War Memorial of Korea — Attraction in Seoul

The War Memorial of Korea (free entry) is an important attraction dedicated to the Korean War which raged over the Korean Peninsula during the early 1950s. There are six themed halls and a large outdoor exhibition area where you can spend several hours learning about the Korean conflict. Note the museum is closed on Mondays.

As you approach the War Memorial, you will see several large outdoor monuments which set the stage for a educational it not sombre experience of visiting an attraction like this. There are also numerous military vehicles, planes, vessels, equipment in the outdoor exhibition area that are worth spending time to view before or after you enter the monument to explore the halls within.

Exhibition rooms do a good job of presenting the war in a mixed variety of ways and medium; traditional text and figurative displays, cased displays, wall maps, sounds of the war and even 4D experience of MacArthur's landing at Inchon. In this manner, there is a nice effort to make the memorial as accessible as possible to a younger audience, who might not enjoy traditional war and military museums.

At the War Memorial you will find expected lockers, a cafe and gift shop at the War Memorial of Korea but no wifi, unlike the various national museums you can visit around Seoul. Photography is allowed throughout as well. You can easily spend 2-3 hours here leisurely going through the exhibition halls learning about the Korean War.

We very much appreciated our latest visit to the War Memorial of Korea. This is one of those attractions that can have a real impact on visitors, a place you want to return to during future...

When I visited in December, parts of the museum were closed for renovations. This included the Vietnam War wing and the section of outdoor displays that covered armour and artillery.

In addition, one should double check the hours of operation in case of seasonal changes as the off-season has shorter hours. I didn't notice this and I had to come back a couple of days later.

While it is Korea War heavy (as would be expected) it does cover the military history of Korea in a great expanse from antiquity to the modern day. Displays have both Korean and English displays, so it should be understandable to most people. A replica of the Turtle Ship can be found on the lower floors.

The outdoor displays include equipment from both the ROK Armed Forces but also some captured North Korean equipment, which gives an idea of some of the forces that sit across the DMZ. There is also a memorial to a warship that was involved in naval clashes in 2002 with displays of the damage that was incurred.

There is an extensive memorial setup outside of the front entrance that displays to visitors the international support in the Korean War. This includes memorial walls for the nations that lost servicemen during the war.

To give this place justice, expect at least 2-3 hours to have an understanding...

If you want to learn about the history of the Korean Peninsula it is one of the best place to be. Though this place only show you the history of the wars in the five thousand year’s history of the peninsula, it tells a lot about the Korean history. Specifically if you are interested in the Korean war between North and South the second floor is a gem for that. It will walk you through the history and explain different incidents. You can feel the pain that korean people have suffered due to the war. The first floor is dedicated to the ancient history till Japanese colonial rule while the third floor is mainly dedicated to the UN contribution and Korean humanitarian efforts to other war around the world specially Vietnam war. Also many modern and old war machines and ships are in display, specifically one ancient war ship in the first floor. If you have time I would recommend a full day or at least 5-6 hours to spend here to grasp all the things. Things to note, it’s entry is free. Also I highly recommend to visit the National Museum of Korea along with it to get the full taste of Korean history. They are very close to each...