Nangwol-Dong
Korean War Memorial Park

for Civil Victims
Memorial

The Korean War Memorial Park for Civil Victims is a place of truth, reconciliation and education. It is also a place to reflect upon the past seventy years of brave advocacy realized by individuals and groups, victims and visionaries who made this memorial park possible.

The memorial park provides places for intimate and spontaneous mourning, public memorial ceremonies, as well as spaces for the continuing research and advocacy of the truth.

The park is not a monument marking a particular event. On the contrary the park is a modest, protected and peaceful sanctuary which provides a series of spatial and visual experiences that empower the act of remembrance, reconciliation, mourning and hope.

The memorial park is a place first and foremost for victims and their families. It is a place for all who sympathize with the victims of state violence. The park is a place for all who stand for justice, truth and historical awareness.

In its design the park provides the spaces that allow for mourning, informing and reflection. It is a place of possible individual confrontation, remembrance, reconciliation.

The key elements of the architecture and landscape are manifestations of these positions and serve the sole purpose of providing spaces appropriate for mourning, the recovery of honour, and the ongoing pursuit of the truth.

The lines of truth, the mourning points, the memorial path, the path of reconciliation, the memorial hall, the memorial space and the memorial shrine are the physical elements within the park. These elements are composed as a series of visual guiding points that allow for an intuitive navigation through the park.

The renaturation of the forest symbolizes the ongoing advocacy and reconciliation.

The renaturation of the forest is a participatory act which transforms the years of suppression into a symbolic communal act.