DMZ Museum

The tragedy of the Korean War (1950-1953) began on June 25, 1950 when North Korean troops flooded over the border. The Korean Peninsula was tainted with blood of thousands of soldiers, both domestic and foreign. No one won the war and the peninsula had to wear a belt named the Military Demarcation Line from July 1953.



The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established when both Koreas retreated two kilometers from the truce line under an agreement. After some 60 years, the 248-kilometer-long and four-kilometer-wide territory has become a repository of animals and plants since people are kept out of the area. Nowadays, the zone is rising as a tourist destination despite the restrictions.





Though only few people are allowed to actually go into the area, the story, artifacts and ecological information of the DMZ are kept at the DMZ Museum in Goseong, Gangwon Province.





The museum is composed of a main exhibition and multipurpose center, along with ecological reservoirs and other facilities. Rusted steel helmets and empty cartridges from the war are on display and replica landmines are laid under glass flooring.

"The museum is still unfinished. It will be filled with relics from the DMZ from South and North Korea when the two Koreas become unified. When the museum is completed, the day might be the day of unification," Jeon Chang-june, director of the museum said.





The museum opens daily from June to October but is closed on Mondays during the off season from November to April.

Source: Koreatimes or http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/06/135_89513.html


For more information, visit www.dmzmuseum.com or call (033) 680-8463.