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- 2024.05.13
Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kang Jung-ai (second from left) on May 8 takes a photo at the unveiling ceremony for a monument to German participation in the Korean War. From left are Ambassador to Germany Lim Sang-beom, German Red Cross Vice President Volkmar Schon and German Red Cross Secretary General Christian Reuter. (Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs)
By Lee Dasom
A newly unveiled monument in Germany honors German participation in the Korean War.
The Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on May 8 said it held the day before the unveiling ceremony of the first such monument in Germany at the Berlin headquarters of the German Red Cross. The monument honors the 70th anniversary of the deployment of a German medical support team to the war and its sacrifice and dedication.
The ministry spent KRW 210 million to build the monument to boost understanding in Germany of the Korean War and enhance amicable relations between both countries. Germany had been the lone country providing medical support for the war through the United Nations to lack such a monument.
Among the estimated 100 people who attended the event were Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kang Jung-ai, German Red Cross Vice President Volkmar Schon, German Red Cross Secretary General Christian Reuter, families of the team and Ambassador to Germany Lim Sang-beom.
Unveiled on World Red Cross Day, the monument is a modern interpretation of a jangseung, a Korean traditional totem pole representing a village guardian deity, and expresses the activities of the German Red Cross under the theme "War and Healing."
"Erecting a monument to German participation in the Korean War on the 70th anniversary of the German medical team's activities in the war and World Red Cross Day is very meaningful," Minister Kang said at the ceremony. "Reflecting the team's warm love for humanity, this sculpture will serve as a bridge connecting Korea and Germany and as a symbol commemorating the team's lofty dedication."
dlektha0319@korea.kr