A very good museum on an important subject that shows how the ghosts of history haunt the present. Admission is free.

I expected more of the permanent exhibition would be dedicated to telling the history of the so-called ‘comfort women’, not least their struggle to reintegrate into society after the war. I thought that this particular aspect of forced mobilization wasn’t explored deeply enough.

The permanent exhibition museum can be repetitive in sections, and there are some seemingly serious factual discrepancies: see my photos of two nearby panels that variously claim 209,000 and 400,000 Koreans were mobilized as soldiers until liberation. In general, the English language descriptions would benefit from an English proofreader.

But overall, it’s a must-see when you’re in South Korea if you want to understand the country’s history and relationship with Japan. I also commend the museum for recognizing the many efforts of Japanese citizens and historians to uncover the truth and hold their conservative governments to account.