Winnipeg, MB – At an event this morning, Mayor Brian Bowman and Councillor Scott Gillingham, St. James, with members of the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) and Mayor Kim Sungki of Gapyeong, South Korea, recognized the official grand opening of Kapyong Park following the addition of memorial features remembering soldiers who fought in the Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War.
Kapyong Park, located at 340 Amherst Street, is dedicated to the 700 soldiers of 2PPCLI who fought in the Battle of Kapyong, April 22-25, 1951.
“The Canadian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Kapyong defied great odds in defending the city from invasion during the Korean War,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “Kapyong Park now stands as a fitting and timeless tribute to those soldiers who served so heroically. This park was made possible through the thoughtful collaboration of the Second Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the Korean Society of Manitoba, landscape architects and historians at the City of Winnipeg, and Councillor Scott Gillingham.”
“It is exciting to see how Winnipeg’s Korean community has embraced this project at Kapyong Park,” said Councillor Scott Gillingham, St. James. “Through the selection and placement of each monument, the thoughtful design and curation of the park truly tells the heroic story of the Battle of Kapyong. It is a unique tribute unlike any other in Canada that honours the soldiers of 2PPCLI who made a courageous sacrifice on Korean soil to defend the values of freedom and democracy that we all cherish.”
The park has undergone major improvements, including the installation of unique decorative wood fencing, a paving stone plaza, memorial boulders, concrete seating blocks and walkways, benches, trees, and rubberized surfacing. The total budget for the improvements was $288,000, with funding provided from the 2017 & 2018 Parks and Recreation Enhancement Program ($192,500), 2018 Land Development Reserve Funding ($28,000), City of Winnipeg Accessibility Grant ($15,000), Tire Stewardship Manitoba Grant ($9,000), as well as contributions by Veteran Affairs Canada ($25,000), Korean Society of Manitoba ($15,000), and other private donations ($3,600).