The Korean Veteran Association UK (KORVAUK) hosted their British-Korean War Veteran’s Day ceremony at Kingston Fairfield on Saturday, to honour British veterans of the Korean War.
The ceremony, held on Armed Forces Day, was hosted for the surviving British veterans that formed part of the 56,000 British troops that fought alongside South Korea against the North during the Korean War.
The ceremony was attended by around 30 veterans, the majority of whom are now well into their 90s, and their families, with a strong showing from the local Korean community.
One such veteran in attendance was Anthony White, a 96-year-old man from Banbury, who was sent to the front line in Korea in January 1951 – when he was just 21 years old.
Over 8,000 kilometres from home, he recalled having no real awareness of where he was because of his inability to understand Korean.
Anthony fell very ill for over a month whilst stationed in Korea after contracting a virus from the drinking water.
Despite the hardships, he admitted that he has no regrets about his decision to sign up for the national service, and recalled the sincere gratitude and kindness he received when he returned to Korea since, where he was treated as a hero.
Anthony said: “It’s something I’ve never regretted, let’s put it that way.
“I’m always glad that I’ve been through that situation.”
The ceremony itself was a reminder of this deep gratitude that the Korean community still holds for the British veterans, and a strong emphasis of the event was also on the importance of imparting this gratitude to younger generations.
KORVAUK announced the winner of their first annual essay competition during the ceremony, which was won by a young girl named Jisoo Min, who read her essay aloud, touching on her own connections to the Korean War (her great grandfather served himself) and her desire that the memory of the veteran’s sacrifices live on.
The event also showcased many elements of Korean culture, including a buffet of Korean food and performances of Korean songs and traditional dances.
The president of KORVAUK, Mooryong Choi, emphasised that this celebration of Korean culture was a reminder that the richness and popularity of Korean culture worldwide would not have been possible without the sacrifices of the brave British troops.
The United Kingdom was involved in the Korean War between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953, and were second only to the United States in the number of troops deployed to aid South Korea’s military operations.
The Korean Veteran’s Association is a global organisation with approximately 10 million members worldwide, and they opened their UK branch in 2011.
The event this year was held in Kingston, as Kingston is a hub of Korean community in London, boasting the largest Korean population in Europe.
Mr Choi said: “In Europe, New Malden, Kingston, is the biggest Korean community, particularly the Kingston borough.”
He added: “For us, it is like a hometown.”
Mr Choi expressed his intentions that next year the ceremony will be hosted again, in collaboration with Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
He also hopes to expand the essay-writing competition to include submissions from Korean students globally.
Image credits to Beccy Bollard.
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