June sixth is celebrated as 현충일 or Memorial Day in South Korea. It’s a day to commemorate the soldiers who have died while serving in the military. It’s especially for the soldiers who have died in the Korean War.

In some ways, the Korean War has been overshadowed by the Vietnam War. Despite only lasting three years, it’s inflicted a lot of casualties, both civilian and military. I guess you could say the war never really ended. The technical term is called armistice. The “war” is still going on, in a sort of “cold war.” In fact, some people don’t even call it a war. They call it a “conflict.” Whatever you call it, the Korean War has definitely shaped the Korean psyche and its attitude towards war.

For those of you who may not be familar with the history behind the Korean War, it started when the North Korean army invaded South Korea in an attempt to unite the Koreas into one Korea. In South Korea, the Korean War is called the 육이오 전쟁 or the 6/25 War. It’s named 6/25 because it’s named after the date the War started. On June 25th 1950, the North Korean army attacked Seoul and killed around 7,000 people. The survivors were forced to fight in the North Korean army.

President Truman, who was the American president at the time, intervened, for fear that communism would spread all throughout Asia. The U.S. got the support of the UN and tried to prevent the North Koreans from coming into the South any further. The Chinese thought it would be an opportune time to secure Taiwan, especially with the Americans preoccupied with the North Koreans. Truman had to send U.S. forces to Taiwan, spitting up the defenses that could have been used to fight the North Koreans.

China also enlisted the help of Russia. China was able push back UN forces, causing the UN forces to retreat. Finally in 1953, the UN and North Korea agreed to a cease-fire. The legacy of the Korean War is a bitter one. Many nations including Turkey, South Africa and others that were part of the UN forces, lost their men. The aftermath of the war concluded with a U.S. military base in South Korea, guarding the border between North and South Korea.

That’s why on 현충일 a national ceremony is held in the National Cemetery in Seoul. On May 27th 2009, Kim Jong Il announced that he would withdraw from the truce of 1953. Whether he will attack South Korea or whether it will turn out to be just a bluff is unclear. There are recently some disturbing news about nuclear missiles being tested on the waters of Japan. Hopefully, history won’t repeat itself.