Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Defense Ministry launches YOUU Campaign

You or someone you know could be among the bereaved families.

In collaboration with Kookbang Ilbo, five AI-composed songs released to promote the recovery of Korean War KIAs.

Songs span various genres, including ballad and trot; to be played at military bases and incorporated into civilian, government agency, and inter-service events.

In recognition of the Month of Patriots and Veterans, the Defense Ministry has released five AI-generated songs as part of the YOUU Campaign. This initiative aims to build national support for the Korean War KIA (Killed in Action) recovery project. The campaign encourages all citizens to participate by providing DNA samples from bereaved families, helping to identify the remains of fallen soldiers that have yet to be recovered. The songs convey the message, “You or your friends could be among the bereaved families.”

On May 12, the Defense Ministry announced that, in collaboration with Kookbang Ilbo, it composed these songs to honor the sacrifices of those who died in the Korean War and to raise awareness about the importance of identifying KIA remains.

The five released songs include “Return to Families,” “Heroes’ DNA,” and “FIND UU.” The songs span a variety of genres-including ballad, pop, and hip-hop-to resonate with all generations, from young students to middle-aged and elderly citizens, and to foster a broad national consensus. The lyrics were written by the Digital Content Team of Kookbang Ilbo and reviewed by the Defense Ministry’s Military Service Policy Division. The music was composed using an AI program called “Suno.”

The songs can be downloaded from the YOUU Campaign banner on the websites of the Defense Ministry, Defense Media Agency, and Kookbang Ilbo. All audio tracks are available for free sharing and playback on personal social media channels.

The Defense Ministry has issued official directives to all units, actively encouraging the broadcast of these campaign songs on base-both before and after daily duties, as well as during sports activities. The campaign songs will also be played at civilian, government, and military events related to the KIA recovery project. The Defense Media Agency also plans to support the campaign by producing various types of content, including music videos.

Jang Seok-yong, Director of the Military Service Policy Division at the Defense Ministry, said, “In recognition of the Month of Patriots and Veterans, we created a campaign song using AI technology in collaboration with Kookbang Ilbo to promote the Korean War KIA recovery project. I encourage everyone to pay close attention to and participate in the YOUU Campaign, so that the remains of our fallen heroes may return to the embrace of their families.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Defense Ministry’s Korean War KIA recovery project. To date, the remains of 11,460 fallen soldiers have been excavated. This year, more than 100,000 soldiers will participate in excavation efforts on Korean War battlefields to recover the remains of fallen service members. The remains that are uncovered can only be identified by comparing them with DNA samples from bereaved families.

By Ah-Mi, Cho <joajoa@dema.mil.kr>

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