Hi Everyone,
So yesterday I went to Seoul to go visit the Korean War Memorial. I was going to go with someone else from orientation, but it was raining and by the time we got to the station she was soaked and asked to be excused from the trip. I said that was perfectly fine, and then I was on my way.
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| My destination |
I arrived in Seoul in the morning, had something to eat at McDonald's (my first time in Korea!) and then got on the metro to the Memorial.
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| I took a much slower train than these KTX trains |
When I arrived, I looked at some of the giant monument/statues they've built outside. One is about two brothers, each brother fighting on different sides of the Korean War conflict, which symbolizes the suffering and divisiveness caused by the Korean War.
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| I think this may also be part of the plot of the popular SK movie Taegukgi (wikipedia link) |
Another monument out front symbolizes how the Korean War didn't only include soldiers, but also involved mothers, fathers, brothers, and children. As I was walking by this particular monument, I saw these kids posing for a photo and knew this was a golden opportunity. How interesting to see those who may have died to protect South Korea in statue, and those who will protect South Korea in flesh (because South Korea is still technically at war, all young men must do compulsory military service).
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| This is my favourite photo of today |
If you\re thinking of visiting the war memorial, give yourself at least 3 hours. It's huge! There are many exhibits and quite a few stairs.
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| The Canadian flag with Namsan Tower in the background |
Now, unbeknownst to me, this museum is not just about the Korean War, but about conflict in Korea throughout history. Therefore, it covers ancient history all the way up to modern history. Quite comprehensive.
Speaking of modern history, for those of you who keep up with current events, you'll know that not too long ago, a South Korean warship (the Cheonan) was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. That's what an exhibit in the main hall was all about:
To start the tour of the facility, one must walk through a passageway. It's a calm, peaceful place called "Stars of National Defense", which commemorates those who have given their lives to protect South Korea and in doing so become eternal stars of national security. After you walk through the passageway, you enter a dark room with candles along the sides and a roster of all the names of those who died in the Korean War. If you make a donation, you can light one of the candles, so I made one and lit a red candle in honour of all the Canadian soldiers who died on Korean soil.
Here's a video of "Stars of National Defense"
After the hallway, you move on to an exhibit room that symbolizes the creation of Korea, and then down a spiral hallway which has more exhibits about the ancient history of Korea, including these stone age weapons:
And then there are more exhibits about key ancient battles in Korea's history, such as this diorama about "The Great Victory at the Salsu River" (I have no idea what this was, but the display was cool)
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| General Eulji Mundeok routes 300,000 enemy troops in 612AD |
After that you get to see some other cool things about fortresses in ancient Korea, armor, more weapons, and lots and lots of maps. There was this one movie type thing (it had a button for English, so I pressed it and watched) about some general who was going to lead his troops to war. Apparently it was a key battle and the odds were stacked against this general, so his wife was very concerned for his safety and for the safety of the nation. In fact, she was so concerned about the enemy conquering the land and enslaving the people that she begged her husband to kill her and her children before he went off to fight! In the video, the English dialogue was really awful, so choppy and unnatural, but they totally played this part up with a gross slashing sound as the husband killed his family.
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| This is Hwacha, and I can't remember if you can use it in Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, or Civilization |
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| These are some cool spears |
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| This is a replica of a famous Turtle Ship which Admiral Ii Sun Shin used to defeat the Japanese and prevent them from occupying Korea at one point or another |
Finally, after a long time, you can walk through the Korean War exhibit halls. There are displays, movies, dioramas, and documents that you can look at about the conflict.
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| This was a video depicting a battle on the Han river. The allies blew up the bridges so the enemy could not advance. |
It seems kind of strange that I didn't take more pictures about the conflict, because the next photo skips right to the end of the war :P
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| A South Korean soldier hoists the Taegugki over the government building in Seoul, symbolizing South Korean/UN control of the city. |
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| A record of the UN forces contribution in the Korean War. Go Canada! |
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| I had to take this picture, I felt very nationalistic at this part :) In the lower left-hand corner is a model of the Canadian War Monument located here in Korea. |
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| This piece includes the ID tags of South Korean and UN forces who died during the Korean war. It is called "The Drop". |
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| The plight and hardships of Korean refugees |
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| More plight |
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Did you know South Korea contributed soldiers to the Vietnam War effort?
This is a model of the tunnels used by the Viet Cong. |
Special note here: They had another model of the booby traps used by the Viet Cong, including lots of snares, bamboo spring loaded traps, fishing hooks, land mines, and spike pits. This made me SO mad, booby traps are so incredibly dirty :(
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| "The Republic of Korea Armed Forces Serving the People" |
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I like coming to Seoul and remembering that there are missiles pointed at the city :S
This display tells us what the impact would be if a nuke such as Little Boy (left) was dropped in Seoul. |
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| The bridge of a Korean frigate.... ROK King Sejong? I forgot :P |
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| You can look at some of the equipment used by South Korean and UN forces |
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| Namsan Tower in the background |
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| B-52! You could climb the ladder and look at a mannequin pilot inside |
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Warship Chamsuri No. 357, which was used in the First and Second Battle of Yeonpyeong
(different incident than the shelling of Yeonpyeong) |
Speaking of the shelling of Yeonpyeong, they had this video related to it. I'll show you, not because I understand what's going on in the video, but because I want you to know that Koreans still care about this very much:
http://youtu.be/61Cv3r5KTKQ
After I visited the war memorial, it was raining pretty hard. By this time, Bo and I had made plans to meet up for coffee, so I headed back to Seoul Station to meet her. We toured Lotte Mart and saw this unique element of Korean culture: Lotte Mart grows its own lettuce for you to purchase!
When it was the appropriate time, I got back on the train and headed back to Jochiwon.
I took some videos on the train. If you listen, you might be able to hear the other foreigners on the train talking loudly (faux pas, especially in English) about how they got wasted this weekend. How embarrassing!
I stopped by the Peach Festival on the way back and listened to another concert. I really like this singer, but I have no idea who she is! Does anyone know her name?
Sorry this post is so long, I don't know how to be brief :(
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