People stand next to the Garden of Gratitude in central Seoul, Monday, ahead of its official opening the next day. Newsis
In a dimly lit underground hall beneath Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Monday, portraits of veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War flickered to life on vertical screens as a group of reporters gathered to capture the multimedia spectacle. Cascading waterfall imagery projected the names of the veterans across curved walls before dissolving into animated plants that bloomed into fields of flowers.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government officially opens the Garden of Gratitude, Tuesday, unveiling a stone monument honoring 22 nations that fought in the Korean War at the downtown square — positioned between the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters — just three weeks ahead of the June 3 local elections.
Aboveground, 23 gray granite pillars — representing the 22 ally countries and South Korea — curve upward in a formation designed to evoke honor guards presenting arms. Each structure stands 6.25 meters tall — a height chosen to reference June 25, the date the war began, Kim Chang-kyu, head of the city office’s balanced development bureau, explained during a preview of the site, a day ahead of the inauguration.
Seven of the pillars currently feature stones donated by participating nations, including fragments of the Berlin Wall from Germany and materials from India, Greece, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands. Stone from five more countries, including the United States, is expected to be installed by the end of the year, with others still in discussion.
The pillars will light up nightly from 8 to 11 p.m., and 7 to 10 p.m. in winter, with 10-minute light shows running every 30 minutes. On national holidays and special occasions, the city government plans to adjust colors and timing, hoping to turn the square into one of the city’s signature nightscape attractions.
Belowground, the Freedom Hall media exhibition is designed to show how Korea, once a war-ravaged recipient of international aid, has become an aid donor. Artificial intelligence-enhanced pictures from the war turn old stills into moving footage, making veterans appear to shift and breathe on screen.
Another zone, the Memorial Wall, uses 23 triangular LED panels to represent Korea and the 22 ally nations. In one sequence, Bloom Together, national flowers burst into bloom and their petals fall to form “waves of gratitude,” conveying, as officials put it, the idea that “today’s Korea has bloomed through the sacrifices of its veterans.”
Interactive kiosks nearby allow visitors to digitally try on military uniforms from different allied nations or leave messages of thanks.
Reporters walk past vertical screens set up inside the Freedom Hall during a media tour in central Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho
Source: Korea Times News
