$13.5 mil. bench: Seoul's new Korean War monument draws puzzled looks

The Garden of Gratitude at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Stavros was walking through Gwanghwamun Square Wednesday when the flags at the Garden of Gratitude caught his eye. The 42-year-old traveler from Cyprus paused, but struggled to make sense of what he was looking at.

“I don't know, I think it is what it is,” he told The Korea Times, adding that he had first thought they were just art deco-style sculptures. He had no idea they were a stone monument honoring the 22 nations that fought in the 1950–53 Korean War, unveiled just the day before.

He is not alone in that uncertainty. For many Koreans, setting aside whether the monument belongs in the square, its arrival just three weeks before the June 3 local elections has made it as much a political flashpoint as a civic one.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the conservative People Power Party calls it “a space that elevates the dignity and symbolism of Gwanghwamun Square,” while his rival Chong Won-o of the Democratic Party of Korea dismisses it as a “self-promotional legacy project” built on more than 20 billion won ($13.5 million) of public money.

Opinions among Koreans and foreigners who spoke to The Korea Times Wednesday varied widely, but a common thread emerged: Without explanation, the garden itself gives little indication of what it is.

Korean War veterans take in the Garden of Gratitude at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

“You told me it's a Garden of Gratitude, I don't feel it,” said Steven, a 78-year-old from Australia. “It looks good. But the flags should be more prominent.”

He said the structure was striking enough to draw him in, but visitors need better information upfront.

“You have to do something to make it more noticeable. It does look good here. But I just don't know what it is.”

Joo Eun-suk, a 50-year-old office worker, came to examine it in person after seeing the mayor criticized online. “It doesn't look out of place, and the colors don't stand out too much, but I'm not sure it needs to be here,” she said.

“Without prior knowledge, I would have had no idea what it was. It's like a 20-billion-won bench. There's no signage, people walking by will just move on.”

Kim Mun-ju, a 49-year-old office worker, shared the sentiment. “Seeing it in person, it's not worth 20 billion won. It would have been better placed at the War Memorial of Korea. Spending that kind of money at Gwanghwamun is wrong,” he said.

For those who lived through the war, however, the calculus is different.

Ahn, an 87-year-old who wanted to be identified only by his surname, experienced the Korean War firsthand and thought the monument was exactly where it should be.

“There are similar things at the War Memorial of Korea, but that place isn't easy to get to. Here, children and foreigners can see it and feel that gratitude,” Ahn said. “Young Koreans today know little about the Korean War ... Having something like this gives them a chance to reflect on that.”