War Memorial of Korea

On Saturday Matt and Dani came up from Daejeon for a visit. Since they were for a public school they had almost a month of and went home for a few weeks (at which time Matt proposed and Dani accepted). So, it had been quite some time since I have been able to see them. Saturday was a relaxing day. We met them at Suwon station and went for Indian for lunch. In the afternoon we played some Uno, the card game – yes, I know, very exciting! After that we went to a Korean bath house. I do miss being able to take a bath… We finished the day by having some Mexican and going to bed pretty early.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed into Seoul. We started off with a delicious breakfast at Butterfingers. I heard about it from Spenser and it was delicious. It was a bit pricey compared to an American breakfast (13,600 won for 2 slices of French toast, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, sausage, and some fried potatoes) but well worth it. From what I understand a typical Korean breakfast is kimchi and rice. So, it’s quite difficult to find a good breakfast place.

After breakfast we headed to the War Memorial and spent quite a few hours there. If you are looking for something to do for free, I would recommend it. They have a great outdoor display as well as an indoor exhibition as well. We were there for at least 3 hours and still weren’t able to see everything. I’ll be back sometime in the near future.

After the War Memorial we headed to Itaewon and met up with Spenser for a bit. We ate some Subway, did a bit of shopping at the foreign food markets as well as at What the Book. We ended up back in Suwon around 8:30 and saw Matt and Dani on their way. That was this past weekend.

With the cold weather there really isn’t much new, at least as far as sightseeing. However, it has been beautiful lately so I am hoping to get back outside more on the weekends and begin to see more of Korea. If anybody has any suggestions or knows of any fantastic Cherry Blossom Festivals, please share. I am going to renew for a year and there is BIG news in the workplace, but I will save that for the next post. Nevertheless, I am planning on creating a list of “Things to Do” before leaving Korea, so if you have any ideas for that as well, I am open to any ideas. I hope everyone is doing well and loving life. ‘An Attitude of Gratitude’ goes a long way in life.

(My amazing breakfast - deeeelicious)


(I wish I would have grabbed an information packet - I believe this is called Brothers or something along that line)


(Katrina not happy about something but she does have a smile on her face)


(Another monument I forgot the name of, but was humbling. There are soldiers and civilians around the base. The actual memorial is in the background and that is only part of it. Also, if you look closely in the background you'll notice Namsan Tower.)


(Same monument with a closer view of the people)


(Same people as before around the base of the monument)


(I liked the city in the background)


(A loudspeaker that could transmit messages over 15 km. I believe it used to be located in or around the DMZ.)


(This side of the memorial had the names of Korean soldiers who passed away in the Korean War. There was also another section with a list of American soldiers who died and the state they were from.)


(This freaking blew my mind. If anybody remembers the Cheonan, the South Korean Warship that was sunk, well this is the torpedo that sunk it, on display. In America, I feel as though something like this would be classified for at least 10 years. Here, it is on display for the public to see along with an explanation.)


(Another image of the torpedo that tragically killed 46 South Korean sailors)


(Again, don't know the name, but it was a nice place to reflect.)


(Me crossing over the 38th parallel, at least in the museum)


(A 'turtle,' at least that's what I think it is called due to its protective roofing. The museum was not only about the Korean War but also a history of Korean Wars - quite interesting.)


(I really like this. There are two clocks on the monument on one on the ground in the right background. On the monument, one of the clocks is stopped at 4 am, the time North Korea invaded and started the Korean War. The second clock on the monument has been counting the time North Korea and South Korea have been separated. The clock on the ground will replace the clock that was started during the Korean War once Korea is re-united. Right now, it sits idle, waiting to be lifted in to place - very symbolic.)