![Korean history educator Choi Tae-sung [Herald Muse]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/01/news-p.v1.20260601.f812aec88d1d4bd3a50bd070205a1541_P1.png)
Korean history educator Choi Tae-sung, widely known by his nickname "Big Star Teacher," has shared the story of how he discovered the remains of 122 Ethiopian Korean War veterans stored in a warehouse — and how a single phone call set off a chain of events that led to a proper burial ceremony.
Choi posted about the experience on his social media accounts Sunday, the first day of June, which marks the start of Korea's Patriots and Veterans Month. "While filming in Ethiopia with SBS several months ago, I came across a deeply shocking situation," he wrote.
"Ethiopian heroes who fought and died defending South Korea during the Korean War had been expelled from their resting place in a church and left abandoned in a warehouse," he said. "I went and saw it for myself. It was a shock. I was moved to tears."
Choi had visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he confirmed the state of the remains.
Photos he released showed a pile of cloth-wrapped bundles left stacked inside a storage room. The number of confirmed remains reached 122.
"I couldn't just let it go, so I called my college classmate Park Yong-jin, vice chairman of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, and begged him to help," Choi said. "Park was equally shocked and said we had to do something — he immediately contacted Veterans Affairs Minister Kwon O-eul."
Officials at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs moved quickly. The very next day — just 24 hours after the call was made — the military attaché at the South Korean Embassy in Ethiopia visited the filming site in person, and a recovery committee was formed.
Two weeks later, the government opened discussions with the church over compensation. The church, which was undergoing renovation, agreed to reinter the remains with full dignity within its grounds.
With support from the ministry, a burial ceremony for the 122 fallen Ethiopian Korean War veterans was held at a new site within Trinity Cathedral on April 21.
![HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun pays his respects at the Memorial Tower at Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu on May 29, alongside company employees. [HD Hyundai]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/01/news-p.v1.20260601.9734568057fc401a9711f283a79247d9_P1.jpg)
Corporate support also followed. HD Construction Equipment announced it would install a memorial engraved with the names of all the fallen soldiers, erect sculptures symbolizing Korea and Ethiopia, put up informational signage, and build a memorial hall at the site.
Ethiopia was the only African nation to send ground troops during the Korean War. It dispatched a battalion of 6,000 soldiers who arrived in Busan in May 1951 and were attached to the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division, taking part in the Battle of Jeokgeunsan. Ethiopian forces served on the northeastern front near Chuncheon.
"Korea responded in a day," Choi wrote. "This is our dignity. As Patriots and Veterans Month begins, I again express my gratitude to all those who made it possible for us to be here today."
HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun visited Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu on May 29 to pay his respects to fallen patriots and war heroes, the company said Sunday.
ygmoon@heraldcorp.com
