 Photographer Jeong Beom Tae’s “Ration Distribution in Manli-dong, Seoul.” | Image: Moon Eun Ju |
Today, June
25th, is a tragically memorable day in Korea, marking as it does the
64th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
To mark the date, a special exhibition,
“Flowers Blooming in the War”, is being hosted
by the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History to share memories of
culture and daily life and reflect on the tragedy of the past.
The exhibition has three sections: the
first describes the
sadness and hope of ordinary people in the 1950s through photography, film,
music and literature, while the third reveals how the countries that helped
South Korea in and after the war are remembered, and offers people
opportunities to experience history.
However, it is the second section that most
strongly reflects the title of the exhibition. The tragedy of the war is shown
here through rusted helmets and the belongings of the deceased, providing a
certain focus on ‘life’. The blooming ecosystem in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ),
a symbol of war and destruction, is shown in video, conveying a sense of hope
and nature’s will to survive.
“More and more people are starting to forget the Korean War and the younger generation does not know about this turning point in our history,” one visitor, student Kim Eun Hye told Daily NK. “Exhibitions like this are necessary in a world where society keeps moving forward; we have to pause and try to understand the pain, sacrifices and hopes of our people.”
