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Rose farmer and researcher Ahn Dae-seong. (provided by the No Geun Ri International Peace Foundation)

The No Gun Ri Peace Park, a symbol of suffering during the Korean War, is becoming a rose garden.

Rose farmer and researcher Ahn Dae-seong, 67, announced on Aug. 14 that he plans to create a rose garden in an around the park in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province.

“I want to elevate that history of suffering and sadness into love, peace, and beauty,” he said.

Ahn, who grows roses in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province, donated 1,500 blossoms to the No Gun Ri Peace Foundation on Aug. 10. His plan now is to create a rose garden in and outside the Peace Park by 2018.

“I wanted to use roses to soothe the souls of the victims who may still be there on the outskirts of Nogeun Village,” he explained.

The Peace Park was created in Oct. 2011 to commemorate the victims and their family members in US army attacks by plane and machine gun around the Gyeongbu Line’s iron Ssanggul Bridge in the village, part of Hwanggan Township in Yeongdong County, on the dates July 25-29, 1950, early in the Korean War. 135 died during the massacre and 45 were injured, but victims’ families estimate around 400 casualties.

A total of 19.1 billion won (US$17.3 million) in state money was spent building a memorial tower, peace memorial, and education center on a site measuring 132,240 square-meters around the scene of the incident. But the presence of many deserted spots around the park has been described as leaving a grim impression. The park is rarely visited by people other than students.

The idea of creating a rose garden there was first suggested to Ahn by Seo Jeong-gil, the Peace Foundation’s secretary-general.

“We began building the rose garden with the idea of making an encounter with peace, human rights and history as simple as looking at roses,” explained Seo, 60.

With Ahn’s help, the Peace Park is now poised to boast gardens of around 20,000 roses of some 200 different types through 2018 over a 69,000 square meter area encompassing an eco-park inside and the area around an outdoor exhibition center.

“My plan is to plant white roses around the incidents scene at Ssanggul Bridge in Nogeun Village to symbolize the pure hearts of the victims, and roses of many different colors all within the park to symbolize love and constancy,” he explained.

“It will look just like a rose garden at first glance, but it will paint a picture within it of peace, human rights, history, love, and the suffering of war,” he added.

Creating a rose garden has been one of Ahn’s dreams. A student of horticulture at an agricultural high school, he has spent his life with the flowers. After running rose farms for over four decades in places like Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, he decided to become a “returning farmer” in fall 2011, moving with wife Kim Mun-hee to the village of Buri in Sancheong to open the Utopia Farm. He chose a location south of his hometown of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province in order to raise the best-quality roses, which favor warm settings.

“Roses have always preferred warm places. They grow well there, and the colors are nice,” Ahn explained. “So I was looking for somewhere to the south, and I chose the edges of Jiri Mountain. I’d also wanted to escape the chaos of the city and grow closer with the roses.”

After successfully growing roses in Sancheong, Ahn opened up the farm the following year to free access in the spring and fall. Word of mouth helped transform the venture from its humble beginnings to a village festival every May, with nearby farms also taking part. Also included were exhibitions showing some of the hobbies Ahn has picked up besides his beautiful blossoms, including traditional swings, tables and other crafts, and water wheels with various traditional patterns.

“They estimated around 50,000 people would be coming to this year’s festival. I was happy about that, but it was also hard on me, to be honest,” he recalled. “I’m hoping to set down roots in No Gun Ri Peace Park now to leave a more beautiful mark behind.”

Right now, Ahn is busy preparing for his move to Nogeun next month. Starting next year, the Peace Park is planning to hold a rose festival around May, when the flowers reach full bloom. A secondary goal is to increase the park’s popular appeal as a place where people can come year-round for healing; one possibility under consideration is to stage the festival concurrently with the village’s annual memorial festival, which has been held around the anniversary of the massacre.

“Flowers bloom even amid war, and through those flowers we glimpse hope. I want people who have seen the suffering and sadness of war to see the flowers and think of peace and human rights, love and hope.”

A heartfelt wish from a lifelong lover of roses.

By Oh Yoon-joo, Cheongju correspondent

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