Friday, 01 May 2009
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My Trip to the War Memorial of Korea
On a trip to Seoul, Korea, I stopped by the War Memorial of Korea. I laid out the extra money for a tour-guide-device (a dial-a-language keypad-device with headphones) and made my way through the museum.
Korea, being between China and Japan, has fought battles with both countries over the millenia. Their most famous general, Eulji Mundeok, was known for winning a great battle against a Chinese invasion in the 7th century. Their most famous admiral, Yi Sun-sin, was known for his naval battles against Japanese fleets in the late 16th century. One of the exhibits in the museum was a life-size recreation of a "turtle ship", an innovative battleship instrumental in Admiral Yi's conquests.
Another section of the museum was dedicated to the Korean War (1950-1953). Displays of the weapons of the time, descriptions of the general course of the war, several memorials to brave soldiers who made suicide charges to take one more hill, and various medals awarded in the course of the war (from both the Koreans, and from the Allied nations, including a US Medal of Honor)
Outside the museum, there were four halls. Three of those halls were marked with the names of Koreans who had been killed in the Korean War, in the Korean script - three Korean characters for the name of one of the dead. The fourth hall was marked with the names of the war dead from the United States and other nations.
In addition to the four halls, there were a number of planes, tanks, and artillery pieces on the east side of the museum, including a helicopter that is very similar to one seen in the TV series M*A*S*H.
The most poignant exhibit at the museum is a set of clocks. One of them, set on a pillar, is set to June 25, 1950, 4:00 AM. The other one, on the ground, has no time on it. It is said that that clock will be set when the two halves of Korea are reunited. A deep, painful scar is the division between the Koreas.
Have you visited any memorials?
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- From: Romans_837@xanga
- Name: Steven
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Comments (9)
I wasn't in korea but I was in vietnam. were you in vietnam once?
there's a korean war memorial off the 5 highway in california. not as impressive, but equally disheartening. 4am... what can one say about 4am....
@tempotram@xanga - haven't been to 'Nam, although I've been to the Vietnam Wall (which is about as different as being to China and eating Chinese food)
@woosuhyaji@xanga - The picture shows the Korean War Memorial in DC. I went to the "War Memorial of Korea" in Seoul.
4:00AM is the time of day when the Korean War started.
this is very interesting. thank you for sharing. i would check this out if i ever visit korea...
ditto!
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
@Romans_837@xanga - aye. 4:00am is a pretty meaningful time for i.
the washington d.c. korean war memorial... ironic, why clustering all war memorials vis-a-vis commemorating / dedicating asia(n) wars on the east coast. one would think that the west coast would serve more appropriate... like for instance the forts and bunkers that line the golden gate ends.
one thing about politics - always leads to war(s) however conflicting may be.
@woosuhyaji@xanga - Our nation's greatest memorials are, for the most part, in DC. The only exceptions are the USMC memorial (the one that looks like Iwo Jima) and Arlington National Cemetery - both right across from DC. And Ground Zero in Manhattan. Our WWI memorial, however, is in Kansas City, MO. That is odd.
I've been to the many memorials in D.C.