Day 3 Part 2

These are pictures of Independence Hall which is a big museum complex in memorial to Korea's independence from Japan. If you plan to visit, plan on spending almost the whole day there. The museum is divided into 7 separate buildings, beginning from the very start of Korea's history as a people (and I'm talking stone age). It was very interesting, and everything was in English as well as Korean. Well worth visiting, I think. It has a huge outdoor space as well, which I'm sure will be absolutely beautiful once things are blooming.

This is walking across a bridge from the parking lot towards Independence Hall.

This is Jin's mother-in-law. She has been so great. She doesn't really speak any English, and I really don't speak any Korean but it still works just fine.

Looking back from the steps of the actual memorial building.

Evolution of the South Korean flag. There have been a few different versions.

This space was giant! That's Jin's mother-in-law standing in front.

Jin! Just to give a little perspective as to how big this memorial is.

There are 8 people on the statue, each representing a province of Korea. A child sits on the shoulder of one of the men, representing the future goal of justice.

Side view.

This is a statue inside the ... fourth or fifth building. I can't remember exactly now. It's the commemorate their Independence Day: March 1, 1919. The people are supposed to be shouting "Manse!" which is equivalent to "Hooray!" in English.

Closer shot of the statue.

The history between Korea and Japan is very complicated and bloody based on what I saw today. I can't really do it justice in trying to explain. I only understand a little bit of the whole picture. Things you should know about Japan's imperialist rule of Korea (from what I understand of the Korean perspective, I strongly emphasize Korean perspective): 1. It is the "East Sea" and not the "Japan Sea" 2. Dokdo belongs to Korean, and not Japan 3. The Japanese military truly did some horrendous things to Korean people (and I agree with this based on what I saw at today's museum) some of which includes: forcing Korean women into becoming prostitutes for the Japanese military and drafting young Korean men to fight for the Japanese army against China, and burning trapped people alive inside buildings. There are many others (it's complicated). 4. Japan, as a government, refuses to acknowledge the extent of the abuse inflicted upon the Koreans by their military. Most significantly the forced prostitution of Korean women.
I want to stress again that all the information I've heard has been from a Korean perspective. I have no idea what a Japanese person thinks about any of this. There is still resentment towards Japan, but my feeling from what I've seen and heard is that it's because there has not been any acknowledgement or apology for what happened.