Mr. Kim Il-Saeng

New York, NY — Kim Il-Saeng, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of National Defense for the Republic of Korea, and a delegation from the Ministry of National Defense and the United Nations Permanent Mission pledged the support of the Ministry of National Defense during a visit to a potential site for the Korean War National Museum in New York City on Saturday, March 10, 2012.

During a private tour of the site by Museum Chairman, Denis J. Healy and President, Anthony Enrietto, Deputy Minister Kim and his delegation were briefed on the Museum’s plans and substantial progress since it began in September 2011.

The Museum is the first and only Congressionally designated museum in the United States dedicated to the Korean War and celebrating the incredible success that South Korea has experienced since the signing of the Armistice.

Once completed, the Museum’s content will explore everything from the 4,000 year history of Ancient Korea to modern day with a special emphasis to the time leading up to the War, the War experience and the metamorphosis of the two modern Koreas after the War.

“This historic Museum must be built because of what it represents: the gratitude that we owe and still feel towards the brave men and women who came over to defend our country and our people, and a lesson that our future generations need to learn about freedom, democracy, friendship and hard work,” Deputy Minister Kim remarked during the visit.

During the visit, the Museum also unveiled its plans and early sketches of what will become the United Nations Command Hall of Honor and International Pavilion.

The Hall and Pavilion will include exhibits and displays that document the contributions and bravery of the 22 United Nations countries that provided direct support and the countries that provided medical assistance and supply aid.

After the presentation, Deputy Minister Kim personally recalled what he knew about the outstanding bravery of Turkish and Irish soldiers in particular, and emphasized again that “this Museum will be a gift and place for the World- A chance for Korea and the United States to show the world what we all did together. Our success today belongs to the world.”

Earlier on March 1, 2012 the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KOCHAM) made a gift to the Korean War National Museum, Library and Cultural Center to become one of the Museum’s founding partners in New York City.

“This gift not only represents the symbolic support of KOCHAM for this Museum coming to New York but our efforts to help build it as well,” said Ken Min, the Executive Director of KOCHAM.

The mission statement of KOCHAM is to help “promote and progress corporate diplomacy initiatives to build economic cooperation and to advance to closer relations between the people and business communities of South Korea and the United States.” KOCHAM is a membership based organization that exists to help promote US-Korea business relations. Members include some of the largest and most recognizable Korean companies with a presence in the United States such as Hyundai Motors, Samsung Electronics and POSCO Construction.

Denis J. Healy, the Chairman of the Korean War National Museum and President, Anthony Enrietto, released the following joint statement in response to the gift “We sincerely thank our friends at the Korean Chamber of Commerce for being both outstanding leaders and innovators in global business and for making the effort to strengthen US-ROK ties. Once completed, this Museum will truly be a place where we can house the amazing journey that your member companies have taken after the War. Again, we thank you and your partnership.”

With its leadership gift, KOCHAM joins the Museum’s New York City founding partners including the Korean Consulate General of New York, the Lee Young Hee Hanbok Museum , the Korean National Folk History Museum, The War Memorial of Korea, The Museum of Contemporary Korean History and the Seoul Arts Center.

The Korean War National Museum, Library and Cultural Center is a Congressionally designated project to build a state-of-the-art museum in the heart of New York City that began in September 2011.

Once completed, the Museum will honor all Veterans of the Korean War, educate future generations and celebrate the astonishing journey of Korea from the early post-War years till today. The Museum is currently slated to open at the end of 2015.

The Korean War National Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. For more information, please visit: www.KWNM.org. Please direct all media inquiries to Juliette Cho at jcho@odellsimms.com.