62nd Anniversary of Seoul Recovery & Fashion Show

Last week I had the honor of being invited to the 62nd Anniversary of Seoul Recovery and Fashion Show at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul.  I was able to sit pretty close to the front and was given a headset so I could listen to the English translation.

                                                   Opening ceremonies....Korean drum performances.

  School girls honoring the Korean War Veterans by giving them boutonnieres to wear on their jackets. 

When the Korean War Vets were coming out, we (the American's & other countries) all stood and applauded as they were passing by.  There were hundreds of vets so this took about 5 minutes.  After a while, the ushers and the announcer ask us all to sit down.  This was very hard for us to do, as we wanted to honor them by standing.  I'm wondering what the custom is here and how it differs in this country where the elderly are revered.

After many speeches there was a fashion show that  "showed the  changes in Korean Military Uniforms, as well as the  gorgeous Court Costumes  from the Three Kingdoms Period to the present."

This Vet cracked me up!  He walked around like he owned the place.  Walking up to the stage, pushing his way in front of the professional photographers and on the stage to take pictures!  He was awesome!  He also spent a bit of time taking pictures of the "American" section.  It was great fun - I totally posed for him.  :)

Towards the end of the show it started to drizzle.  As soon as it did the ushers appeared with a box of rain jackets and passed them out to everyone in the audience!  How awesome is that?  Especially since none of us brought our umbrellas!

Closing ceremonies: ROK Marine Drill Team

The designer