Since 1993, the War Memorial of Korea has sat hulked beside the U.S. army garrison in Yongsan-dong, Seoul. At 3,000 won per adult head, it’s less than a latte with slightly more value. 

Outside, exhibits make grand statements by grand design. Patton and K-1 tanks. A lone B-52. Korean test-pilot vehicles with frozen propellers, some cockpits ripe for viewing. Even more impressive is the stone court cut into the ground just beyond the main gate. Twenty-one stone pillars pay tribute to the international allies who came to Korea’s aid during last century’s civil war. They line a flight of steps that curl down into the ground. The ribbed bowl in the center houses the unavoidable Tower of Korean War, a bronze sword inscribed with images of Koreans simply living and, surrounding it, a double rim of ten-foot soldiers and citizens, 38 in all, who shout, cry, and grit. They wear their emotions in metal in an exhibit titled Statues Defending the Fatherland. 

At the end of a long walkway is the main complex. Somber architecture in a pale grey suit. Two galleries that form the arms of the massive building bear the names of the country’s Korean and Vietnam War victims cut into black marble. Inside close to 10,000 artifacts are spread over five vertical levels and seven themed-halls. There is no broad-shouldered museum guide directing you one way or the other. The beginning seems a logical start though. Paleolithic. Neolithic. Bronze and Iron Ages.  Display cases house the tools used to survive, attack and defend, and their evolution: the arrowhead, the lance, the catapult and the sword. The collection adds more scientific muscle as the years pass. 

Many of the halls choose their own modes of presentation, from video to scaled replicas. Admiral Yi’s famed turtle ship is a three-dimensional pitstop, the War History Room more informative. It uses maps, documents, and diaramas to tell the story of Korea’s unification following the frictions of the Three Kingdoms period. Other exhibits are fossilized by the fingerprints of visiting school groups. The horrors of war are mostly absent however, left to books and memories. Expect a more educational document here, infused with construction hormone. The complex appreciates the effect that scale can have in communicating the magnitude of war. Of course the deeper reflection comes later, on the journey home, with a perspective of a proud and resilient people.