War! What Is It Good For?

When Frankie wasn't going off to Hollywood, or relaxing in order to "just do it", he stormed the airwaves and asked this question of everyone. "Absolutely nothing!" came the reply!

Of course we all know this, but at certain times in life it's important to remind yourself of the shocking atrocities that are occurring, and have occurred, in the world. However, history has never been my strong point, and for a semi-intelligent person it seems to take a monumental effort for me to take any interest in the news and current affairs. I know how ignorant that is, but it all seems so boring most of the time. I'd rather watch Schindlers List or something.

A visit to the Korean War Memorial Museum served to rectify this matter a little, by offering a spectacularly packaged and exhaustively comprehensive history lesson. It turned out to be, not only interesting, but easily the largest and most enjoyable museum I've ever been to.

The courtyard is dominated by a magnificent monument dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Korean War. Personally, if I designed something which sybolized such sombre subject matter, I wouldn't make it quite so phallic. Not that I noticed that at the time, as you are completely in awe of how tall and stately it appears.

A line of huge bronze figures encircle the monument, all sporting morbidly anguished faces. As you would in the middle of a war I expect!


The "Two Brothers" statue. Also very big and impressive. The next few pictures show you some selections from the outdoor display of military aircraft, tanks, missiles, and anti-aircraft guns. Nice!










The picture above is the cockpit of a large bomber. It was good how none of the aircraft had been restored or reconditioned on the inside, they were basically untouched from the moment they finished their last mission. Which meant all the switches and levers looked pretty delapidated, I remember seeing more trustworthy mechanics in my Mum's old Datsun Cherry. This cockpit was so bloody hot I couldn't even squeeze into that metal seat for a picture dammit!

Speaking of which, the weather was quality on that day, so we were able to get a nice view of Seoul Tower from the other side of downtown.


Inside, the museum is absolutely huge! For some reason, however, we seemed to take the most random pictures, mostly of paintings and "dioramas". Actually, I say "we", but Lynne won't want to be linked to any of that behaviour after repeatedly slagging me for taking pictures of such things at the time! I couldn't help myself, as not only were they extremely impressive, but they generally depicted savagery and bloodshed, which seems to be a recurring theme in Korea's troubled history.

This diorama portrays the famous "Incheon Landing" staged by the Americans. I'm too tired to give any minor lessons in the Korean War, but basically this was a manouevre deemed foolhardy by most high ranking military leaders, which in fact proved successful and turned the tide on the North Koreans, severing their supply routes and forcing them to retreat.


This particular part of the museum was very sentimental for me and gave me a yearning for Dundee. Seeing the decay and destitution the war refugees were accustomed to recalled many scenes of home, not to mention the dirt smudged faces of the youngsters. I took a few minutes to remember affectionately the Lochee High Street, composed myself, and pressed onward with a lump in my throat.



Here we are in front of a big shiny plane. How did they get it in there I wonder? And how do they get all those new cars inside shopping centres all the time as competition prizes. The mind boggles. A nice Korean ex-navy man took this picture for us and told us some interesting stuff about the war. He was there with his two young daughters and was desperate for them to show off their English skills. When they failed to cooperate he almost dragged one away from admiring a tank to tell us their "English name". Which they didn't know. Money on English lessons well spent as usual!



A Korean man having a snooze. This happens anytime, anywhere. And why not eh?


I've always been quite intolerant of those people I deem to be Mongols, so it was satisfying to see the Korean Army share this sentiment.


This picture is amusing, only due to it's shocking caption! In case you can't see it...."Give me my face back fellow soldiers!". A little bit distasteful, and completely at odds with the tone of this display showing excavated remains of the Korean War dead. I guess it didn't sound so ridiculous before the translation.


This is possibly my favourite part of the whole museum. A truly brilliant bit of history, albeit, a little unlucky for those it affected. When South Korea started pushing back north, for reasons I forget, but probably linked to Communism, China decided to throw their hat into the ring, and help the North Koreans. However, the Chinese Red Army had almost no supplies at their disposal, and were forced to improvise as best they could. In a decision of genius, due to having no rifles or firearms, whole infantries were sent out with one grenade each......and a flute. For me this conjures up more than a few amusing images. Like soldiers wasting their sole grenade and attemting to escape while playing a flute and dancing a jig. Or two soldiers fighting with flutes, Jedi-style.



All joking aside, it was a fantastic experience, and I feel much more knowledgable on this chapter in Korean history. And obviously, after hearing in great detail the horrors endured by those involved in what historians call "The Forgotten War", I can even more wholeheartedly agree with that laughable 80's band. War...What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Well....maybe a free flute.