War Memorial of Korea, Yongsan & Itaewon — History & Multicultural Seoul
The Yongsan district — home to the War Memorial of Korea (the most comprehensive military history museum in Asia), the former US military headquarters in Korea (now being transformed into a public park), and the Itaewon international quarter — forms a bridge between Seoul's painful 20th-century history and its contemporary multicultural present.
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War Memorial of Korea — The Korean War and Military History
The War Memorial of Korea (전쟁기념관, Itaewon-ro 29, Yongsan-gu, opened 1994 — the largest military history museum in Asia, built on the former site of the Army headquarters on the Yongsan base): the War Memorial documents the full military history of Korea from ancient times to the present, with the primary focus on the Korean War (한국전쟁, June 25, 1950 — July 27, 1953 armistice): the Korean War killed approximately 5 million people (2.5 million civilians and 2.5 million military personnel), divided the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel into North and South Korea, and involved military forces from 21 countries under the UN Command; the outdoor exhibition contains approximately 220 pieces of military hardware including tanks, artillery, aircraft and naval vessels from both sides of the conflict; the 'Brothers' sculpture in the central plaza — two brothers, one from each side, embracing each other above a cracked globe — is one of the most emotionally powerful monuments in Korea.
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Yongsan National Park — Transforming the US Military Base
The Yongsan Garrison (용산미군기지 — the main US Forces Korea base in the heart of Seoul, occupying 243 hectares of prime central Seoul real estate immediately south of the War Memorial, established as a Japanese military base in 1906 and subsequently used as the US military headquarters in Korea from 1945 to 2018, when the headquarters was relocated to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek): the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison to Pyeongtaek began in 2018 and the site is being returned to the Korean public over several years as a major new public park (Yongsan National Park), analogous to the transformation of Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London, and expected to be one of the most significant urban regeneration projects in Korean history.
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Itaewon — Seoul's International Quarter
Itaewon (이태원, the international district of Seoul, Yongsan-gu — the neighbourhood that developed adjacent to the US military base as the principal international shopping, dining, and entertainment district of Seoul, serving the US military and their families, foreign residents, and tourists): Itaewon is the most culturally diverse neighbourhood in Korea, with the highest concentration of non-Korean residents, international restaurants (representing virtually every national cuisine), a vibrant LGBTQ+ nightlife scene, independent fashion boutiques, and antique and rug shops (reflecting the tradition of Middle Eastern merchants who came to serve the Muslim US military personnel stationed at Yongsan); the Hamilton Hotel area (the main commercial strip of Itaewon) was the site of the Itaewon crowd crush disaster of October 29, 2022, in which 159 people died during Halloween celebrations — one of the deadliest crowd crush disasters in history.
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Hangang (Han River) Bridge Views & Riverside Life
The Han River (한강, flowing through the centre of the Seoul metropolitan area from east to west, crossed by 31 bridges within the city boundaries — the river is approximately 500 metres wide through the urban centre): the Han River divides Seoul into its historic northern half (Gangbuk, with the royal palaces and old commercial districts) and its modern southern half (Gangnam, developed from the 1970s); the 31 bridges crossing the Han River within Seoul include the Banpo Bridge (반포대교, famous for the Rainbow Fountain — the world's longest bridge fountain, running along both sides of the bridge and spraying water in coloured arcs into the Han River in nightly shows); the Yeouido Hangang Park immediately west of Yongsan is the most popular of the 12 Han River parks, crowded on weekends with families picnicking and cyclists.
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Leeum Samsung Museum of Art — World-Class Korean Art Collection
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (리움미술관, Itaewon-ro 55-gil 60, Yongsan-gu — the private art museum of the Samsung Foundation of Culture, opened 2004, designed by three separate internationally renowned architects: Mario Botta designed Museum 1 (Korean traditional art), Jean Nouvel designed Museum 2 (modern and contemporary art), and Rem Koolhaas designed the Child Education & Culture Center): Leeum houses one of the finest collections of Korean art in existence — the Museum 1 collection of Korean traditional art includes National Treasures and National Folk Cultural Properties from all periods of Korean history (Three Kingdoms period, Goryeo period, Joseon dynasty), including masterpieces of celadon ceramics, Buddhist art, Joseon court painting, and decorative arts; Museum 2 contains the modern and contemporary collection with works by Louise Bourgeois, Anselm Kiefer, Damien Hirst, Cai Guo-Qiang, and major Korean contemporary artists.
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Dong빙고 Ice Storage Site & Joseon Riverside History
The Dongbingo Site (동빙고지, near Ichon station — the site of the east ice storage house of the Joseon court, one of two large ice houses where winter ice cut from the Han River was stored for royal use through the summer; the Seobingo on the west bank and Dongbingo on the east bank stored ice for the royal court, government ceremonies, and as medicine; the practice of harvesting river ice for summer storage was an important industry in Joseon Seoul): the Ichon area near Yongsan is also the location of the National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관, the largest museum in Korea and the sixth-largest museum in the world by number of artifacts, with a collection of 330,000 Korean cultural heritage objects), making the Yongsan-Ichon corridor one of the richest concentrations of cultural institutions in the city.