How the Korean War is Celebrated and also “Forgotten”

A mass rally denouncing the U.S., in Pyongyang, North Korea (KCNA)

Every year on July 27, the DPRK celebrates “Victory Day,” officially known as the Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War. This national holiday commemorates the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, which brought a ceasefire to the Korean War. Under the terms of the agreement, the countries are required to suspend all open hostilities, prevented from entering the air, ground or sea areas under control of the other, separated by the Demilitarized Zone (“DMZ”) which acts as a buffer between the two Koreas, and ordered to release and repatriate prisoners of war and displaced persons, among other things.

However, although the fighting technically ended with an armistice, no peace treaty was ever signed, meaning the war unofficially continues indefinitely. Meanwhile, with around 2.5 million Koreans losing their lives fighting on both sides, North Korea portrays this day as a significant victory over its enemies – South Korea and the U.S.

FORCED CELEBRATIONS

Victory Day is marked by grand military parades, patriotic performances and various public celebrations across the nation. The North Korean government uses this occasion to reinforce national pride and the narrative of resilience against foreign aggression. For North Koreans, this day is meant to be a reminder of their country’s struggle and perceived triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. Thus, month-long Korean War-related celebrations span from June 25, marking the beginning of the “anti-American struggle” month, until July 27.

This year, Pyongyang held mass anti-U.S. rallies to mark the 74th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Meanwhile, over 80,000 citizens from the northern border city of Hyesan (over half of the local population) were forced to chant slogans denouncing the U.S. and listen to anti-American speeches for four hours from 8 a.m. till noon at a stadium, which was described by a resident as a rally “larger than any mass rally I have ever seen in my life.” It was reported that “everyone from elementary school students to war veterans, who could walk” were ordered to attend the rally. The crowd was then split into three groups and dispatched to continue shouting slogans against the U.S. while they paraded through the streets. 

For many years, North Korean authorities have justified spending billions in developing nuclear weapons as a means of national self-defense against “the frequent introduction of U.S. nuclear carriers, nuclear submarines and nuclear strategic bombers” that “frighten” the isolated country. Nevertheless, the poor living conditions in North Korea have not improved even after the DPRK has enhanced its nuclear capabilities over the past few years. As a result, even North Koreans protesting on the streets are questioning why they are still “talking about the U.S. and its imperialist plans these days” and continuing to blame the U.S. for the nation’s failing economy.

HOW THE KOREAN WAR WAS “FORGOTTEN”

The Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, is often referred to as the “Forgotten War” in the U.S. It was not until 1988 that a memorial dedicated to those who served in the war was built in Chicago, followed by the opening of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington in 1995 and the signing of a bill to allow the construction of a remembrance wall in 2016. 

There may be several factors as to why this war was “forgotten.” First, unlike World War II or the Vietnam War, the Korean War did not receive extensive attention by the public. The timing of this war may offer some insight – the conflict occurred shortly after World War II, which was a period when many Americans were weary of war. In addition, the war’s stalemate nature and the lack of significant territorial changes made it less newsworthy. Second, although the Korean War was the first major conflict of the Cold War, involving the U.S. and its allies against North Korea, China and the Soviet Union, it was not framed as a clear-cut battle between good and evil, as World War II had been. Instead, it was seen as a complex struggle against the spread of communism that ended with an ambiguous outcome. Finally, the Korean War did not leave a lasting cultural impact in the same way the World War did. There are fewer movies, books and television shows about this war, except for the 1972 television series “M*A*S*H,” which depicted the war’s medical and human aspects.

Despite being called the “Forgotten War,” the Korean War has significant consequences. Not only did it solidify the division of the Korean Peninsula, leading to the establishment of the heavily fortified DMZ and the ongoing tension between the two Koreas, but it also set the stage for future diplomatic conflicts and shaped U.S.-Korean military and foreign policy for decades. Korea is the only divided country on earth.

North Korea Is Not Taking South Korea’s Daily ‘Hotline’ Calls

A South Korean liaison officer speaks with his North Korean counterpart. (Unification Ministry)

Since the establishment of the Moscow-Washington hotline in 1963 following rising nuclear tensions between the Pentagon and the Soviets, many countries have adopted the “red telephone” culture for leaders to communicate directly, particularly in times of crisis. For example, the Beijing-Washington hotline was set up in November 2007 when the two countries agreed to ease dialogue and avoid miscommunications during moments of crisis in the Pacific. The first Seoul-Pyongyang hotline began operation in September 1971. Today there are 33 telecommunication lines between the two Koreas that run through the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (“Panmunjom”) within the Demilitarized Zone and maintained by the Red Cross, five of which are used for daily communications, 21 for negotiations, two for handling air traffic, two for sea transport and three for economic co-operation.

Despite significant diplomatic implications associated with the inter-Korean hotline, Pyongyang has remained unresponsive to the twice-daily routine calls from Seoul for five consecutive days since Good Friday amidst elevating tensions on the peninsula. The North stopped responding since the South issued a warning on the preceding Thursday demanding Pyongyang to stop operating South Korean-owned assets, namely buses provided by the South for the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the joint economic project that South Korea pulled out of in 2016. This marked the first time the hotline calls went unanswered for consecutive days since they were resumed in October 2021. In response, South Korea’s Unification Ministry expressed “strong regret” over Pyongyang’s “unilateral and irresponsible move” to suspend the liaison communication channel.

KOREA’S GREEN AND RED PHONES

There are two telephone handsets that sit in South Korea’s Freedom House, one green and one red, in case one fails. Although both phones are capable of calling and receiving, Seoul calls on the green phone every day at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and receives incoming calls from Pyongyang on the red phone. The hotline phones are operated by experts in diplomatic protocol from the Unification Ministry, and every detail pertaining to the call is carefully arranged to avoid even the slightest risk of conflict. For instance, to resolve the problem of who calls first, it was initially decided that Seoul would call Pyongyang on odd dates and vice versa on even dates.

On April 20, 2018, an additional top-level hotline was set up between the then-South Korean president and North Korean leader a week prior to the historical summit held in the border town of Panmunjom. Despite the fact that telephone usage is no technological breakthrough in the 21st century, steps to ensure the line was working in both directions were meticulously implemented: South Korean officials were to pick the phone up first before taking a return call from the North. In stark contrast to modern day complaints about the speed of internet connections on smartphones, a four-minute and 17 second telephone conversation between the two countries on landline was remarkably deemed a success for having smooth connection and good voice quality, and as a South Korean official commented, “It was like calling next door.”

REPAIRING RELATIONSHIPS AFTER A FIGHT

The inter-Korean hotlines have gone through periods of suspensions over the past years. More specifically, North Korea unilaterally disconnected the hotline eight times in 1976, 1980, 1996, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2020-2021. Most recently in June 2020, the North declined calls and criticized the South for their activists’ anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns. The calls were only resumed in July in the following year, when the former president, Moon Jae-in, exchanged letters with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and pledged to improve ties. Although they were severed again for about two months a few weeks later in protest against Seoul-Washington’s military exercises, North Korean state media reported that the two sides reconnected again in October.

Although establishing a hotline between two countries is not unique to the two Koreas, the inter-Korean hotline has long formed a key connection between the South and the reclusive North. As a result, making or receiving a call through the hotline is no longer a matter of convenience, but a symbol of peace and stability between the two countries that are still technically at war.

China Facts: North Korea as a Buffer Zone - North Korean Refugees

How does China's continuing political relationship with North Korea affect North Korean refugees? The Korean peninsula is still at war. No peace agreement has been signed as fighting between North and South stopped in 1953. There are about 29,000 US troops and marines currently stationed in South Korea. South Korea adds about 655,000 active troops to this force.

The Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ), which splits North and South Korea, is currently the most militarized border in the world.

For China to continue to grow economically, they must maintain stability. What this means is simple: No war.

Korean Military forces

China wants to keep this military standoff, involving not only the Koreas, but the United states, as far from its borders as possible.

"For the Chinese, stability and the avoidance of war are the top priorities," Daniel Sneider, the associate director for research at Stanford's Asia-Pacific Research Center, told the Council on Foreign Relations.

China has many interests in North Korea as a strategic partner, none of these interests are in the people who have been suffering since the mid-1990s, many of whom have, as North Korean refugees, come into their borders in search for help. It is, in fact, in the best interests of the Chinese government to reject the North Korean refugees who cross into China, as its desire to appease North Korea as their buffer zone is greater than its desire to harbor North Korean immigrants.