War memorial of Korea

One of my first places to visit was the war memorial of Korea, a museum commemorating the modern wars of Korea - specifically the Korean war.

The frontside of the memorial

The memorial is very blatantly focused ob building a common korean national identity. The parts of the museum about earlier wars focus on portraying Korea as constantly assailed by others such as japan and China (to be fair, that is a valid perspective). Likewise, the Korean war is portrayed as a family tragedy, a conflict between brothers.

The two korean brothers, north and south.

More disturbing, in its way, is the short shrift given to the colonial period: the japanese occupation is glossed over, merely mentioned as a shameful experience, and Korean opposition against Japan is highlighted.

This means that those who collaborated with Japan aren't mentioned at all. And that silence, in turn, makes the kind of identity-building the memorial works toward, exceedingly fragile. Like all master narratives.

Oh well. At least they have a pillar hall! And a B52!