Uijeongbu City Expands Veterans Projects to Honor and Remember Patriots

Uijeongbu City Operates 'Veterans TV' YouTube Channel, Expanding Everyday Veterans Content
Memorial Park at Hyeonchungtap to Be Created... A Citizen-Participatory Veterans Space
Various Veterans Allowances and Family Support Systems Expanded to Realize Respect
Mayor Kim Donggeun: "Uijeongbu-Style Veterans Policies Together with Citizens"

Uijeongbu City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Donggeun) announced on May 30 that, in recognition of June as the Month of Patriots and Veterans, it will actively implement a range of policies to strengthen respect for national merit recipients and their families and to promote a culture of honoring veterans among citizens.

Kim Donggeun, Mayor of Uijeongbu, is delivering a greeting at the 106th March 1st Movement Day commemorative ceremony. Provided by Uijeongbu City

Uijeongbu City has consistently taken the lead in spreading a culture of honoring those who have sacrificed and dedicated themselves for the nation. Taking this month as an opportunity, the city is actively pursuing related projects to make its veterans policies more citizen-centered.

The city operates a YouTube channel called 'Uijeongbu Veterans TV' to ensure that both citizens and national merit recipients can easily access veterans policies in their daily lives.

Veterans TV shares the stories of those who served the nation through videos and has gained significant attention with content such as the restoration and presentation of black-and-white photos of Korean War veterans in color.

The city plans to continue producing content featuring various veterans-related information and welfare policies.

With the goal of establishing itself as a 'city of veterans culture,' Uijeongbu City is promoting the construction of the 'Memorial Park at Hyeonchungtap' in the area of Hyeonchungtap, Jail-dong (San 87, Jail-dong).

The project focuses on creating a complex cultural space that combines remembrance, education, and relaxation. It will be developed as an open space where all citizens can visit comfortably, in connection with the ecological village development project.

106th Anniversary of the March 1st Movement Ceremony. Provided by Uijeongbu City

The project will be carried out in phases: ▲ Phase 1 will create rest areas and convenience facilities, and ▲ Phase 2 will focus on commemorative spaces. Phase 1 involves developing rest areas and convenience facilities on the 2,967-square-meter parking lot site at Hyeonchungtap, with completion targeted for June 2026.

Phase 2 will establish a commemorative space on the 2,711-square-meter site of Hyeonchungtap and the event venue, including a time capsule embodying Uijeongbu's history and hopes for peace, a memorial wall honoring fallen patriots, storytelling sculptures introducing Uijeongbu's national heroes, and nighttime lighting. This phase will be launched in earnest after securing the necessary budget.

In March 2019, the city rebuilt the aging Veterans Hall, which now serves as a base for local veterans organizations.

Located at 33 Gyeui-ro 55beon-gil, Uijeongbu-dong, the standalone building has one basement floor and five above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 1,315 square meters. It is equipped with ▲ offices for veterans organizations ▲ an auditorium ▲ bathing facilities ▲ a parking lot, and other amenities. Currently, eight veterans organizations, including the Uijeongbu branch of the Liberation Association, are based there.

The city manages and operates the hall in accordance with the 'Uijeongbu City Veterans Hall Installation and Operation Ordinance,' actively using it as a support and communication hub for the organizations.

Based on the 'Ordinance on Respect and Support for National Merit Recipients, etc. of Uijeongbu City,' the city supports more than 5,600 national merit recipients and 10 veterans organizations.

2024 69th Memorial Day Ceremony. Provided by Uijeongbu City

In particular, since 2023, the eligibility for the veterans honor allowance has been expanded to include citizens covered under the 'Act on the Support of Persons Eligible for Veterans Compensation.' The allowance, which was previously limited to war veterans, is now also provided to the spouses of deceased war veterans, broadening the scope of support. In addition, the age requirement has been lowered from 65 to 60, enabling more merit recipients to benefit.

To enhance the pride of veterans organizations, the city supports the 10 local veterans organizations, including the Uijeongbu branch of the Liberation Association, through ▲ overseas visits to sites of independence movements ▲ tours of battlefields and security sites ▲ subsidies for operating and project expenses ▲ consolation payments during the Month of Patriots and Veterans ▲ operation of the Veterans Hall. The city also gathers suggestions through annual meetings with the Veterans Organizations Council and reflects them in its policies.

The city manages more than a dozen memorials and monuments, including: ▲ Kim Poongik Battle Memorial (Uijeongbu District Battle Memorial) ▲ Hyeonchungtap ▲ Korean War Veterans Memorial ▲ Distinguished Service Medal Recipients Memorial ▲ Patriotism Memorial ▲ Unknown Patriots Memorial ▲ Shin Chaeho's Quince Tree ▲ Statue of Ahn Junggeun ▲ Statue of Peace (comfort women memorial) ▲ March 1st Independence Movement Memorial ▲ Berlin Wall for Peaceful Unification ▲ Korea-US Friendship Monument ▲ Norway Veterans Memorial Park ▲ Distinguished Service Medal Recipients Tower ▲ Vietnam War Veterans Memorial ▲ March 1st Independence Movement Marker ▲ Kim Gu's Inscription Rock.

Meeting with Heads of Veterans Organizations for the Month of Patriots and Veterans. Provided by Uijeongbu City

The city holds memorial ceremonies on major national holidays and anniversaries, and provides transportation and other conveniences to ensure that both citizens and veterans organizations can participate in these events.

Kim Donggeun, Mayor of Uijeongbu, stated, "We will further strengthen our respect for those who served the nation and expand the value of 'veterans affairs' in everyday life through veterans policies that are remembered together with citizens. We will continue to develop sustainable veterans welfare through substantial and effective policies."