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| ▲ This photo provided by the Seoul city government on Feb. 3, 2025, shows sculptures and a garden for 22 Korean War allies to be created at Gwanghwamun Square. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo provided by the Seoul city government on Feb. 3, 2025, shows the basement floor of a garden of gratitude for 22 Korean War allies to be created at Gwanghwamun Square. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Seoul-symbolic sculptures
Seoul to create sculptures of gratitude for 22 Korean War allies
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- Symbolic sculptures expressing the South Korean people's gratitude toward the 22 countries that supported the South during the Korean War will be built at Gwanghwamun Square in the heart of Seoul this year, the city government said Monday.
The sculptures, titled "Light of Gratitude 22," will be made up of 22 black granite pillars, each 5.7 to 7 meters high, which represent the 22 countries that provided combat or medical support to South Korea during the 1950-53 war, the government said.
Light of Gratitude 22, scheduled for completion by the year's end, will be the centerpiece of Sejongno Park, a dense urban forest to be created next to the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts at Gwanghwamun Square by May 2027, it said.
The park, with a total ground area of 8,768 square meters, will have rest and dining facilities and multipurpose spaces on the ground floor and two basement floors. In particular, the underground space will be developed as an all-weather, multipurpose space where the city, nature and people can communicate throughout the four seasons.
Light of Gratitude 22 has been selected from among 31 candidates that took part in a city government-hosted design competition initiated in September last year to remember the sacrifices of war veterans who laid the foundation for the prosperity of South Korea and to create a space for communication with the world.
"Without the help of the allies, South Korea would never have had freedom, democracy and prosperity. We'll create a garden of gratitude at Gwanghwamun Square to impress people from all over the world," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, announcing the first place winner in the design competition.
The city government said the sculptures will be created from stones sourced from the 22 countries, and poems, literary works and phrases will be engraved on their sides in their native languages. The stones will be donated or imported through their embassies in Seoul. It said a symbolic space that allows real-time communication with the allies will be built on the basement floors.
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