Seoul: A state-affiliated agency that manages South Korea's war memorial museum is facing criticism after utilizing a Chinese propaganda narrative of the 1950-53 Korean War in a promotional poster. The poster depicted the conflict as a war of resistance against U.S. aggression, a perspective aligned with China's narrative.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea War Memorial Organization, which oversees the War Memorial of Korea, recently published the contentious material on its website to promote an educational program aimed at elementary school students. The program focuses on the three-year war, which had significant implications for the Korean peninsula.

The controversial poster, titled "The Korean War: Different Interpretations," illustrated two boys with differing perspectives on the conflict. One boy viewed the war as the "June 25 War," a term commonly used in South Korea, while the other perceived it as the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea," reflecting China's official stance on the Korean War.

South Korea considers the Korean War as having started with North Korea's illegal invasion of the South. In contrast, China describes its participation as an effort to support the North against U.S.-led Allied forces backing the South. The poster has since been removed from the organization's website.

An official from the war memorial organization clarified that the program aims to provide an opportunity for a "critical analysis" of China's narrative, insisting that it was not intended to teach the conflict from a Chinese perspective. "We are revising the promotional poster and explanatory materials as they can be misunderstood," the official stated, emphasizing that the program will proceed as scheduled.