On Saturday I went back (in the rain again) to the Korean War Memorial Museum - Itaewon (if you want to know how to get there take a look a couple of posts back when I went the first time).Entry to the main exhibitions is free (although you still need a ticket) and the special DMZ exhibition will cost you 5,000 won per person or there are group discounts.
Now I spent a couple of hours on the outside taking pictures last time so if you were intending to take pictures and browse around I would set aside a whole day to do this. Along with the massive grounds that the Museum sits on is it's 3 floor interior which, coupled together, should tire out the best of you.
The DMZ exhibition is pretty nice with lots of information about the Korean war and where it is at today. There is also a good movie playing about North Korea which shows footage of the starving people and also the executions of political prisoners. I have not seen much video to date of North Korea but it seems surreal to see Kim jong il galloping past on a white horse. It is also a heart breaking movie because there is the hope of reunification but how to physically carry it out after the populace has been conditioned and beaten down so badly I cannot even imagine.
The DMZ exhibition finishes with an art display. I wish I could take such pictures as these. Some of them were truly amazing!
The rest of the Museum carries on up and downstairs progressing through the bronze age to the modern era. There is, as you would expect, significant space devoted to the Korean war and there are exciting moving action dioramas and models to be seen throughout. I was especially captivated by the Panmunjom model probably because I had been there and it was interesting to see the scale and position of the buildings.
There are also a few interactive activities such as "Combat Experience" where you go into a room a witness a night fire fight with light explosions and sounds, you can fire some infra-red guns at target screens and go on a F-15D simulator? (which I didn't do this time as there was a big crowd).
Don't forget the souveneer store at the ground level inside to your right as you are entering. It has a treasure trove of patches, pins, mounted display's of DMZ barbed wire and even a Museum Challenge Coin. Here is a reference if you don't know what a challenge coin is:
It's also cheap, I mean 38,000 (this is the more expensive one of the two to choose from) for a piece of barbed wire mounted on a detailed etched metal plaque, 4,000 won for a challenge coin, 2,000 won for some patches and the list goes on.
Definitely if you are able to get out there and spend a good day (4 - 6 hours) it is well worth the trip!
Here is the flickr slide show:
Also in other news... Iron Maiden released a new album this month called The Final Frontier.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment