The War Memorial of Korea

Located at 29 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the War Memorial of Korea was established on June 10, 1994, by the War Memorial Service Korea to preserve and display materials revealing the reality of wars of national defense, serve as a site for national spiritual education, and commemorate the noble sacrifices and achievements of the ancestors who gave their lives for the country. The War Memorial is divided into indoor and outdoor exhibitions, displaying about 10,000 of its 33,000 collected artifacts. The indoor exhibition hall, covering about 10,900 pyeong, consists of six exhibition rooms: the Memorial Hall, the War History Room, the Korean War Room, the Overseas Dispatch Room, the ROK Armed Forces Development Room, and the Large Equipment Room, along with an outdoor exhibition hall featuring large weapons. The three-story indoor exhibition hall dynamically and three-dimensionally presents Korea's 5,000-year war history from the Three Kingdoms period to modern times, along with the merits and medals of those who dedicated themselves to the nation, using various exhibition techniques such as actual artifacts, dioramas, replicas, documentary paintings, and videos. In particular, the Korean War Room is designed with experiential facilities to help visitors easily and correctly understand the causes, progress, and armistice of the war. The outdoor exhibition area displays large weapons from around the world, the Korean War symbolic sculpture, the Gwanggaeto Stele, the Statue of Brothers, and the Peace Clock Tower. It exhibits equipment used during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, including the K-1 tank, howitzers, missiles, helicopters, and transport aircraft. On both sides of the memorial's corridors are memorial stones inscribed with the names of approximately 200,000 fallen South Korean and UN soldiers. The War Memorial also plays a significant role as a venue for national patriotic culture. It operates about 20 educational programs for various age groups from children to adults, and annually hosts diverse cultural events such as the ROK Armed Forces band and honor guard performances, Children's Day cultural festivals, Memorial Day drawing contests, and Korean War patriotic cultural events, offering new attractions for visitors. The mascot of the War Memorial is 'Mudori,' characterized by a helmet symbolizing national defense and a laurel leaf representing peace.