On June 25th, we remember the outbreak of the Korean War, and this year, marking 71 years since the armistice, we honour the British soldiers’ sacrifices at the Victoria Embankment Gardens memorial, while reflecting on the ongoing hope for peace and reunification of the Koreas.
Another year, another destiny. Every year on June 25th we remember the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, long called the forgotten war. Come July 27th this year it will be 71 years since the armistice that marked the end of the conflict but not the war. Hostilities still flare up between the two Koreas and millions of families are still divided across the 38th parallel.
Each year, we try to visit the memorial to the British soldiers in the Korean War in Victoria Embankment Gardens, between the River Thames and the Ministry of Defence headquarters and adjacent to New Scotland Yard. The memorial, a bronze statue of a British soldier in the combat uniform of the day, was a gift from the Government of South Korea in 2014 and has now reached its own 10th Anniversary. 60,000 British soldiers were mobilised to Korea and over 1000 were killed. Most of the fallen never came home, being buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, the only United Nations cemetery in the world.
Standing under resolute gaze of that representative soldier, I wonder if the spirits of those brave young men truly rest in peace today. True Mother has recently observed that relations between the two Koreas are moving in the wrong direction, and yet encouraged us to pray, to work and to hope that a peaceful unification will come soon, even as soon as next year. – Dr Michael Balcomb, National Director.
On Thursday 27th June, 1pm, join the UPF sponsored webinar on the topic: ‘How can the European experience be brought to bear on the search for peace on the Korean peninsula?’ Register for free here: https://bit.ly/27jun2024
