Korean War Memorial

A few people here have asked me: have I learned a lot about Korean culture...do I know much about Korean history? I tell them yes I am learning a lot, but, sadly, I knew almost no Korean history before coming here. The extent of my knowledge ends with the Korean War and current US foreign policy with Korea-a rather understated role on the scene of world history.

This week, I visited the Korean War Memorial, a reminder of Korean national pride and a testament to war's power to change a society. Last week we met up with a friend who is traveling around Asia. She had just come from Japan where she had visited the Hiroshima memorial and had found it strange to feel ashamed of being an American for what we did in one war. Going to the Korean War memorial a few days later and feeling proud of the contribution that my country made in another war was an interesting contrast that reminded me of the overall sacrifices made in war.