The beauty and history of South Korea

Yesterday I was telling some of my family about my recent trip to South Korea and it occurred to me that you might like to share my visit to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, South Korea in the company of a New Zealand colleague. We had half a day left of our trip to South Korea, where we had presented at two conferences, and decided to go to the Memorial before flying home.

Last week  marked 60 years since the signing of the armistice on 27 July 1953 that brought to the end hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. 340 Australians were lost during that war and South Korean’s have not forgotten their sacrifice. 18,000 Australians had served as part of a United Nations force.

The citizens of Busan dedicated the Main Gate in 1966. The gate is guarded by soldiers from the 53rd Division of the Korean Army. We were asked where we were from and when we said Australia and New Zealand the soldiers bade us welcome. (They declined to be photographed.)