National Museum of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Occupation — Attraction in Busan

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...

It's basically the holocaust museum for the Japanese occupation of Korea. For those who don't know, Japan took over large parts of Asia and forced (or enslaved) millions of people to work for the purpose of building its empire. This museum seeks to document the history and individual stories of survivors of the Japanese rule. If you loved Schindler's List, then you might find yourself interested in what happened here.

It's free and well worth it if you have the time and are interested. However, it's kind of hard to bring young children here even though they have a room for children on...

Maybe the right word is somber. You hear me Natsumi? It happened. Korea didn't "invite" you guys. Japan didn't do any good here. Terrible things happened. Subsequent generations still suffer the pain and shame and will forever. They ain't greedy either. They want an apology from the heart. They want the remaining victims taken care of before they depart. There's no forgetting as much as some would like to. You know who I am. You know who my people are. It is impossible for me not to be part of their heart. ...