Yeonsu-gu District (Mayor Lee Jae-ho) held a commemorative event to honor the sacrifices of persons of national merit and their bereaved families who devoted themselves to the country, marking Patriots and Veterans Month. The event was held June 26 in the auditorium of the Veterans Center and was arranged to convey gratitude and respect to those who dedicated themselves to the nation.
 [The Korean Today] Yeonsu-gu Patriots and Veterans Month commemorative event © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
About 130 members of local veterans' groups, including the Yeonsu-gu chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association, attended the event. It opened with a performance by the district's traditional arts troupe, followed by the presentation of commendations to exemplary persons of national merit and congratulatory remarks by the mayor and guests.
The event was not a one-off commemoration but an extension of the veterans' affairs policies the district has been pursuing. Yeonsu-gu has been steadily expanding its tribute to persons of national merit, using the newly built Veterans Center, which opened this past March, as a hub.
The Veterans Center features an exhibition hall displaying relics related to the Korean War and the Vietnam War, a replica of a Taegeukgi (national flag) designated as a national treasure, and donated military merit medals. Outside, a 33-meter-tall flagpole bearing a large Taegeukgi has been installed and is in operation. In effect, the district now has a space where people can directly see and experience the history of veterans' affairs.
The center also offers a range of programs. The district regularly holds large-scale flag-raising and lowering ceremonies in which members of veterans' groups take part directly, and it is also running tailored welfare programs for persons of national merit, including health, healing and practical-skills classes, an integrated counseling service, and a veterans' cinema.
Going forward, the district plans to further expand projects that link the center's exhibition, education and welfare functions. In particular, to pass on the value of veterans' affairs across generations, it plans to run tours of the Veterans Center for children and youth. The effort aims to keep veterans' affairs from remaining the memory of a single generation and to carry it on to the next.
Mayor Lee Jae-ho said, "Today's Republic of Korea was built on the sacrifice and devotion of persons of national merit," adding, "We will pursue various policies that allow people to feel the meaning of veterans' affairs in their daily lives, so that it becomes a value shared by all residents, including future generations, rather than the memory of a particular generation."
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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