Le Tank qui est le Premier à Seoul - a photo on Flickriver

            The Postcard

The image is one of a set of 12 postcards showcasing the Victorious War Museum in its former location. 11 of the postcards are represented in the photostream; the 12th. one is not there because it shows the same photograph that is on the cover which is also on the photostream.

The set was published by Éditions de l'Armée Populaire de Corée.

The following is printed on the divided back of the card:

'Le tank qui est entré
le premier à Seoul.'

The Victorious War Museum

The Victorious War Museum, or the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, is a history/military museum dedicated to the Korean War located in the North Korean capital-city of Pyongyang.

The museum was first set up in August 1953 and built in the Central District of Pyongyang, initially named as the "Fatherland Liberation War Museum." 

In April 1963, it was relocated to the Sosong District and re-established in a purpose-built building compound.

In 2014, the museum was renovated and significantly upgraded, with the new design including a building spanning the nearby Botong River, together with a large panorama-style display hall at the top.

Museum Exhibits

The general character and influence of the museum reflects the official North Korean view of their 'success in fighting against their American arch-enemy and its puppet state of South Korea'.

Much of the museum presents the victories of North Korea and its military over its enemies, which are shown to be 'utterly defeated and broken by the might of the DPRK'. 

One example of this is a display in the museum which shows a large cache of captured US infantry-based weapons and combat-helmets stacked up, presenting the idea of the severe casualties sustained by the US military in the Korean War.

Exhibits in the museum include a 360-degree full-scale diorama and cyclorama of the Battle of Taejon during the Korean War. 

There are also displays of North Korean military hardware used in that conflict, such as Soviet T-34/85 tanks, anti-aircraft artillery, naval craft as well as warplanes. 

Also on display are several captured American (and some British) military items, such as ex-US M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks, a former British Army Universal Carrier armoured personnel carrier (APC), along with some artillery guns and downed aircraft of the US-led UN forces fighting against North Korea. 

-- USS Pueblo

In addition to the many statues, figures, murals and artifacts in the museum, one major exhibit is USS Pueblo, a US Navy vessel that was captured by North Korea when it allegedly entered North Korean territorial waters in 1968. 

The USS Pueblo was attacked and seized near Wonsan by the North Korean Navy on the 23rd. January 1968. One sailor was killed in the assault and 82 were captured and held prisoner for 11 months before they were freed. 

The ship is still listed as a commissioned U.S. naval vessel, and a U.S. Senate resolution in 2008 declared the Pueblo was the first U.S. Navy ship to be “”hijacked”" by a foreign military power in more than 150 years.

The USS Pueblo was moved from its mooring on the Taedong River to its current location. It is not clear how the ship was moved. There are 2 versions: the first is that the boat was ‘cut up’ into sections and then transported by land. The other is that it was airlifted by helicopter.

Visitors to the museum are allowed to board the ship, now permanently moored on the river beside the museum, and enter and see the ship's secret code-room (which contains classified military intelligence and information on board) and former ship and crew artifacts now put on display, such as a US flag.

Taken on: October 18, 2024

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Sets appears in: • Korea • Museums, Art Galleries and Libraries

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