Who fought with us in the Korean War?

About 80 percent of South Koreans know only five or less of the 16 countries that fought alongside South Korea against North Korean invaders in the 1950-53 Korean War, according to a survey released yesterday by a local online shopping mall.

Dahanoomall conducted the survey on 792 people between May 28 and June 3 to mark the 59th anniversary of the June 25 fratricidal war.

A total of 624 people, or 79 percent, said that they knew only five countries or less that sent troops to help defend the South during the Korean War. Only 55 people, or 7 percent, said they knew 10 countries or more.



The number of those who knew three to five countries was 443, or 56 percent of the total. A total of 142 people, or 18 percent, said that they knew one to three countries.

The number of those who did not know the countries at all or were not interested was 39, or five percent. Of the 39 people, 82 percent were 20 years old or younger.

The percentages of the respondents who knew that the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia joined the war were 97 percent, 84 percent and 77 percent, respectively.

The respondents were rarely aware that the Philippines, Luxemburg and the Republic of South Africa joined the war.

Also among the countries that fought under the U.N. flag against North Korean and Chinese troops in the Korean War were the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, France, Turkey, Thailand, Greece, Belgium, Colombia and Ethiopia. Sweden, India, Denmark, Norway and Italy provided medical support during the war.

(sshluck@heraldm.com)



By Song Sang-ho