Things to Do in Korea: Museum for Freedom and Peacekeeping

For soldiers stationed in the Camp Casey area, a day trip I highly recommend is a visit to the Museum for Freedom and Peacekeeping. The museum is fairly new because it opened only three years ago and admission is free for soldiers. The museum provides a number of good displays show casing the history of the Korean War along with other displays highlighting the various peacekeeping missions the Korean Army has or is currently participating in.

The museum’s displays are a Korean War for Dummies level type of education about the war, which are good for those who have little knowledge about the Korean War. The displays about the allied support for Korea are particularly well done. Every nation that provided support for Korea during the war has a display in the museum showing their troop commitments as well as their combat actions during the war. I think many people would be surprised that a country like Ethiopia sent combat troops to Korea:

Even those who have been to the War Memorial in Yongsan and are knowledgeable about the Korean War can still get something out of visiting this museum because the really must see displays are the ones highlighting Dongducheon’s history with plenty of historical pictures of what Dongducheon looked like after the Korean War:

Now compare the above picture with the sea of buildings found in Dongducheon today:

There are also many old pictures of Camp Casey as well. If you think your barracks building you live in now is bad in Korea, look at what those guys back then had to live in:

There was also a great panoramic photograph of the entire Dongducheon area as well:

Click on the image for a full size photograph but you can see Camp Mobile in the foreground along with the old shanty towns and villes of Dongducheon.

No museum in Korea would be complete without a picture of this:

What Dokdo has to do with the Korean War is beyond me, but I haven’t been to a museum in Korea yet that doesn’t have something on Dokdo.

Overall though, like I said before, the museum is a good introduction to the Korean War and particularly good for those interested in the history of Dongducheon and Camp Casey. The museum is easily reached from Camp Casey by going out Gate 2 and taking a right and follow MSR3 north until you see the museum on the hill near the entrance to Soyo mountain. To walk there takes about 20 minutes but if you take a bus or a taxi you will be there in less than 5 minutes. For those taking the subway to Dongducheon just get off at Soyosan station and follow the signs to Soyo mountain where the museum is located.