Eighty-one artifacts from Korean War soldiers, including a rifle belonging to the late Private Cho Young-ho, who was 24 years old at the time, have been preserved.
The Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of the National Heritage Agency announced on June 25 that these artifacts have been handed over to the Ministry of National Defense's excavation and identification team.
The preservation process restored personal items such as rank insignia, firearms, helmet accessories, and first aid kits to their original condition. The center was able to identify the manufacturing country and supply period by examining engravings like 'UNITED' on helmet accessories and the coating materials used.
Notably, during the preservation of the M1 Garand rifle belonging to the late Private Cho Young-ho, eight bullets were found still loaded in the magazine. The safety mechanism was also confirmed to be intact, vividly illustrating the urgency of the war at that time.
From June of this year until the end of next year, the center plans to preserve artifacts from six identified soldiers, along with ten large firearms and black-and-white photographs, totaling 74 items. Given that black-and-white photographs are rarely found among excavated artifacts and some individuals in the photos remain unidentified, the center hopes that preservation efforts will aid in confirming the identities of the soldiers.
The achievements of the 2025 preservation efforts can be viewed on the official YouTube channel of the National Heritage Agency. The video features actor Shin Hyun-jun, son of the late Colonel Shin In-kyun, a Korean War veteran, as he examines the M1 Garand rifle of the late Private Cho Young-ho at the Cultural Heritage Conservation Center in Daejeon and discusses the preservation process with the researchers.
The center stated, "We will continue our proactive efforts to ensure that these valuable heritage items are safely preserved and that the noble sacrifices of our national heroes are remembered for years to come."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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