M.A.S.H. Didn't Cover This

Yesterday I was in Seoul at the War Museum. The museum covers the entire history of war in Korea, which is very extensive. From the Chinese, to the Japanese, to the Korean war that we know, this peninsula has been invaded over 300 times. It's no wonder that the sense of cultural identity is so strong. I realised immediately that I am completely 100% ignorant of Korean history and that is a very very sad thing indeed.

First off, the museum is a formidable building, with planes and tanks outside, and sculpture.

For some reason, the museum also exhibits other things. Somehow, this months offerings really didn't "mesh" well with the general austere and militant theme.

In all seriousness though, the museum was a humbling experience. Outside, they have porticoes lined with floor to ceiling plaques. They list all of the soldiers that died trying to protect South Korea during the Korean War. Then there was one porticoe just for the U.S. casualties. It is staggering to see the thousands upon thousands (I believe 35,000 in total) of names of people who died in this country. We found the name of Victoria's cousin, a sobering experience.
Inside, there is everything that you could imagine. Ships, cannons, a scale model that you can walk through of the fortress at Hwaseong.
The most interesting and relevant part of the museum for me was the section on the Korean War. Now, I don't claim to know jack squat about the war. It was an eye opening exhibit. I had no idea how far the North Koreans had pushed back the South Koreans, they were down to the south edge of the peninsula before the U.S. intervened. I also didn't know that the entire war was fueled by the struggle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. How many wars had to be fought around the world to keep the balance between the two. It's a crazy thing. I just don't understand completely how "evil" the Soviets were and why they had to be squashed everywhere they were. That's what all of those Russian courses have led to, me questioning the standard dogma of the day.

Anyway, the exhibit on the Korean War was prolific. The most extraordinary aspect for me was learning that 100,000 students volunteered to fight for South Korea. We were at the museum with 3 middle school students. There was a diarama about a battle at a girls middle school between the North Koreans and the student volunteers. I tried to get the middle school girls to see that girls their age faught and died for their country. I don't know if they can appreciate it.

The museum is worth seeing again. I need to read learn more about this country and what it has been through. I am a bit troubled by the youth and their absentmindedness when it comes to Korean history. I hope that they listen to their grandparents and the older generation who remember the hard times. Oh well, enough of my stupid American observations. Who am I to make observations?