A conservator brushes off the rusted surface of a damaged helmet at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Daejeon, July 5. The helmet was used by a fallen soldier during the 1950-53 Korean War and excavated by the Ministry of National Defense at the demilitarized zone's White Horse Ridge, where fierce battles were waged before armistice. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Conservators restore Korean War remains excavated at White Horse Ridge battle site in Gangwon Province

By Lee Hae-rin

DAEJEON ― Sergeant First Class Lim Byung-ho was 23 years old when his life was cut tragically short in the middle of the Korean War. Having been married a month before its start, he was called upon to join the military in order to defend the freedom and democracy of the nation, which were in peril due to North Korea's invasion.

Sergeant First Class Lim Byung-ho (1930-53) / Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

Leaving his wife and a newborn baby behind, he answered the call to defend his country. Sadly, Lim died just weeks before the 1953 armistice. His dream of returning to his family and loved ones was brutally shattered. He was killed in the Battle of Arrowhead Ridge, located now in the demilitarized zone in northern Gangwon Province, a fiercely fought battle against the Communist Chinese army.

The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed 68 years ago on July 27, 1953. Lim's military water canister, which was excavated in 2019 near the ridge, tells vividly how tragic and brutal the war truly was.

The canister has several bullet holes thereby rendering its original purpose useless.

"I became emotional when I saw his water canister," Lee Jae-sung, a conservator at the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center in Daejeon, said to The Korea Times. "As you see here, there are nine or at least eight bullet holes. They suggest that four bullets have penetrated the metal container as well as Lim."

Lim's water canister is one of tens of thousands of Korean War artifacts that were unearthed in the demilitarized zone, in the mountainous eastern county of Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. Lee and his coworker have been restoring them so as to shed light on the fallen soldiers and their last days and to honor them and encourage the nation to remember their sacrifices.

His remains were discovered by Ministry of National Defense excavators in 2019 and identified by matching the DNA to living relatives in 2020. His possessions have been returned to his family 70 years after the outbreak of the war and Lim now rests in the Daejeon National Cemetery with his fellow soldiers.

The two ridges of the DMZ excavation site ― known as Arrowhead and White Horse ― witnessed some of the fiercest fighting between the Korean Army and Communist Chinese forces in the last days of the Korean War.

The remains of over 3,000 fallen soldiers and 101,000 war relics were dug up from Arrowhead Ridge between 2019 and 2021. Lee and his team conserved the items with the highest historical value, 962 in total, so that they can be returned to relatives or exhibited at national cemeteries.

A deformed water canister belonging to a fallen soldier from the Korean War is placed under a microscope as part of the conservation process. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

A spoon used by a fallen Korean War soldier (after the conservation process). The cross on the bottom left of the spoon's surface is not a natural scratch, but made by its owner in order to claim ownership, according to a conservator. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Last September, the ministry started excavations at White Horse Ridge, another wartime no-man's-land site in the DMZ, and excavated remains of 37 fallen soldiers and over 8,000 wartime possessions. The institute was told two weeks ago to complete the conservation of 368 items by end of the year.

Lee explained that these relics reveal how fierce the battles were. Those killed on battlefields were young men mostly in their 20s who died just a few weeks before the armistice was signed.

As a metal heritage conservator with 23 years of experience, Lee works at the Cultural Heritage Administration's National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, a place that specializes in the preservation and restoration of national treasures and relics. His job is to turn back time when it comes to excavated archeological artifacts and bring them back to their original appearances so they can be studied and exhibited at museums.

With over 30 professional conservators like Lee, each specializing in different heritage materials such as ceramics, textiles, paper and lacquerware, the institute is affiliated with the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and is the only government organization that professionally conserves cultural heritage.

Side by side with national treasures, the wartime relics are in the country's best hands. The deceased soldiers' helmets, shovel handles, spoons and water canisters are covered in a thick layer of rust and were placed alongside other significant national treasures at Lee's lab, such as weapons from the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 to 1598.

With the expertise and high-end conservation technology for restoring centuries-old cultural heritage items, which are registered as national treasures, the relics regain their original appearance ― for at least six months ― before being eventually handed over to relatives.

Conservator Lee Jae-sung places a helmet on the photograph bed of an X-ray machine at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

A helmet's X-ray image taken on July 4 by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Daejeon, July 5. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The war relics are first analyzed to determine how much conservation is needed and how much should be done, through X-ray, CT scans and chemical component analysis. Then the corrosive elements on the object's surface are removed softly and carefully with a delicate brush and chemicals. After that, the stabilizing and consolidation process occurs so as to help the object to return to and remain as close to its original form as possible.

Lee said that working with wartime remains is very rewarding and holds a lot of meaning, in a way that's different from working with archeological artifacts. Working with centuries-old treasures gives him a sense of historical wonder and the excitement of solving puzzles, while wartime relics give him a sense of pride and respect for the deceased.

"Our prime role is to get these relics in better shape to be kept by the bereaved families, so that they can hold them closer and cherish their memories longer," Lee said. "I wish they are happy when they receive these from us."

The senior curator and the conservator said the country should take full responsibility to find and identify the remains of the fallen soldiers.

"They have bled and fallen for this nation 70 years ago, and it is our role as their descendants to not let their sacrifice be in vain and to restore their honor," Lee said.

Rust is removed from the surface of a fallen soldier's helmet excavated from the DMZ. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul