Pukyong National University

The Launching of the International Peace Memorial Foundation

The International Peace Memorial Foundation (IPMF) was officially launched on the 29th of March. A member of the National Assembly, Kim JungHoon, serves as the chief director, and the president of Pukyong National University, Park MaengEon, serves as a co-director of the board.

The IPMF held the inauguration ceremony that afternoon in a conference room in the administration building at PKNU, attended by officials from the government, business and media circles, and by many citizens. 

The ceremony marks the beginning of the IPMF promotion of a project for building Infra-structure of International Peace cooperation in conjunction with the U.N. Memorial Park in Busan. The cemetery is the only U.N. memorial site in the world containing the bodies of 2,300 U.N. soldiers from 11 nations in the world who died during the Korean War.

The IPMF held the preparatory meeting at a civilian level last October, aiming to initiate a project for constructing Infra-structure and International exchange with links to U.N. Memorial Park. The foundation looks forward to proceeding with plenty of projects, including the U.N. Peace Memorial Hall construction, the International Peace Film Festival, the Children’s Model U.N. General Assembly, and Peace Village for Multicultural Families.

In addition, the Nam-gu District of Busan announced on the 7th of February that a United Nations Special Peace Zone was to be built near the U.N. Memorial Cemetery Park. The government is planning to designate a surrounding area of 750,000 square meters for an international tourist site.

As a result of the launching of the IPMF, the possibility of designation as a U.N. Special Peace Zone in the Nam-gu District of Busan seems to be much higher, and the application for the project with the Ministry of Knowledge and Economics is now in the process.

The International Peace Memorial Foundation plans to carry forward various projects for U.N. spirit to flourish in Busan with its slogan “Busan: taking on the U.N. spirit of Protection of Peace and Freedom” 

<Translator ; Joo Woo Jung, lookorea@hotmail.com>