Korean American entrepreneur seeks memorial site for UN troops killed in Korean War

Sunny K. Park seeks a memorial site in Seoul for U.N. troops killed during the Korean War. The 84-year-old Korean American entrepreneur witnessed foreign soldiers’ deaths while fleeing Seoul in 1950 and later founded a project to honor their sacrifice. He hopes to complete a $48 million memorial park by July 27, 2029, but securing government-provided land remains the main obstacle.

The proposed memorial park would cover about 13,000 square meters, ideally within Yongsan Park in central Seoul.

Park’s foundation estimates that about 47,000 U.N. service members died during the Korean War and plans to honor them at the memorial.

Park hopes to raise funds from 1 million Koreans and donate the completed memorial to the South Korean state.

Park said he has approached successive administrations but has not secured the government backing needed to obtain a site.

Published Oct 16, 2026 10:26 am KST

Childhood memories drive Sunny Park's $48 mil. campaign

Sunny K. Park, president of the Korean War United Nations Veterans Memorial Foundation, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's headquarters, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

For Sunny K. Park, memories of the 1950-53 Korean War remain vivid more than seven decades later.

Park, an 84-year-old Korean American entrepreneur who serves as president of the American Korean Friendship Society and the Korean War United Nations Veterans Memorial Foundation, was 8 when the war broke out in 1950.

While fleeing from Seoul to Busan during the war, he witnessed scenes that would stay with him for the rest of his life — including the bodies of young foreign soldiers who had come to fight in Korea.

“The bombs shattered all these people. Body parts were all over … I saw dead bodies at the rice paddy. They were about 17-18 years old,” Park said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. “(At the time) I didn’t quite understand why they were doing it."

The war devastated the peninsula, killing millions of Koreans. Tens of thousands of international troops serving under the United Nations Command also lost their lives.

Park moved to the United States in 1974 and went on to build a successful business career. As he grew older, he said he came to better understand what those foreign soldiers had sacrificed and how their service helped shape the South Korea he knows today.

“Later on, (I realized) they were the ones who saved my life and my freedom,” he said, pointing to South Korea’s subsequent economic development and democratization.

“We won't be here (without them) ... We might (have ended up) much like North Korea and we have to bow to the Kim Jong-un every day.”

That realization eventually led Park to pursue a project he describes as a way for Koreans to repay that sacrifice — a memorial in Seoul dedicated to the U.N. troops who fought and died in the Korean War.

“Korean people never forget ... We receive a favor, we want to pay back,” he said.

Park said he was struck by what he described as the limited recognition given to fallen U.N. troops at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, contrasting it with the prominence of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which he believes reflects a much higher level of national tribute.

An aerial rendering of the proposed Korean War United Nations Veterans Memorial in Korea / Courtesy of Korean War United Nations Veterans Memorial Foundation

Park hopes to complete the Korean War United Nations Veterans Memorial by July 27, 2029, the anniversary of the armistice that ended active hostilities in the war.

The foundation envisions a $48 million (64 billion won) memorial park covering about 13,000 square meters, ideally within Yongsan Park in central Seoul, which once housed the U.N. Command and U.S. Forces Korea.

Park said the memorial would honor some 47,000 U.N. service members who died during the war and draw inspiration from the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

He also hopes to raise funds from 1 million Koreans, saying broad public participation would give the project greater meaning for a country whose people continue to enjoy the freedom secured through the sacrifices of those troops.

Securing the land remains the biggest hurdle. Park said he has approached successive administrations but has yet to receive the government backing needed to obtain land for the project.

“We don't want to put this somewhere in a mountainous, isolated area. The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is in the best spot, right in front of the Lincoln Memorial ... because that's how American people honor them,” he said.

“We asked (previous governments), but no president has actually pushed this forward ... We are asking President Lee Jae Myung to give us the site.”

Under Park’s vision, the foundation would build the memorial on government-provided land and then donate it to the state, ensuring that it becomes a national memorial rather than a privately owned facility.

“We’re going to dedicate it (to the country),” he said. “Then those souls will finally be able to rest.”

现年84岁的韩裔美国企业家朴善基(Sunny K. Park)正在首尔筹建一座纪念朝鲜战争中阵亡的联合国军士兵的纪念碑。1950年，他逃离首尔时亲眼目睹了外国士兵的牺牲，之后发起了一项纪念他们的项目。他希望在2029年7月27日前建成一座耗资4800万美元的纪念公园，但获得政府提供的土地仍然是最大的障碍。

拟建的纪念公园占地约 13,000 平方米，理想选址在首尔市中心的龙山公园内。

朴槿惠基金会估计，朝鲜战争期间约有 47,000 名联合国军人阵亡，并计划在纪念碑上缅怀他们。

朴槿惠希望从100万韩国人那里筹集资金，并将建成的纪念碑捐赠给韩国政府。

朴槿惠表示，他曾多次与历届政府接洽，但始终未能获得政府支持以获取选址。

发布于2026年10月16日上午10:26（韩国标准时间）

童年回忆驱动着阳光公园耗资 4800 万美元的活动

周一，在首尔《韩国时报》总部，朝鲜战争联合国老兵纪念基金会主席朴善京（Sunny K. Park）接受该报采访。照片由《韩国时报》沈贤哲（Shim Hyun-chul）拍摄。

对于 Sunny K. Park 来说，70 多年过去了，1950-53 年朝鲜战争的记忆依然鲜明。

朴先生是一位 84 岁的韩裔美国企业家，担任美韩友好协会和朝鲜战争联合国退伍军人纪念基金会的会长。1950 年战争爆发时，他只有 8 岁。

战争期间，他从首尔逃往釜山，途中目睹了一些令他终生难忘的景象——包括来朝鲜参战的年轻外国士兵的尸体。

“炸弹把所有人都炸得粉身碎骨。到处都是残肢断骸……我在稻田里看到了尸体。他们大概十七八岁，”朴槿惠周一接受《韩国时报》采访时说。“（当时）我不太明白他们为什么要这么做。”

战争使朝鲜半岛满目疮痍，数百万朝鲜人丧生。数万名在联合国军司令部服役的国际部队士兵也失去了生命。

朴先生于1974年移居美国，并在那里建立了成功的商业生涯。随着年龄的增长，他表示自己越来越理解那些外国士兵所做出的牺牲，以及他们的付出如何帮助塑造了他今天所了解的韩国。

“后来我才意识到，是他们拯救了我的生命和自由，”他说道，并指出韩国随后的经济发展和民主化进程。

“没有他们，我们就不会在这里……我们最终可能会变得和朝鲜很像，每天都要向金正恩鞠躬。”

正是这种认识最终促使朴正熙开展了一个项目，他将其描述为韩国人回报这一牺牲的一种方式——在首尔建造一座纪念碑，以纪念在朝鲜战争中战斗和牺牲的联合国部队。

“韩国人从不忘恩负义……我们得到了恩惠，就想要回报，”他说。

朴先生表示，他对首尔韩国战争纪念碑中阵亡的联合国军士兵所受到的有限纪念感到震惊，并将其与华盛顿特区韩国战争老兵纪念碑的显著地位进行了对比，他认为后者反映了更高层次的国家敬意。

拟建于韩国的朝鲜战争联合国军老兵纪念碑鸟瞰图 / 图片由朝鲜战争联合国军老兵纪念碑基金会提供

朴希望在 2029 年 7 月 27 日之前完成朝鲜战争联合国老兵纪念碑的建设，这一天是结束战争敌对行动的停战协定的周年纪念日。

该基金会设想建造一座耗资 4800 万美元（640 亿韩元）的纪念公园，占地约 13000 平方米，理想选址在首尔市中心的龙山公园内，该公园曾是联合国军司令部和驻韩美军的所在地。

朴槿惠表示，这座纪念碑将缅怀约47000名在战争中牺牲的联合国军人，其设计灵感将源自华盛顿特区的朝鲜战争老兵纪念碑。

他还希望从 100 万韩国人那里筹集资金，并表示广泛的公众参与将使该项目对一个人民继续享受着通过这些军队的牺牲而获得的自由的国家来说，具有更大的意义。

土地获取仍然是最大的障碍。朴槿惠表示，他曾多次与历届政府接洽，但尚未获得政府支持以获取项目所需的土地。

“我们不想把纪念碑建在偏远的山区。位于华盛顿特区的朝鲜战争老兵纪念碑位置最好，就在林肯纪念堂前面……因为美国人民就是这样缅怀他们的，”他说。

“我们曾向（前几届政府）提出过请求，但没有一位总统真正推动过此事……我们现在请求李在明总统将这块地交给我们。”

在朴槿惠的设想中，该基金会将在政府提供的土地上建造纪念馆，然后将其捐赠给国家，以确保它成为国家纪念馆而不是私人拥有的设施。

“我们将把这座陵墓献给国家，”他说。“这样，那些逝者的灵魂才能最终安息。”