Naeri Culture Park in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, is pictured on July 16, 2025. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — A South Korean city plans to build a memorial to American troops who fought in the Korean War at a park near this Army base roughly 40 miles south of Seoul.
The planned $4 million memorial at the Naeri Culture Park in Pyeongtaek city would consist of sculptures of U.S. troops and stone markers honoring those who served in the 1950-53 Korean War, a city spokeswoman told Stars and Stripes by phone July 7. Construction may be complete by 2027, she said.
Humphreys and Osan Air Base, home of the 7th Air Force and 51st Fighter Wing, are in Pyeongtaek. Around 650,100 people live in the city.
Approximately $1.4 million of the memorial’s cost came from a grant from Gyeonggi-do, South Korea’s most populous province, the spokeswoman said.
Details of the sculptures and the memorial’s design are still being deliberated, she said. Construction may begin sometime next year.
South Korean government officials customarily speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
The entrance to Naeri Culture Park in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, is pictured on July 16, 2025. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)
Naeri Culture Park is less than a mile from Camp Humphreys’ central gate and overlooks the base and the Pyeongtaek River. The park has traditional Korean gazebos, rest areas, a restroom, a spacious parking lot, bike paths and playgrounds.
“In building a memorial for U.S. service members who died in the Korean War, we aim to establish a representative location to honor those who sacrificed for our country and remind people of the importance of peace and security,” Pyeongtaek city said in a July 7 news release.
Nearly 37,000 U.S. service members were killed and more than 92,000 were wounded during the three-year Korean War, according to the Defense Department’s website.
The memorial will illustrate the ongoing U.S.-South Korea alliance, as well as relations between Pyeongtaek’s residents and troops with U.S. Forces Korea, according to the release.
USFK, headquartered at Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, has responsibility for the 28,500 American troops in South Korea.
Spc. Rafael Morales, a network communication systems specialist assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division at Humphreys, said he frequently visits the park with his 5-year-old daughter.
“I love the fact that we can intermingle and share our culture with each other,” he said at the park Wednesday. “And the fact that they’re willing to commemorate that and share that with us, it not only brings us closer, but it actually gives us … a place to love and cherish each other.
