This year’s Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1 has been designated a temporary public holiday. Shown is a street parade in September last year at the Gwanghwamun Square area of Seoul to mark the 75th Armed Forces Day. (Korea.net DB)
By Koh Hyunjeong
The government has designated this year’s Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1 a temporary national holiday.
The Cabinet on the morning of Sept. 3 decided on this in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at Government Complex-Seoul in the capital’s Jongno-gu District.
The prime minister told the meeting, “We want to use this as an opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of national security and remember the role of our military and hard work of our soldiers.”
On Oct. 1, the Ministry of National Defense will hold a ceremony to observe the 76th Armed Forces Day at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, under the theme “Strong Armed Forces: Together with the People.” In the afternoon, a large-scale street parade will be held around the traditional gates of Sungnyemun and Gwanghwamun in Seoul.
Named a national commemorative day in 1956, Armed Forces Day was last designated a temporary public holiday in 1990.
hjkoh@korea.kr
