Tom On our last day of our South Korea Travel Itinerary, we visited a major military attraction in Seoul – the War Memorial of Korea. In addition, we also did some shopping at the Emart of Times Square Mall (one of the biggest Emart in Seoul) and sampled beers at one of the up and rising pubs in Seoul – Craft Roo!
Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
Free Seoul Attraction – War Memorial of Korea
To get to the War Memorial of Korea, we alighted and walked from Namyeon Station. There isn’t really a marked path from there and we just followed the general direction using Google map and arrived at the side gate of the museum.
One of the cool thing about visiting War Memorial of Korea is that its FREE! As with the free museums of Washington DC, the War Memorial of Korea, though free, does not lack in quality. In fact, it is EXTENSIVE. One would think that it chronicles only the most famous Korean War. But it actually exhibits wars from prehistoric to Japanese colonial period and of course the Korean War itself. Even before we entered the museum itself, the outdoor space had already captured our attention with symbolic (and HUGE) statues as well as the outdoor displays of aircrafts, helicopters, tanks, missiles and vessels. There’s also a cafe at the entrance of museum where we had a cafe latte (3,500 krw) before we started our visit.
There’s actually a pre-cursor to the Korean War. After US bombed Hiroshima (6 Aug 1945) and Nagasaki (9 Aug 1945), USSR saw the opportunity that Japan would be surrendering soon (they eventually surrendered on 2 September 1945), they declared war on Japan on 9 August. Remember that in those days, Korea was still under Japan colonial rule. This meant that after USSR attacked and Japan surrendered WW2 on 2 September, they also ceased a portion of Korea to USSR. This created the job of the disarmament of Korea to the north by USSR and to the south by US, resulting in the “randomly” created north and south Korea (at the 38th parallel), effectively splitting the country into 2.
However, this was not it. Of course, USSR did not want to cease control of the North, resulting in the setting up of the first North Korean government headed by none other than Kim Il-sung – grandfather of current DPRK leader Kim Jung-un. The interesting thing was that when North Korea finally attacked South Korea in 25th June 1950, they had to seek permission from both USSR (Stalin) and China (Mao) before doing soon. Telegraph transmissions of these communications are shown at the museum.
Because of what was depicted above, the “peace” and exhaustion after the state of emergency, left the South unprepared when the war broke out. As a result, Seoul fell 3 days after 25 June 1950. Eventually, US and UN fought back on behalf of the South until the border of China.
As depicted by the 4D movie we saw, the soldiers who reached the border of China actually thought that reunification of Korea was in sight. However, that was not to be.
As it was the dead of winter, the UN forces were not only exhausted but also had to contend with the cold, going as low as -10 degrees. Then, China utilised the human wave tactic that formed an seemingly endless stream of human wave, distracting enemies of gongs, shouts and noises, infiltrating under the cover of darkness. By 4 Jan 1951, UN forces had no choice but to retreat back to the 38th parallel. This is more or less where the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) lies today.
On a side note, it was interesting to see this transmission by General Douglas MacArthur, 5 days after the North attacked South. He very quickly realised that the South lacked logistical preparations. An important part of the war. The other thing he noted was the support of the locals for USA as they did not want to be under communism rule. Perhaps lessons for us in Singapore as well.
Another small note. Remember our coverage of Busan? It links to the fact that since Seoul fell within 3 days of invasion, trains were pushing refugees further south to Busan. Hence, today when we wonder why refugees were so far south in Busan (40 Steps for instance), this is the reason.
Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
Where to shop in Seoul – Times Square Emart
After visiting the War Memorial of Korea, we headed to the Emart at Yeongdeungpo Station, walking distance from Times Square Seoul. One of the reasons why Kate chose this emart is simply because its been touted as one of the biggest emart in Seoul. Before we started our shopping frenzy, we went to the deli/food section of emart and had the steak sandwich (6,000krw) and beef bowl (6,000krw). A simple but filling meal 🙂
One of the best places to buy souvenirs in South Korea would be emart. Do check out our post on What Souvenirs to buy from South Korea? 9 Souvenirs to get from South Korean Supermarkets to find out more! This time, we spent over 50,000krw shopping for products as souvenirs for our friends and family. We also visited HOTTRACKS at Times Square, a designer stationary store among other things to suss out some souvenirs for our nephews. Before we left, we also stopped by Twosome Place for a break. EXPENSIVE (damage of 17,600krw) but delish 😛
Where to eat and drink in Seoul – Craft Roo
After Times Square, we went back to our room at Grid Inn Seoul to unpack and rest a little before venturing out for our last dinner of the trip (time flies by so quickly!). For dinner, we found a quaint hipster area where up and coming bars and restaurants sprawl. This time, we visited Craft Roo!
When we arrived, the sky was still bright. However, the queue had already formed. We actually waited close to 45 minutes before we finally got seated. By this time, the sky had turned dark. Nonetheless, we were glad that we waited because the experience was unique and memorable! A worthy conclusion to our visit in South Korea.
The word “root” actually stands for in-house craft beer. This time we went for sampler 1 @ 27,000krw. It consists 6 x 200ml glasses with the following beers (in increasing order of taste starting from the light pilsner)…
a. Kramerlee Pilsner: Very typical pilsner. Light and smooth.
b. Jeju Wheat Ale: Meh. Nothing special here.
c. Dongmyeong Port Ale (Root): Kate’s favourite with a fruity fragrance.
d. Snow IPA (Root): Stronger IPA but less fruity. Reminded us of the IPA at Brewerkz.
e. Sokcho IPA (Root): Tom’s favourite with a fruity aftertaste.
f. Daepo Port Stout (Root): Smooth and flavourful stout
The beers were complemented with the Fried Chicken and Potato (15,000krw).
We were pleasantly surprised with the entire experience. The beers were fresh and interestingly crafted. Each had its own uniqueness whether in taste, fragrance or aftertaste. Also, the fried chicken were tender and juicy and complemented the beers very well. We were also glad that we had only the sampler. Just perfect.
We rounded off the evening with a seaweed/sesame noodles while watching Suits! 😛
If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!
The next day, it was our flight back on the Singapore Airlines A330-300 Business Class. We also learnt that at Incheon airport, the Singapore Airlines counters are not always open. In fact, for our flight at 4:40pm, the counters only opened at 1:35pm.
Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
Nonetheless, we still had time to do refund for our Cashbee Card.
If you had read our South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 1 post, you saw how we were able to get the Cashbee easily upon arrival. Likewise, upon departure, we were also able to just say “refund” to the cashier and he/she would return us cash value while we retained the card itself.
We hope you have enjoyed our entire 2 weeks of coverage in South Korea from Busan to Gyeongju, Dayang and finally Seoul. Let us know what you think in our comments section below! We’ll now leave you with this video coverage of the top things to do and attractions in Seoul as well as where to eat in Seoul!
Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Seoul
Book Here with Klook: Popular Activities in Seoul
Happy and safe travels in Seoul everyone!
Tom & Kate,
2bearbear.com
Related Posts
You have just finished reading a post from our 14 Days Travels in South Korea. Check out the rest of the posts from this series below!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 1: Busan Gwangalli Beach, Spaland and Fried Chicken Army Stew!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 6: Flight from Jeju to Busan PLUS Hilton Busan Review!
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 7: Haeundae Beach, Dalmaji Road and Dalmaji Hill
South Korea Travel Itinerary Day 11: Driving from Danyang to Seoul!
Top 17 Things to do and Attractions in Jeju South Korea!
Top 8 Busan Travel Experiences, Things to do and Attractions!
Top 7 Gyeongju Things to do, Attractions and Travel Experiences!
Top 5 Danyang Attractions, Travel Experiences and Things to do!
Top 7 Seoul Attractions and Things to do
Top 8 Food to eat in Seoul South Korea
The Ultimate Guide to Driving in South Korea!
What Souvenirs to buy from South Korea? 9 Souvenirs to get from South Korean Supermarkets!
The Complete Hilton Busan Review: Probably the Most Instagrammable Hotel in the World!
Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort Review: The Perfect Base to Discover Jeju!
Da Moim Buffet Restaurant Hilton Busan Review
Singapore Airlines (SQ) 777-300ER Business Class Review: Singapore to Beijing
Air China Business Class Review: Beijing to Busan CA 129
Singapore Airlines Business Class A330-300 Review: Incheon to Singapore
