[DiaryPoint = Reporter Kim Jeong-hun] A one-minute silence honoring the sacrifices of UN veterans will take place at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 as part of Turn Toward Busan. The 20th International Memorial Day for UN Veterans ceremony will begin at 10:50 a.m. at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, attendees will include Korean War veterans from Korea and abroad, diplomats from countries that fought in the war, government officials, citizens, students and service members.
Turn Toward Busan is an annual observance in which people around the world pause at the same moment and face the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan to remember UN service members killed in the Korean War (1950–53). The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea says the event began in 2007 at the suggestion of Vincent Courtenay, then head of the Korean War Veterans Association of Canada. It is held at 11 a.m. Korea time each Nov. 11, though the local time of the observance varies by country. In Busan, residents can join the minute of silence when the memorial siren sounds at 11 a.m.
Nov. 11 is designated by law as International Memorial Day for UN Veterans. Article 5 of the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for UN Veterans recognizes the date each year to honor the sacrifices and contributions of those who defended South Korea’s liberal democracy during the Korean War, and to remember them together with the countries that fought alongside South Korea. The same article designates July 27 as UN Forces Participation Day.
This year’s Busan ceremony will be held under the theme “Toward Busan, a Moment of Unity.” The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs lists the program as including a national ceremony, the “Turn Toward Busan” minute of silence, the raising of participating nations’ flags, commemorative remarks and performances. News agency Newspim, citing a Busan city event notice, reported that the program will also include a wreath-laying, a memorial video, remarks by a UN forces representative, a tribute performance, memorial remarks and additional performances. The Republic of Korea Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team is also scheduled to make a commemorative flyover.
About 1,000 people are expected, including veterans and their families, diplomats, citizens and students. A 21-gun salute and aircraft flyovers may cause noise during the event. Busan plans to sound memorial sirens citywide at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11; residents can pause what they are doing and join the minute of silence.