Three out of 10 South Koreans do not know when the Korean War broke out, a poll suggests. In a study by Dongseo Research for the Committee for the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War of 1,000 adults over 19 or older, 33 percent of respondents gave the wrong year when asked when the Korean War broke out or said they did not know.
In a similar survey by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security in April, 36.9 percent were ill-informed.
Some 47.9 percent of respondents over 60 were misinformed about the year the Korean War broke out or did not know. They were followed 47.4 percent of those aged between 19 and 29, 24.5 percent of those between 50 and 59, 24.4 percent of those between 30 and 39, and 21.3 percent of those between 40 and 49.
Some 14.6 percent said that it was not North Korea that started the War or did not know who started it. Most, or 94.9 percent, of respondents knew about the UN forces' participation in the war, but 80.8 percent gave the wrong number of countries that joined the UN forces. The correct answer is 16.
Meanwhile, 71.9 percent of respondents said South Korea should give active support to other countries in case of conflict, poverty or disaster.
The committee called for a project to raise people's awareness of the Korean War next year, which marks the 60th anniversary of its outbreak.