Between Visible and Invisible Deaths of the Korean War: Re-envisioning Operation Glory (1954) at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea

Abstract

The year 2021 marked the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Cemetery’s (currently the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, unmck) establishment in 1951. The unmck is the only UN-designated cemetery for the fallen UN soldiers who underwent an arduous process of interment, exhumation, and re-interment during and after the Korean War (1950–1953). Despite abundant studies on the Korean War, little attention has been paid to the diverging historiography of the deceased military personnel and non-combatants concerning the UN graveyard and Operation Glory, a repatriation mission that changed the cemetery’s geopolitical landscape. Through multi-archival research, this study re-examines the unmck’s topology by shedding light on the incompatible sites of visible and invisible deaths in the context of Operation Glory. Thus, it contributes to the limited literature on military history and historiography by showing how bodily engagements were inextricably interwoven with the Korean War’s heterotopic heritage.