The War Memorial of Korea Foundation, an affiliate of the Ministry of National Defense, has sparked controversy by presenting the Korean War alongside China's "Resist America, Aid Korea" (抗美援朝) narrative in an educational program prepared for the Month of Patriots and Veterans.
According to the foundation on Monday, it began accepting applications through its website on May 30 for a specialized guided program at the War Memorial under the theme "The Korean War, Different Interpretations."
The foundation explained the purpose of the program, saying it allows participants "to understand the Korean War from various perspectives by comparing the views of Korea and China on the war."
The controversy arose over the program's promotional material. The promotional image featured the phrases "The Korean War, Different Interpretations" and "Two Views Looking at the Yalu River," with the words "Korean War" set against a Taegeukgi (South Korean flag) background placed side by side with the words "Resist America, Aid Korea" set against a backdrop of China's Five-Starred Red Flag.
"Resist America, Aid Korea," meaning to aid Korea against the United States, is a propaganda expression China uses to justify the Chinese Communist forces' participation in the Korean War. Through this, China has defined the Korean War as a war against U.S. aggression.
By contrast, the South Korean government uses the term "Korean War" (6·25 War) to emphasize that the war began with North Korea's illegal southward invasion.
Accordingly, critics raised concerns that the War Memorial had presented China's distorted historical claims as if they were another acceptable viewpoint.
As the controversy grew, the War Memorial of Korea Foundation acknowledged that there was a problem with how the promotional material was expressed.
"The purpose of this education is to critically examine China's distorted claim that the Korean War was a 'Resist America, Aid Korea' war," a foundation official said. "It is not true that we are conducting education from China's perspective."
The official added, "We determined that the promotional poster and descriptive phrases could be misleading, so they are being revised," noting that "the educational program will proceed normally as planned."
A Ministry of National Defense official also said, "We understand it was planned to more clearly explain the historical fact that the Korean War began with North Korea's illegal southward invasion." The official added, "The War Memorial of Korea Foundation determined that the expression used in the related promotional material was inappropriate and deleted the post today."
The official further added, "After ascertaining the circumstances from the War Memorial of Korea Foundation, we will take necessary measures in accordance with relevant regulations and procedures."
The post at the center of the controversy has been deleted.
