War Memorial Museum

The War Memorial lightly treads on the outskirts of the military base area in Itaewon among skyscrapers and cart pushers. As you walk up onto the heavily guarded vicinity you see a mound with two men embracing, everything went a bit silent. Inside the mound is a dome with many a mosaic inside as well as an honorary circle of U.N. nations involvement. Population, dates of occupancy, names of divisions... From Ethiopia to the U.S. of A.

It's amazing what this country has done for itself in such a short period of time, a worn torn shattered country divided by power and invasion.. within 50 years pulled itself up by the bootstraps to a world presence, one of the 10 leading economies no less. Three years of brother battles on common soil with so much at stake, everyone took a stand for their people, their land- children, men, women.

Outside of the museum stood the ghosts of war- immobile and yet formidable. Upwards of forty aircrafts, jeeps, tanks, howitzers, submarines, and more- from a multitude of nations, it became clear that the war may have been hosted by Korea, but many a flag had their presence at the table here in 1950-1953.

The infamous battle worthy "turtle ship"

Korea has had it's enemies and the enemy lines drawn and redrawn countless times. From Japan to Mongolia, China to Russia... not one century has gone by that they haven't been occupied or under some form of military duress. The War Memorial presented artifacts from hundreds and hundreds of years ago, military costumes (from everywhere, even the U.S Civil War attire- the blues and grays), weaponry, maps, documentaries, ships, murals, paintings, demonstrations- it was several levels of countless layers, so much to unveil, too much to take in. I'll be having to return again after I get my second wind.


The most indelible impression left with me on this day was actually via a conversation with Ok-Young (he likes to be called Ok, okay?!!), an 80 year-old Korean Vet. His grandson had a pension for weapons and was ogling around the corner just before we came into the parachute room of the museum.
Ok asked me where I was from and we spoke for just under an hour. The kindest, gentlest of souls... ha ha in Seoul no less. After handing me his card and being sure to know that I needed to call him Ok, okay? - we made plans for having tea and lunch soon. I adore him already...