One of the first places to gain both a sense of the war, as well as the contribution is the Freedom Protection Peace Museum in Soyasan, two stops north of the Bosan stop where Camp Casey is located. This final stop on the #1 line is a mere 7 miles from the DMZ. The museum has brochures entirely in Korean, but the signage is in English. Outside the museum is a series of static displays.  Unlike some of the museums, all the displays are of Allied equipment.

What is also of significance are the models, with signs and locations, of the sixteen combatant countries fighting on behalf of the UN. The signage explains where the location of the actual monument, when it was dedicated, and the size of the actual monument versus the model size. For immediate reference, if one turns around from the museum and looks down the hill, they will see the actual Belgium/Luxembourg Memorial and monument, which is located less than 500 meters from the museum. For many of the other memorials, they are generally located near where they had their major engagements. The Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and British Commonwealth monuments are located in the Gapyeong Valley (Kapyong) where those militaries were engaged in the most significant fights. The one exception would be the British monument to the Gloucester Regiment and their defense in early 1951. That monument is located a few miles west of the Soyasan museum.

Pictures are shown at the Freedom Protection Peace Museum, Dongducheon, South Korea, in a series to show the progress of the Korean War, starting from the liberation of Korea and ending with the armistice. Established in 2002, the museum was organized to help citizens and Soldiers on the Peninsula remember the tragic events of the past.

While the museum does focus on ground forces, there are some significant static aircraft on display including a T-33A, an O-1 A Bird-dog observation plane, and most importantly an ROKAF C-123J Provider cargo aircraft. The interior of the C-123J is accessible and is a clear demonstration of how cramped any cargo craft may be. This particular craft was retired in the early 1990s.

Inside the museum, there is a section that shows the continued presence of 2ID in the Dongduchon area. Where the museum starts is inside the sets of doors. There is a library (again mostly Korean books) but as one goes to the second floor there is a history of the UN effort. As one walks around the arched exhibit hall, there are uniforms and statistics of every UN country that assisted, including those who sent medical support in lieu of combat troops, such as India and Italy.  

As usual, there is also a variety of weaponry on display.  The overall theme of a UN effort is also demonstrated visually by the murals and reliefs that are displayed, as well as “parachutes” which hang from the ceiling, and show the total troop commitment and casualties incurred by each participant nation.  

The museum is inside a hiking and park area. While it is not the most comprehensive museum, it is again a visual reminder of the sacrifices made by not just the US and the ROK, but for all UN participant nations as well.

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Freedom Protection Peace Museum

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About the Author

Cord A. Scott has a Doctorate in American History from Loyola University Chicago and currently serves as a Professor of History for the University of Maryland Global Campus for Asia. He is the author of Comics and Conflict, Four Colour Combat, and the Mud and the Mirth: Marine Corps Comics of WWI. He has

written for several encyclopedias, academic journals such as The International Journal of Comic Art, The Journal of Popular Culture, The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and several books on aspects of cultural history. He has lived all over the Pacific and currently resides in Okinawa, Japan.

Photography by Pfc. SeoWon Lee, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. 

*The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.