 12th national defense hero confirmed this year.
Open Questions
- The specific circumstances in which the villagers buried the remains of the South Korean soldier at the time of recovery of the remains
- Specific reasons for the delay in identification during the period when there were no family samples for DNA comparison.
- Future memorial plan and remains management plan for the bereaved family
