Families with Three Generations of Military Service Honored in Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province has honored 15 families whose military-service histories span three generations and, in some cases, connect to the Korean War and Korea’s independence movement.

One family’s history began when Kim Gap-shin served as a student soldier during the Korean War. His son, Kim Jae-ju, spent more than 30 years in the Marine Corps and received recognition as a national meritorious person, along with the Order of National Security Merit. Three grandsons, Kim Min-ho, Kim Seon-ho and Kim Gyeong-ho, later volunteered for the Marine Corps.

Another family preserved and donated a copy of a draft armistice document from the Korean War. Kim Seong-su served as a guerrilla in the 8240 Unit, while his son Kim Ho-kyung and two other sons served in the Army for between 26 and 32 months. The next generation, Kim Dae-woo and Kim Min-woo, also completed service as Army sergeants.

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We looked not only at whether they completed military service, but also at what kind of service they performed and what activities they continued in their communities.

The story of the Lee Ju-sang family reaches back to the independence movement. Lee is a descendant of Lee Sang-ryong, the first prime minister of Korea’s provisional government. One family member died in battle during the Korean War. Later descendants served in the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, the Special Warfare Command and the Correctional Guard Corps. Lee Ho-sang worked on operating and maintaining power equipment in the 27th Infantry Division, while Lee Ju-sang maintained parachutes at the Special Warfare School.

Gyeonggi reviewed applications from 82 of the province’s 2,580 military-service families. Its selection considered service achievements, the number of family members who served, community contributions and local reputation. The province said it wanted stories of war, independence activism and donated national records to become part of the community’s shared memory. It will present the families with letters from the provincial governor and special plaques.

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Many of the selected families carried histories of service in the Korean War or the Vietnam War. We believed it was necessary to make the lives of these people, still unknown in many cases, more widely known in Gyeonggi, a border region.