The United States, England, Turkey, Australia and Canada are located on an area of 133 thousand square meters in the UN Monumental Cemetery in the port city of Busan, located in the southeast of South Korea, where the bodies of the UN Multinational Force personnel who lost their lives in the Korean War of 1950-1953 are buried. There are the graves of soldiers from many countries such as France, the Netherlands and Norway.
The management of the mausoleum, the construction of which was started by the UN in 1951, is carried out by a commission that includes representatives from 11 member states whose soldiers are buried.
In the cemetery, which consists of five sections: the commemoration and memories hall, the symbolic area, the main cemetery and the green area, there are special monuments from some countries, including Turkey, as well as information and documents from the war period.
In the memorial hall, the memories of the Korean War and those who participated in the war are conveyed to the visitors with videos and films.
2 heads 139 soldiers from 11 countries
There is also the “Veteran’s Graves Area” in the cemetery for those who were veterans in the Korean War and would like to be buried here after they died. The bodies of veterans who want to be buried in this area are buried in the cemetery after their death with the approval of the international commission.
There are the graves of 2 thousand 319 soldiers from 11 countries in the cemetery.
Every day in this area, the UN flag is hoisted with a ceremony at 10:00 local time and lowered with a ceremony at 16:00.
Loud talking, running, smoking, and entering with food and drink are prohibited at the monument, where South Korean guards are constantly on guard.
According to the cemetery official’s statement, hundreds of thousands of local and foreign people visit the monument every year, and this number reached 400 thousand in 2022.
wall of remembrance
The names of 40,896 UN soldiers who lost their lives in the war are written on the “Wall of Remembrance” in the cemetery.
The fire that burns constantly next to the Wall of Remembrance keeps the memory of those who died in the war alive and expresses the wish for permanent peace in the world.
The UN Forces Memorial in the cemetery is equipped with information on the support provided by UN countries in the Korean War, inscribed on copper plates on the wall with the monument’s Korean name.
The Turkish Martyrdom, in the mausoleum where the heroic Turkish soldiers who went to the other end of the world and fought in the war that started 73 years ago, are buried, makes its visitors experience sadness and pride together.
In the Turkish Martyrs’ Cemetery, which is meticulously preserved from its landscaping to its cleanliness, there are plates on the graves under the Turkish flag, which indicate the names and dates of death of the martyrs.
The officials, who take care of the roses and pine trees in the cemetery, clean the tombstones with their hands.
462 Turkish martyrs have graves
At the call of the UN, 462 of the 721 soldiers lost in the war by Turkey, one of the countries that sent the most soldiers to the Korean War, are buried in this mausoleum.
In addition to the Turks who visited the martyrdom, which is the greatest symbol of Turkey-Korea friendship, Koreans of all ages remember the sacrifice made by Turkey and commemorate the heroic Mehmet with gratitude.
In addition to the Turkish martyrs in the memorial cemetery, according to November 2022 data, 40 Americans, 122 Dutch, 32 New Zealanders, 281 Australians, 381 Canadians, 47 French, 1 Norwegian, 37 Korean (South Korea), 11 South African, 890 British and 15 soldiers of unknown nationality lies.
In the War Cemetery, there is an iron plate affixed to the inscribed stone indicating the name and nationality of each soldier, and the flag of his country hoisted.
The only cemetery established by the UN
The Korean War Memorial Cemetery is the only cemetery established by the UN in the world.
The war between North and South Korea in 1950-1953 became international with the intervention of China, the Soviet Union and the USA.