The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

Today was rainy and dreary, providing me with the perfect atmosphere to go visit the Korean War Museum.  This had been on my list of things to go see for a while now, since I think it can really help put the Korean culture and people into perspective.  Too often I overlook the fact that this country was torn apart by war less than 60 years ago.  Walking around the streets in Seoul, you’d never know it.

The museum’s name is a bit misleading, as it’s not just an exhibition of the Korean War, rather it includes the entire history of the Korean military.  There is plenty of information on the war though.  I will save you a detailed historical account, whether or not you know much about it depends on how interested you are in it….but if you’d like to learn more you can check out this site.

It is fascinating though, how these two countries (North and South Korea) came to be as they are today based on different ideologies and a proxy war that ripped apart a people that were once united, albeit under Japanese rule.  It is in fact sad, but comprehendable, and I couldn’t help wondering whether or not the world really learned anything from the tragedies that took place here.  This blog, however, is not a political one, and although as an International Relations graduate I would love to write more on this….I will try to spare my readers the rant.

Nearly 3,000,000 people were killed as a result of the war, which is just an astounding number really. Almost 600,000 South Korean soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war….and there are huge hallways lining the outside of the museum where you can read all of their names (in Hangul of course).

I would probably rate the museum itself as “above average”.  There are a lot of miniature war scenes scattered throughout the place, and plenty of weaponry from the times throughout history.  I couldn’t help but feel that it lacked a certain emotional ‘pull and tug’ that so many other war museum I’ve visited have.  On the other hand I was a little tired and didn’t take my time to see everything in detail.  I did enjoy all of the old uniforms that the Korean military wore hundreds of years ago.  And they had shields and belts dating VERY far back into history.  As an American it’s always impressive to me when a country has a history that goes back so far.

Walking around the museum I was reminded of this Korean man I met a couple months ago.  It was the most random thing, I was sitting in a park during one of my breaks from work, right here in my neighborhood, and this old Korean man came up to me and started speaking to me in English.  I was impressed to say the least, but once we got the conversation going it was really exciting.  He had been in the military for 35 years he told me, he joined in 1950 at the start of the Korean War.

What an amazing (and random) opportunity is was to talk to this man.  So we just sat there in the park, for probably half an hour, discussing the war and politics of his country.  He spoke frankly about the war it seemed, or at least I was surprised by his frankness since he was in fact a Korean.  I could tell he felt serious contempt for the North, and the only story he shared with me (I didn’t push him too hard) was that he can still remember the US army dropping napalm to light up their targets at night before they wiped them out.  Soon though, he had changed the subject to his travels (to over 40 countries he said, I may not have believed all this if his English hadn’t been so good…it’s rare to meet an old Korean person who speaks English so well), and before I knew it I had to say goodbye and go back to work.

It makes you understand this country more though, if you take some time to learn about its history and the people.  Things have by far not been easy for Korea….I tend to look at this country sometimes as “the Poland of Asia”–geographically unfortunate, but a strong culture nonetheless.  It’s just a shame that it remains divided still, but that’s not for this blog entry.

So to conclude, if you’re in Seoul on vacation, you may want to skip the Korean War Museum depending on how much time you have….rent a documentary about it instead.  If you’re living in Korea though as a teacher, it’s definitly something you should check out during your time here.  It would be a shame to live here and then leave without getting a chance to see this place.  Don’t worry about getting bored because there is plenty to see for just 3,000 won….and if you’re a foreigner, as with most touristy places in this country, you’ll be humored a few times by the groups of Korean kids saying hello, and maybe even a group of attractive girls (as pictured here) who told me they love me, ha!