■ When the Blooming Spring Comes Last year, in October. During a mine clearing operation for the joint excavation of remains from the South and the North, bone fragments shattered by an explosion were discovered along with an identification tag with a military number and name. It belonged to Sergeant First Class Park Jae-kwon of the 7th Platoon, 31st Regiment, 2nd Division. In the spring, forsythia blooms in profusion in Gonmyeong-myeon, Sacheon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. In his hometown, his parents, who had not even been able to find his remains while he was alive, closed their eyes with him in their hearts. What happened to him on the day his company was deployed to Arrowhead Hill? We cover Sergeant First Class Park Jae-kwon’s journey home after 68 years. ■ Traces of War On June 1, the identification tag of Corporal Yves Moalic, a French soldier killed in action, which was recently excavated at Arrowhead Hill, was returned to his homeland after 67 years. Private Moalik, who fought as a member of the French 6th Reinforcement Expedition, was killed in the Battle of Arrowhead Hill in October 1952. And among the remains of French soldiers that have yet to be found, three are believed to be resting at Arrowhead Hill. When will they be able to return home? ■ Father who returned with dog tags Last July, 55 boxes of remains and one dog tag were delivered to the United States by North Korea after 68 years. The owner of the dog tag was found after DNA testing and identification by the US Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DDPA). He was Sergeant Charles Herbert McDaniel, a US soldier killed in the Battle of Unsan and a father of two. His son was 3 years old when he went missing in the war. The son, who had now become an old man, felt relieved only after seeing his father who had returned after 68 years. What could have prevented him from returning to his family in October 1950, when the war seemed imminent? ■ My hero, the return of my father August 1950. Private Yoon Kyung-hyeok, who participated in the Korean War at the age of 28. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army for less than 3 months, and failed to return from the battlefield, leaving behind his newborn son. The son, who did not even know his father’s face, registered his DNA data in hopes of finding his remains. The reason his father’s remains, mixed with the remains of US soldiers in North Korea and sent all the way to Hawaii, finally made the long journey to meet his son was because of his son’s Sabugok. What would his father’s lonely and long journey home have been like? I captured the son’s appearance on camera as he met his father after 68 years. ■ Arrowhead Hill, a fierce battle The joint excavation operation for the remains of the Korean War dead in the DMZ began in earnest after the adoption of the ‘Military Agreement for the Implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration’ at the inter-Korean summit held last year. The South began removing landmines and excavating basic remains as a preliminary report for the full-scale joint excavation of the remains of the South and the North. Arrowhead Hill was a key point for transportation and strategy during the Korean War, and a key point for defending Baekma Hill, the fiercest battleground during the Korean War. The scars of war still remain intact, as if to prove the numerous battles for the high ground that took place right up until the armistice. Since April 1, 60 remains have been excavated, and 30,000 artifacts have been excavated. Can Arrowhead Hill, where the scars of war remain intact, be transformed into a land of peace? ※ This video is [KBS Special - The Long Way Home for the Excavation of the Remains of the 6.25 War Dead] that aired on June 6, 2019. #Excavation #War #Documentary