[The Second Take] Half-Truths... The Missing Half Lies Underground

Film "206: The Unvanishing"
Excavation of War Dead Emphasizes Patriotism
Victims of Massacres Still Face Neglect

"Grandmother, they say the human body has 206 bones. If you heard this, you would probably laugh and say, 'That’s a lot.' But in reality, it is almost impossible to find a person with all 206 intact bones among the remains discovered at massacre sites. (...) This sad scene often comes to me as a great metaphor for history and memory. The truth is like the remains at massacre sites."

This narration flows from the documentary film 206: The Unvanishing. On the screen, remains that had been resting in the ground are just awakening and scattered here and there. These bones have been continuously excavated in Korean society since the 2000s. They are broadly divided into two types: the remains of patriotic martyrs and war missing persons, and those of victims of state violence.

The government excavates the former to fill the gaps in omitted ceremonial procedures. They are interred in national cemeteries to normalize abnormal deaths. In a way, the government acts as a kind of funeral director. Representative cases include the "Korean War Fallen Soldiers Remains Excavation" that began in 2000 and the "Ahn Jung-geun Remains Excavation" promoted in 2010.

The situation for the latter is quite different. Most died tragically due to state violence but were long neglected in public discourse. Some cases were formalized during the surge of past history settlement efforts in the early 2000s, but there is a clear difference in intent and content compared to the former.

The excavation of war dead remains proceeds under the banner of security and patriotism. The remains become symbols of righteous deaths for the nation. In contrast, the excavation of civilian massacre victims’ remains largely aims to expose hidden facts and investigate related incidents. To ascertain the truth, it is necessary to confirm the actual existence of the incidents. Testimonies from oral witnesses are important, but the most definitive physical evidence is the remains of the massacre victims and missing persons.

In Spain, this is called the "historical memory recovery movement." Professor Noh Yong-seok of Pukyong National University’s Department of International Regional Studies wrote in his book State Violence and the Socio-Cultural History of Remains Excavation that "In Korea as well, forgotten memories of the past were mentioned in areas where remains excavation took place, creating new discourse," and wrote the following.

"It contained meanings that were not 'central' or 'national' like the excavation of war dead remains, but rather 'local' and somewhat 'counter-hegemonic.'"

In fact, both types of remains excavation are a kind of "memory war" to elevate their respective discourses to official status through bones. Here, the remains act as symbols that formalize discourse. Due to the special nature of being the bodies of the dead, they are more powerful symbols than any other. However, Korean society still officially recognizes one side of the excavation while showing subtle resistance toward the other. Professor Noh explained, "This is because the 'counter-discourse,' which opposes the centrality of the modern nation-state, cannot be hastily moved to an official status."

"The excavation of war dead and civilian massacre victims’ remains mutually oppose each other around the grand axis of the modern nation-state, and expanding the 'funeral director' role of the modern nation-state to another axis is connected to the somewhat grand theme called 'modern nationalism.'"

Signs of change are not entirely absent. National-level memorials have greatly changed in character in modern times. In particular, state ceremonies have begun to embrace those sacrificed by state power and violence. The Jeju 4.3 Incident, the Geochang and Sancheong Hamyang massacres, and the No Gun-ri massacre have been decided to be included or are pending inclusion. However, they still represent only a very small portion of the whole, and comprehensive recognition of civilian massacre incidents has not significantly changed. 206: The Unvanishing asks,

"Do we lose as much memory as the number of bones that have disappeared? What should we fill the lost half of the half-truth that can only remain as an eternal void with? Meanwhile, the perpetrators have vanished, and the deceased have no voice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.