"I've never experienced this before. This is my fifth time, but I get the impression that it's all been done on a larger scale this year. Grander, too."
 
A drum roll heralds the start of the ceremony, in the presence of South Korean president Lee Myung-bak. The Korean War is one of the bloodiest conflicts ever fought. In all its missions since, the United Nations has never sustained as many casualties as in Korea. In the Dutch battalion alone, 123 men lost their lives.
 
One by one, the countries that fought in the Korean War are given a word of thanks. For even though the war never officially ended, most South Koreans are glad that their peninsula, with the help of the UN, did not become part of North Korea's communist regime.
 
Prosperous
Sixty years on, the differences between the North and the South could hardly be more pronounced. While North Korea faces chronic food shortages, the South is among the world's most prosperous nations. Korea veteran Inge Lochmans - who has made the trip for the first time - barely recognises the ravaged country he left behind 60 years ago.
 
"Sixty years ago, this country was on its knees. Everything had been destroyed. It was total chaos. And now look at it, 60 years on. All these skyscrapers in Seoul. But also the improvements in rural farming. The villages have been modernised. I'm astonished by it all."
 
The Korea veterans at home and abroad are getting older. Ha You Sung of the Ministry of Patriot and Veteran Affairs says this is the last time that the memorial service will be held on such a scale. But he vows that it will not be the last time that South Korea will join with the other countries that helped them to remember the war: "It will be the last time that Korean War veterans can participate. It's our ministry's job to honour and respect veterans and patriots. And we will do our best to honour them. We will continue to invite the family members of Korean war veterans, even once all the veterans are gone."
 
Last time
At the age of 82, Fred Rosdorff has decided that this is the last South Korean commemoration he will attend.
 
"I think it's enough. I'm glad that I've reached the age of 82. ... We can live on our memories and we have good memories. Remember the good things, that's what I always say. Remember days like this."
 
After two hours, the ceremony comes to an end. The elderly veterans shuffle towards the exit of the sports hall in Seoul. The last time for many of them.