Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

War Museum

What a name! This place was massive and the only location where standards in lighting, heating, and build quality matched or surpassed what you would expect in a developed country. Every exhibit was perfect, some clearly required many man hours from skilled artists and craftsmen. The priority for the regime is obviously to scare their fellow countrymen rather than ensure more basic needs are met.

Before we visited the museum, it was pretty obvious we would be bombarded by North Korean propaganda and their version of how the Korean War progressed. After 70 years, most people around the world would shrug their shoulders, mutter something about the evils of war, then get on with their lives. Not in the DPRK. The Korean War is a useful tool for the North Korean regime to control the local population and remind them how dangerous and unjust the outside world is.

MiG-15

I was interested in seeing the old aircraft on display from both sides of the conflict. Wreckage of destroyed US Air Force planes sitting next to pristine and unblemished North Korean MiGs and Yaks. That was good.

Yak-9

The infamous USS Pueblo, a captured spy ship, was also on display and is obviously still treated as a major trophy by the North Koreans, despite the rest of the world no longer really caring. I upset our expert guide when I remarked on a feature of the ship that she knew nothing about, the binnacle.

USS Pueblo - Intelligence gathering vessel

The undoubted highlight of boarding the well preserved USS Pueblo was the propaganda movie we were forced to sit through. A number of my party proved very adept at mimicking the language and accent of the presenter. The voice of the presenter, whoever he is, appears in most of the officially sanctioned films regarding the DPRK.
                       
During our visit inside the gargantuan main building - perhaps we were there for hours, we were given presentations about the war and the atrocities committed by the US forces. It all got a bit much resulting in me nodding off during the last frenzied attempt to convince us that North Korea was, and still is, the completely innocent party. I found out later that my nap had caused a certain amount of offence to the female guide.

A revealing visit, but not about a long past Korean War, but about the priorities and tactics used by the DPRK regime to keep their hold on power.

I will try and wrap up my North Korea blogs soon - perhaps only 1 or 2 more. Next I will have some blogs about my forthcoming holiday to Scotland..........and also some more exciting news. Stay tuned!