Seoul mayor vows to remember UN Korean War veterans on international memorial day

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed gratitude to UN Korean War veterans on Wednesday, vowing never to forget their sacrifice on the UN Korean War Veterans International Memorial Day.

Oh wrote on his SNS that he had visited the Garden of Gratitude at Gwanghwamun Square to reflect on the soldiers from the 22 countries that fought in the war. "About 1.95 million young people from 22 nations set foot on this land to defend the freedom of a country they had only seen on a map — people they had never once met," he wrote, adding that 37,000 of them never made it home to their families.

"On the foundation built by their sacrifice, the Republic of Korea has risen to become a country the world takes notice of," Oh said. "Today's Seoul is proof that the freedom they fought to protect was not in vain."

Oh went on to say that a nation's dignity lies in how it remembers its heroes. "Seoul will be a city that never forgets their names and keeps its gratitude alive," he said.