Oh Se-hoon: “A nation's dignity depends on how it remembers its heroes”

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon paid tribute to the sacrifices and dedication of Korean War veterans on the 11th, marking International Memorial Day for UN Veterans. “A nation’s dignity depends on how it remembers its heroes,” he said.
Mayor Oh shared his thoughts on visiting the Garden of Gratitude in Gwanghwamun in a Facebook post that day, saying, “Seoul will not forget their names and will become a city that carries on its gratitude.”
He began his post with the words “Freedom is not free” and reflected on the sacrifices of UN troops who fought to defend South Korea’s freedom during the Korean War.
Mayor Oh wrote, “For the freedom of people in a strange country they had seen only on a map, whose faces they had never seen, 1.95 million young people from 22 countries set foot on this land. Of them, 37,000 never made it back to their loved ones.”
He added, “Built on the foundation laid by their sacrifices, South Korea rose to become a nation that commands the world’s attention,” and stressed, “Seoul today is proof that the freedom they sought to protect was not in vain.”
Mayor Oh also spoke of the importance of remembering and honoring veterans. “A nation’s dignity depends on how it remembers its heroes,” he said. “Seoul will not forget their names and will become a city that carries on its gratitude.”
International Memorial Day for UN Veterans, observed every year on November 11, commemorates the sacrifices and contributions of UN veterans who served in the Korean War. At 11 a.m. that day, the Turn Toward Busan memorial event is held, with a one-minute moment of silence facing the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea in Busan.

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