Return to the War Memorial

I returned to the Korean War Memorial on Sunday - the same one I visited almost 11 months ago, when I first arrived in Korea. That time, I had just gone around perimeter (it's a huge building); this time, I went inside to appreciate the exhibitions.

Most of the rooms, as can be expected, are dedicated to the Korean War. Here are a few interesting things I learned:

-The North began the war with a surprise attack at 4:00 am on June 25 1950.

-Seoul fell into the North's hands in only three days.

By the end of 1950...
-Seoul had been recaptured
-Pyongyang had been captured
-Pyongyang was lost

-In the beginning of 1951, Seoul was captured again, only to be recaptured a few months later.

-The rest of the war was a game of back-and-forth right near where the war started, along the 38th parallel.

Maybe being in Korea has made this war seem more interesting than it would be otherwise, but I really find it fascinating. What's surprising to me is that, according to a recent newspaper article, many Korean youths are ignorant of the War - even though many of them still have living grandparents that lived through it.

I discussed it with my free-speaking adult class awhile back, and while the consensus was that it's definitely something that's not to be forgotten, they did acknowledge a certain level of apathy toward that part of history. It'd be a shame for any sacrifice on this scale to be forgotten (particularly when the pawns in the chess game didn't have the choice whether to play or not).

Growing up, I can't say I really grasped November 11th too well.
I'm glad that's no longer the case.

Good week, good people!