“Thank You America!” Billboards in 10 Major Cities with Koreans' appreciation

“America made sacrifices to protect the Koreans and preserve their freedom.”

President Sunny Park of AKFS, producing it with his own money for 28 years

This year, Hyundai Motors’ participation, expanded to 10 cities

On the 26th, the Korean War Armistice Day event will holds.

The American Korean Friendship Society(AKFS, President Sunny Park) holds an annual Korean War Armistice Day event, and has established itself as a vanguard of public diplomacy in the Korea-U.S. alliance by installing “Thank You, America!” billboards in 10 major cities across the U.S. for 28 years.

Large billboards along the highway, including Atlanta, New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, will display “Thank You America!” advertisements for two to four weeks from the 15th.

President Sunny Park said, “AKFS has been installing billboards in major cities across the U.S. for the past 28 years since 1996 to commemorate the sacrifices of U.S. troops sent to protect Korea during the Korean War and to express their gratitude.”

According to the press release, AKFS has previously only run billboards in five cities across the U.S. due to budget constraints, but this year, with the sponsorship of Hyundai Motor Group, AKFS will be advertising on highways in 10 cities.

Sunny Park, the president of AKFS, has been paying for advertisements with his own money since 1996. He said, “With the sponsorship of Hyundai Motor Group, the number of people who see our advertisements will double, and about 1.5 million cars will pass by our thank-you advertisements every day.”

“As everyone knows, the U.S. soldiers sacrificed in the Korean War completed their mission to save half of the Korean Peninsula from the brutal North Korean communists,” Park said. “As a result, 50 million South Koreans sought freedom and one country, but the price was too high.”

According to the data, 36,568 American soldiers were killed and 103,284 were wounded in the three-year war from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953.

Frank Blake, chairman of AKFS said, “The people of the Republic of Korea, who endured the pain of war, succeeded in industrialization, rebuilt the country, and grew into one of the world’s ten wealthiest countries.” He added, “This economic miracle has become a role model for developing countries, and now Korea has joined forces to maintain world peace and order as an ironclad ally of the United States.”

Chairman Blake emphasized, “Koreans remember that Korea’s success was made possible by the blood and love that America shed. It is often called the ‘forgotten war,’ but no Korean can forget this war and the sacrifices made by American soldiers.”

Meanwhile, AKFS holds a memorial ceremony every year around July 27, the anniversary of the armistice, where lays flowers.

This year, it will be held at the 1818 Club in Duluth, Georgia on the 26th at 11 a.m.

The event will feature wreath-laying contributions from surviving Korean War veterans, Consul General Sang-Pyo Seo of the Consulate General of ROK in Atlanta, the Attorney General of Georgia, the Commander of the Georgia National Guard, representatives of various Korean-American organizations, and former US Army Forces Commanders who are members of the Korea-US Friendship Association.

For more information about the Korea-US Friendship Association, visit www.USKorea.org.

Below are locations in each city where you can see the “Thank You, America” billboard ads.