War Memorial of Korea

Located in Yongsan-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the War Memorial of Korea was established on June 10, 1994, by the War Memorial Service to preserve and display materials revealing the reality of wars of national defense, serve as a site for national spiritual education, commemorate the noble sacrifices of the ancestors who gave their lives for the country, and honor their achievements. The War Memorial is divided into indoor and outdoor exhibitions, displaying about 10,000 items out of a collection of over 33,000 artifacts. The indoor exhibition hall, covering about 10,900 pyeong, consists of six exhibition rooms: the Memorial Room, 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, symbolic sculptures of the Korean War, 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, there are memorial tablets inscribed with the names of approximately 200,000 fallen soldiers from the ROK Armed Forces and UN forces. The War Memorial also plays a significant role as a venue for national patriotic culture. It operates about 20 educational programs targeting various age groups from children to adults, and hosts diverse cultural events annually, such as the ROK Armed Forces military band and honor guard performances, Children's Day cultural festivals, Memorial Day drawing contests, and June 25 Patriotic Culture Events, providing 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.