Sculpture for war veterans to be installed at Busan peace park

Published : Sept 15, 2013 - 20:44 Updated : Sept 15, 2013 - 20:44

An artist’s rendition of a sculpture to be built on the U.N. Memorial Cemetery and Peace Park to express gratitude to Korean War veterans of the U.N. forces who fought for South Korea during the conflict (1950-1953). (Busan Nam-gu District Office)

A large sculpture will be built at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery and Peace Park in Busan to memorialize Korean War veterans of the U.N. allies who fought for South Korea in the 1950-1953 war.

The Nam-gu district office said Sunday that it plans to set up the sculpture by April next year at the cost of 640 million won ($550,000).

The memorial will be 14 meters tall and depict a person bowing with two hands held together. Doves flying above the U.N. emblem will be carved on the foot of its drum-shaped pillar.

The sculpture will be surrounded by 21 stone monuments, each honoring a country that participated in the war. On each of the monuments will be inscribed the country’s contributions to the U.N. forces.

“The sculpture is our expression of gratitude to Korean War veterans of the U.N. forces for sacrificing their lives to defend world peace and freedom. We will utilize it as a landmark of Busan,” a district official said.

The sculpture project will be funded by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)