Typology and Characteristic Analysis of Korean War Heritage: A Focus on the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The Korean War (1950.6.25 to 1953.7.27) originated in the transition period of the Cold War of the 20th century. This war lasted about 65 years after the Ceasefire Agreement, and it is the longest surviving war that has not ended. During this time, the memories of war are gradually being forgotten, and unfortunately the traces of the war are gradually being dismantled or extinguished. This study aims to list and classify the traces and memories of Korean War in these times—that is, the Korean War heritages remaining in South Korea—in order to conduct a survey on the people's recognition about them and to explore the values inherent in them. As a result, this study discovered a total of 413 heritages and revealed the fact that the people were aware of DMZ-related heritage, Korean Wartime Capital Busan-related heritage, Operation Chromite-related heritage, and Geoje/Tongyeong Prisoner of War (POW) Camp-related heritage as the representative Korean War Heritage. This study has an academic significance as the baseline data for a comprehensive survey on Korean War heritages in South Korea and North Korea which may be used in the era of unification in the future.