North Korea Travel Guide | Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

조국해방전쟁승리기념관（祖國解放戰爭勝利紀念館）

Location: Pyongyang

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum Pyongyang

Summary

The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum is a museum dedicated to North Korea’s 1953 “victory” over the United States and its allies in the Fatherland Liberation War, commonly known as the Korean War in the West. Learn the history of the Korean War from the North’s perspective through elaborate museum displays and videos in the main hall, and see a grand panorama of the Battle of Daejon. By the entrance are war-themed monumental statues and displays featuring captured and downed American vehicles, tanks, artillery and planes. Visitors can also tour the USS Pueblo, which was in 1968 found in Korean waters and accused of being a spy ship, after which it was captured and taken to Pyongyang where it has been kept as a trophy ever since.

Map

Travel Information

Tips

The local guides here are quite friendly, and usually speak English well. They have their own special uniform which looks like a cross between an army uniform and business attire.

Photography is not permitted inside the main building.

Fees

Best times to visit

Any.

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum Pyongyang

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History

The original museum was built in August 1953, barely even a month after the Korean War had ended. It was moved from the central part of Pyongyang to Sosong District in 1963. Since then it has been relocated to the banks of the Potong River. In 2013, marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, it underwent significant renovations. The Pueblo, which had previously been moored in the Taedong River, was also moved to the Potong River and positioned next to the museum.

Fact File

The 360 panorama of the Battle of Daejon, which swivels and is complete with sound effects and narration, is perhaps the most impressive of the museum’s sights. North Koreans also helped build a similar panorama at the 6^th of October Panorama in Cairo, Egypt.

The wax statue of a young general Kim Il Sung from the time of the war is often commented on for its resemblance to his grandson and current leader, Kim Jong Un.