Forty foreigners from seven countries that sent either combat forces or medical support to South Korea during the Korean War have been invited to participate in the “Turn Toward Busan” ceremony, slated for on Nov. 11, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) said. Those involve 19 Korean War veterans and 21 their family members.
Among the invitees, who will make a five-night and six day tour from Nov. 8, three are from the United States, four from UK, eight from Canada, 10 from Belgium, six from the Netherlands, four from Colombia and six from Turkey.
It is first time that foreign Korean War veterans will participate in the revisit program since it was stopped due the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The invitees will partake in the Turn Toward Busan ceremony that will take place at the Busan UN Memorial Park on Nov. 11 and pay homage to tombs to remember their sacrifices and dedication for the cause of keeping peace in Korea.
The ministry plans to extend thanks by treating the Korean War veterans who will participate in the program with exceptional respect according to social distancing guidelines of the pandemic.
Among the invitees are Vincent Courtenay, a Canadian Korean War veteran, who was honored with an order by the Korean government in recognition of proposing the “Turn Toward Busan” memorial ceremony for the first time; Raymond Jozef Jan Behr, a Belgian war veteran, who was awarded with Taegeuk Order of Military Merit in 2016 in recognition of his service in the Battle of White Horse Highlands; and William Hale, who was wounded while participating in battles, including the Battle of the Punchbowl as a U.S, marine member in April 1951.
Dignitaries, including foreign Korean War veterans and their family members, Paul Joseph LaCamera, commander of the United Nations Command, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez Blanco of Colombia, and Minister Hwang Ki-chul of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs participate in the “Turn Toward Busan” memorial ceremony, held on Nov. 11.
The visitors will attend a peace music concert for the memory of fallen UN war veterans, which will take place in Busan on Nov. 10.
They will partake in the Turn Toward Busan memorial ceremony and a thanks luncheon, to be hosted by MPVA on Nov. 11.
Diplomats from countries that send their UN allied forces to Korea during the Korean War will attend the luncheon event, in which Minister Hwang Ki-chul of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will give a welcoming speech and present peace ambassador’s medals.
The delegates will tour Seoul National Cemetery in the morning of Nov. 12 to commemorate their fallen Korean War comrades. In the afternoon, they will tour the demilitarized zone in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, to experience the division of the Korean Peninsula.
UN war veterans’ revisit program was launched under the sponsorship of a private organization in 1975.
MPVA has been implementing the revisit program to offer respect and appreciation to each of the foreign Korean War veterans from a government level since 2010 when it took the opportunity to celebrate the 6oth anniversary of the Korean War.
Under the program, about 33,000 UN-allied Korean War veterans and their family members had been invited as of last year.
The program has served as raising the image of Korea, which has repaid without forgetting Korean War veterans’ sacrifices and dedication.
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