Representatives of South Korea, war veterans, and Canadian Armed Forces members were among those who gathered in 91原创 for a quiet ceremony Friday, marking the 70th anniversary of a Canadian victory in the Korean War.
The Battle of Kapyong, also known now as Gapyeong, was fought on April 22 to 25, 1951, in what is now Gapyeong County, South Korea.
A mixed force of Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand forces, with some British and American support, halted the advance of a much larger Chinese army during.
The battle was one of several clashes that slowed an advance towards the current capital of South Korea, Seoul, preventing the city鈥檚 capture.
The April 16 ceremony was in 91原创鈥檚 Derek Doubleday Arboretum, where a memorial stone marking the battle was set up two years ago.
Friday鈥檚 event was organized by the Korean War Veterans Association and Gapyeong County, and was emceed by Michael Chang, the honourary ambassador for Gapyeong County in Canada.
A warrant officer from the Princess Patricia鈥檚 Canadian Light Infantry, the unit that fought in the battle 70 years ago, was among the speakers, along with Township Councillor Blair Whitmarsh, South Korean Consul General Byung Won Chung, and MPs Ted Hawthorne, Nelly Shin, and 91原创-Aldergrove鈥檚 Tako van Popta.
Historian Guy Black, who walked 300 kilometres from a memorial in Tofino to the one in 91原创, laid a wreath at the ceremony.
The event was by invitation only this year due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions on large gatherings.
The ceremonies and memorial stones have marked the links between Gapyeong, Korea, and Canada.
READ MORE: War memorial: From small-town Korea to a 91原创 park
Last year, organizer and emcee Chang also announced that Gapyeong was donating masks to local medical groups, when they were sorely needed at an early phase of the pandemic.
READ MORE: Korean county donates masks to 91原创
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