Controversy over parallel display of 'Hangmiwonjo' term puts education program under scrutiny; War Memorial Foundation acknowledges inappropriate expression, suspends program
![A promotional illustration shows the term "6·25 War" alongside "Hangmiwonjo" — a Chinese Communist Party propaganda term glorifying its intervention in the Korean War — placed side by side with characters representing Korean and Chinese children. The post was removed Tuesday morning after a wave of public complaints. [Captured from the War Memorial of Korea website]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/09/news-p.v1.20260609.f5c20fcdfa374de790671c56e50b848b_P1.png)
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek said Tuesday that a Korean War education program run by the War Memorial Foundation was "not right."
Ahn made the remark in response to a reporter's question about the program, signaling his view that the promotional material's parallel presentation of China's "Hangmiwonjo" framing was inappropriate.
The War Memorial Foundation, which operates under the Ministry of National Defense, had posted promotional material for a special interpretive program titled "The 6·25 War: Different Interpretations," planned to mark the month of national patriotism and veterans' commemoration. The material included China's "Hangmiwonjo" characterization of the war, and the foundation removed it after the controversy spread.
The poster at the center of the dispute placed the text "6·25 War" against a backdrop of the South Korean flag on one side and "Hangmiwonjo" against China's five-star red flag on the other. "Hangmiwonjo" — meaning "resist America, aid Korea" — is a propaganda term China uses to frame the Korean War as a conflict in which it aided North Korea against American aggression, justifying the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's intervention.
The South Korean government maintains that the Korean War began with North Korea's illegal invasion of the South. Critics argued that presenting the Chinese term as an alternative perspective on equal footing with that position risked distorting the historical record.
As the backlash grew, the foundation pulled the promotional post. A foundation official said the way the program had been promoted "was not good" and that the education program would be suspended and overhauled.
The Defense Ministry said it understood the foundation had designed the program to more clearly explain the historical fact that the Korean War began with North Korea's illegal southward invasion, but that adequate review had not taken place during the process.
After receiving a briefing on the matter, Ahn ordered a thorough investigation and directed that, if violations are confirmed, strict measures be taken in accordance with relevant regulations and procedures.
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