UN Memorial Park at 10:30 AM on the 11th, 18th International UN Veterans Memorial Day Ceremony Held
Simultaneous Moment of Silence Worldwide... Remembering and Honoring the Noble Sacrifice and Contributions of UN Veterans from 22 Countries
Mayor Park Hyung-jun, "We Will Do Our Best to Fully Inherit the Values of Freedom and Peace"
At 10:30 a.m. on the 11th, the "Turn Toward Busan, the 18th UN Veterans International Memorial Day Ceremony," a simultaneous moment of silence and memorial event held worldwide for the Busan UN Memorial Park, will take place at the UN Memorial Park.
This event, held at 11:00 a.m. on the 11th with a one-minute moment of silence, commemorates and honors the noble sacrifice and contributions of the 22 UN member countries and UN veterans who participated in the Korean War to protect the Republic of Korea's liberal democracy, together with the citizens.
The "Turn Toward Busan UN Veterans International Memorial Day Ceremony" centers on a one-minute moment of silence directed toward the Busan UN Memorial Park, the world's only park where the war dead from 22 countries who fought in the Korean War are buried.
It began in 2007 with a proposal from Canadian veteran Vincent Courtney and was designated as a legal memorial day in 2020.
The event will commence at 10:30 a.m. with the interment ceremony for an unknown soldier at the UN Memorial Park cemetery.
The interred is an unknown soldier whose remains, presumed to be those of a UN soldier, were excavated in 2010 but whose nationality and identity were not confirmed. The remains were kept at the Ministry of National Defense's storage facility until 2022, when the Nationality Determination Review Committee ruled them to be those of a UN soldier.
The subsequent memorial ceremony will proceed in the following order: raising of the flags of the participating countries, a one-minute moment of silence "Turn Toward Busan," flower offering, greetings from representatives of the participating countries, letter reading and memorial performance, thematic video, memorial address, and a dedication performance.
The event will be solemnly held with the participation of about 800 people from all walks of life, including Mayor Park Hyung-jun, UN veterans and their descendants visiting Korea, diplomatic envoys, Korean War veterans, key government and military officials, citizens, and students.
Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, "November 11 at 11 a.m. is a meaningful time to honor and remember the sacrifice and contributions of 1.98 million UN veterans from 22 countries. I ask for the active participation of all citizens in the memorial moment of silence toward Busan, the world’s only UN Memorial Park." He added, "We will do our best to ensure that the heroes who protected the Republic of Korea are not forgotten and that our future generations fully inherit the values of freedom and peace."
He also added, "From 11 a.m. on the 11th, sirens will sound throughout the city, and the firing of 21 artillery rounds and noise from the Black Eagles' flight are expected. We ask citizens not to be startled by the sounds and to participate in the memorial moment of silence."
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