On Saturday, July 27th, Hwarang Youth Foundation held a National Korean War Veterans Armistice event at the Orange County Korean War Memorial Park from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. to commemorate the “Forgotten War” candles were lit, honoring Korean War veterans and acting as a hope for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The honorable event began with a traditional Korean drum performance called Nanta, from Hwarang’s Nanta team Sori (소리). Next, members sang along to the U.S. national anthem, and the Korean national anthem (애국가). Audience members expressed how touched they were by the harmony created with Hwarang’s voices. Afterwards, guest speakers Captain Elmer Royce Williams, Korean War Veteran, and Hwarang Youth Foundation founder Howard Park each gave special remarks.
From the essay category, Sihyun Park and Hyunjin Do won 1st place, writing from Korea. Following them, Yena Lee and Shinho Lee won 2nd place, also writing from Korea. In 3rd place, we had Joelle Lee from Korea and Hwarang Summit Chair Donggeon Kim. In the art category Nathan Lee, Claire Hwang, and Olivia Suh were awarded with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards. Finally in the video category, Chaeeun Kim won 1st place and Audrey Lee won 2nd.
As the clock precisely hit 7:27 P.M., each Hwarang member and Korean War veteran lit a candle and sang Arirang (아리랑), a popular Korean folk song that US soldiers had sung during the Korean War. Chaeeun Kim, chair of the Hwarang Youth Foundation’s Ensemble Committee, led the performance, accompanied by instrumentals of Haegeum (해금), a Korean traditional instrument.
JULY 27TH KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE As the clock precisely hit 7:27 P.M., each Hwarang member and Korean War veteran lit a candle and sang Arirang (아리랑), a popular Korean folk song that US soldiers had sung during the Korean War. Chaeeun Kim, chair of the Hwarang Youth Foundation’s Ensemble Committee, led the performance, accompanied by (person who played), who played Haegeum (해금), a Korean traditional instrument.
When Summit Vice President Ashley Kim asked Hannah Kim, founder of organization Remmber 727, “What motivated you to start Remember 7/27?”, Kim replied, “I was in Grad School, when I visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, and I was so sad and I was embarrassed as both Korean and American that I knew nothing about the Forgotten War and the fact that more than 36,000 Koreans and Americans died for my people, and Korea.”
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