A 96-year-old Korean War veteran, Han Hee-na, donated his handwritten wartime memories to the South Korean Army Archives Management Group at the Army headquarters in Gyeryong on Monday, 24 June, in a deeply personal act of remembrance more than seven decades after the conflict ended. Han, who volunteered as a university student during the 1950–53 Korean War, wept as he traced the name of a fallen comrade engraved on the hall of fame at the military headquarters.

The Donation and Its Significance

Han was invited to the Army headquarters in Gyeryong, approximately 145 kilometres south of Seoul, to hand over handwritten records he had compiled from personal memory. The Army Archives Management Group, responsible for restoring and preserving military artefacts, received the documents as part of an ongoing effort to reconstruct the historical record of the Korean War.

An Army official matched one of Han's accounts to a specific casualty: Msg. Kim Byung-chil, whose recorded date of death — 5 June 1951 — aligned with the last battle Han described fighting alongside him in early June. Helped out of his wheelchair, Han silently saluted his fallen superior, whom he described as a 'caring and compassionate' man whose death he witnessed firsthand.

Han's Battlefield Record

Born in North Hamgyong Province in 1930, Han served with the armoured regiment of the Capital Division and participated in several significant engagements. Among them was the Battle of Hyangnobong in June 1951, during which South Korean troops repelled communist forces from Mount Seorak and the peak of Hyangno.

He also recalled battles near Hajinbu-ri and Sokasa-ri in Pyeongchang County, roughly 130 kilometres east of Seoul, which unfolded in March 1951. 'I remember the sight of troops climbing the mountain, their silhouettes stark against the snow-covered slopes,' Han said. Army officials confirmed that his descriptions closely matched the military's official wartime records.

Han began writing down his memories in his 30s, and some of those accounts later formed the basis of his book, titled 'The student ID card left behind by the war.'

The Army's Preservation Mission

In 2020, the South Korean Army launched a project to restore key military records from the Korean War, covering 81,420 pieces in total. As of the latest update, 49,040 of those records have been restored. The restoration process involves removing surface pollutants such as tape and paper, cleaning documents, filling holes, and applying conservation treatments to ensure long-term durability.

The Army also digitises all Korean War-era historical materials using microfilm and high-resolution scanning. 'We have been preserving paper records that are over 50 years old,' an Army official said. 'This is to preserve and pass down the records to future generations in order to remember the seniors who sacrificed themselves for the country.'

The Human Cost of the Korean War

The Korean War remains the deadliest conflict in South Korea's modern history. Of the 137,899 deaths recorded over the three-year conflict, nearly 98 per cent involved Army troops. Han, who survived multiple near-death encounters throughout the war, described his survival as a 'miracle.'

'Not once, twice or thrice, but many times I faced death but came out alive,' he said. He expressed hope that his story would inspire future generations to embrace selfless service and dedication. 'More than 70 years after the war, the sacrifices of my comrades remain etched in my heart,' Han said. 'I am grateful that the Army has continued to honour their sacrifices and pass their legacy on to future generations.'