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Refugees flee south across the destroyed Daedong River bridge in Pyongyang on Dec. 4, 1950 in a major retreat of UN forces caused by the Chinese intervention. The UN forces demolished the bridge to halt pursuit by the Chinese. AP photojournalist Max Desfor won the Pulitzer prize in 1951 for this photo.
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Four out of 10 Koreans in their 20s to 40s don't know which year the Korean War broke out, a poll on the occasion of the 57th anniversary of the conflict suggests. Gallup Korea polled 1,005 adults at the request of the Chosun Ilbo. Asked when the Korean War broke out, 61.8 percent of the respondents correctly answered 1950, 38.2 percent replied "I don't know," and the remainder gave wrong years.
Views of North Korea were slightly more critical than in previous years, with more respondents pointing to the North¡¯s military strength and provocation, and a stronger view that the Korean War was an unlawful invasion by the North. But more respondents also showed no interest in defending their nation, agreeing with the statement, ¡°If a war breaks out, I won¡¯t return home.¡±
Asked what they think the danger is of North Korea starting a war, 51.3 percent opted for "the danger exists," 11.7 percent "a great danger" and 39.5 percent "a certain danger." These replies were the most common among those in their 20s with 61.1 percent, followed for 46.4 percent in their 30s, 45.7 percent in their 40s and 51.9 percent in their 50s. They exceeded 50 percent for the first time since 2000, and were up 18 percentage points from the 32.8 percent registered in a poll in November 2002, just before the current administration took office.
Comparing military strength between the two Koreas in 1999, more respondents felt South Korea was stronger (46.9 percent) than North Korea (32.6 percent). But this year, more opted for North Korea (45.4 percent) than South Korea (42.5 percent), reflecting greater fears since the North test-fired a nuclear bomb in October last year. Asked "Which country do you think North Korea¡¯s nuclear weapons threaten most?" the largest proportion or 49.8 percent cited South Korea.
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Visitors examine a statue at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, on Sunday, a day ahead of the anniversary of the start of the Korean War. /Chosun Ilbo
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Some 48.7 percent said they would return from abroad if a war broke out, down from 53.6 percent in December 2002. The proportion who said they would not come back rose from 31 percent to 45 percent in the same period. The biggest group of refuseniks were in their 20s (57.2 percent), followed by those in their 30s (51.8 percent), their 40s (45 percent) and their 50s (31.1 percent).
There were also changes in the historical view of the Korean War. In December 2002, more opted for "a proxy war of the U.S. and the Soviet Union" (44.5 percent) than "an illegal invasion by North Korea" (31.2 percent). In the latest poll, more than a half opted for an illegal invasion by North Korea (52.3 percent), followed by a proxy war (35.7 percent). Among college students, the view that the war was an invasion increased sharply from 17.7 percent to 41.7 percent, while those seeing it as a proxy war declined from 67.2 percent to 54.7 percent.
Asked who they think was responsible for the Korean War, 33.2 percent said both North and South Korea and another 33 percent North Korea. Some 18.2 percent blamed ¡°powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula."
The confidence level of the poll conducted by telephone on Saturday was 95 percent with a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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