This is the second of a series of five reviews on the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum Complex. If you have not already done so, please read my introductory review on the complex before continuing.
The basement of the former Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum was packed with military equipment including captured US and UN forces tanks, planes, weapons and munitions, as well as examples of North Korean military equipment used during the Fatherland Liberation (Korean) War.
Guides used to tell visitors that the US equipment was placed in the basement such that ‘It would never see the light of day again’. Well guess what? With the building of the new Museum this equipment is now displayed outside and very much ‘in the light of day’.
Hidden away on either side of the long walkway to the Victory Statue and the main Museum building are two ‘reconstructed’ trenches. The trench on the left hand side, facing the Museum, is filled with North Korean equipment used during the Korean War while the equipment of the US and its other imperialist allies is exhibited in the covered trench on the right hand side.
Having been introduced to our Korean People’s Army guide we (as are all tourists) were escorted to the trench containing US war paraphernalia either captured during the War or left as wreckage following the US defeat in the Korean War. We were not taken to see the North Korean equipment but that is not what you come here to see, anyway.
While our guide clearly had great pride in these trophies of war and delighted in showing them to us that pride and delight paled into insignificance when it was time to visit the the USS Pueblo – the country’s most treasured war (Cold War) trophy and an ongoing embarrassment to the United States almost 50 years after its capture by North Korea in 1968. More on that in my next review.
This blog entry is one of a group (loop) of entries on The Rambling Wombat’s trip to Pyongyang, North Korea which I recommend you read in a particular order. I suggest you continue with my next entry –Greatest Trophy of War – USS Pueblo. If necessary, go to my Pyongyang introduction entry – Pyongyang – A Capital City Unlike any Other – to start this loop at the beginning.
The Rambling Wombat 
Fascinating place but one where it must be hard to just accept all you are being told?
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What makes you think that ? LOL. To be honest wondering and speculating what the guide would come out with next was a major part of the fun. The good lady never disappointed and generally greatly exceeded out expectations!
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I can definitely see the fun in that! And good news – now that I’m signed up to WP (which I had to do to get a photo on my profile on G’s new website), emails about comments here and your new posts no longer go into my spam!
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