Maj mélange: War Memorial of Korea

Once entering the gate of the War Memorial of Korea, an interesting monument, the Statue of Brothers, will catch anyone's attention. Further, visitors are bound to see the Korean War Monument, the Peace Clock Tower, the Monument of King Gwanggaeto the Great and more fascinating creations.

Statue of Brothers - the older brother, an ROK officer, and

his younger brother, a North Korean soldier, meet on the battlefield

Aside from monuments, a lot more can be found in the Outdoor Exhibition, those of which are used during World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Some of these are tanks, missles, warship, aircrafts and even submarines. Visitors are even allowed to get into any of these equipment. So if you wish to know how it feels to be inside an Armored Amphibious Combat Vehicle (basically a tank), well this is your chance.

Huge stone tablets aligned on both sides can be seen while walking towards the hall entrance. Thousands and thousands of names are written on these stones, particularly those of the soldiers' from different countries who were killed out of participating with the Korean army. The scenery gave me chills. It was an unexplainable feeling.

The Indoor Exhibition include seven (7) halls: the Memorial Hall, the War History Room, the Korean War Room, the Expeditionary Forces Room, the Armed Forces Room, the Large Equipment Room and the Korean Defense Industries Room.

From a sewing machine, stick grenades, thrashing machine, a soldier's ID card to even a helmet of a Philippine tankman, all of them had been remarkably preserved and displayed. Numerous large projector screens are to be found inside these halls providing tourists brief yet entertaining visuals on the tragic wars that Korea had suffered from.

The 3D effects exhibition is my personal favorite. It imparts the cruel effect of the Korean War, the cruelty of communism, the great loss of civilian lives and wealth, separation of families, a refugee's life, and more. There is also a display of artwork from school during the most severe period.

I wish to spill out more of what can be seen in all these halls but my writing space won't seem to be enough; but I am certain that both of these exhibits are quite interesting and the whole place is worth visiting. To anyone who gets a chance to be in South Korea, I would recommend visiting this place. It won't be a waste of time.

Here's the link to Korea War Memorial's official website if you wish to get a virtual glimpse, http://bit.ly/lsvXB3. Meanwhile, I'm leaving some of the photos I have taken while getting drowned by this place.