For my first excursion, I visited the War Memorial of Korea. The only prior knowledge I had of the Korean War was from school, and we also read/discussed Bruce Cumings’ The Korean War: A History. Upon arriving at the museum, I was greeted with a large spear-shaped erection and the famous statues of Korean people on either side. I immediately felt the gravity and urgency of the war, as it is still ongoing. Once I entered the museum and walked straight forward, I found myself in a war memorial room. It was a beautiful yet heavy reminder of the lives lost in the fight, and the flowing water created a sense of peace. It seemed like even though the fight is still ongoing, the room was created as peacefully as possible for those that passed.
Afterwards, I walked through the large exhibits about the war. Compared to Cumings’ take, the exhibits seemed to favor US intervention and viewed the North Korean effort very negatively. Since the exhibits are part of a national museum, I expected it to be more objective, but some of the wording still seemed to demonize North Koreans. There was a sign that said “Who started the war?” and proceeded to explain that South Koreans were unprepared but that the North Koreans were, so it was a battle of the unprepared versus the prepared. To me, this insinuated that it was unfair and evil of the North Koreans to have invaded South Korea. In reality, the way the war started was much more nuanced and prolonged.
For the most part, the exhibits thanked the US and did not mention any war crimes or mistakes that the US made. I feel like in order to have a more encompassing perspective on the war, it is important to include these matters. A lot of information was not translated as well, so it was hard to know everything that was said. I generally felt like the exhibits were political and were trying to push the common narrative that the North Korean side is evil and that the US saved South Korea from being communized. Because of this, I left with a feeling of confusion rather than enlightenment.
Regardless, the Memorial was well built, and I appreciated the sheer size of the exhibits. I only wish that there were more translations and less polarizing sentiments. Overall, it was still an enriching experience that I am thankful to have had.
– Angel Huang
