On Wednesday, I went to the Independence Hall of Korea.
On my way into the huge park, I picked up a brochure. It promised that:
"you would be joyful in full of emotion and fun" and I entered with trepidation.
In a series of fascinating exhibitions, I got to see "our modernization to be achieved by us!" and "boldly even at the Korean people's severest ordeal and much "boastful Korean tradition to overcome the national disturbances". So while Korean brochure writers clearly do not lack passion and patriotism, they quite often lack subjects and past tense.
The Independence Hall commemorates a lot of Japanese gore - and while the Japs were no doubt cruel and oppressive, I was surprised that people are comfortable remembering violence in such a graphic form. (Come look at our decapitations! Enjoy the eye-gouging! Let your kids play in the torture chambers!)
In South Africa, the end of racist violence is only about 13 years old. Seeing the Independence Hall makes me wonder how we will commemorate some of the darker chapters of our dark history. I don't have much faith in history. Since its likely to be only the story told by the victors, I think they might as well choose the version that would lead to the least animosity.
So its suits the Koreans to remember that they were the victims. It bonds them together. It allows them to remain aloof. In South Africa, its a little more difficult to build monuments to the cruelty of the Afrikaner. That's because in South Africa, victims and perpetrator still share office space. It's difficult to "rise up in liberation" against your colleagues.
So for me its refreshing to be in a country that doesn't mince its words when its talking history.
Even if its still slaughters English while doing so.
On my way into the huge park, I picked up a brochure. It promised that:
"you would be joyful in full of emotion and fun" and I entered with trepidation.
In a series of fascinating exhibitions, I got to see "our modernization to be achieved by us!" and "boldly even at the Korean people's severest ordeal and much "boastful Korean tradition to overcome the national disturbances". So while Korean brochure writers clearly do not lack passion and patriotism, they quite often lack subjects and past tense.
The Independence Hall commemorates a lot of Japanese gore - and while the Japs were no doubt cruel and oppressive, I was surprised that people are comfortable remembering violence in such a graphic form. (Come look at our decapitations! Enjoy the eye-gouging! Let your kids play in the torture chambers!)
In South Africa, the end of racist violence is only about 13 years old. Seeing the Independence Hall makes me wonder how we will commemorate some of the darker chapters of our dark history. I don't have much faith in history. Since its likely to be only the story told by the victors, I think they might as well choose the version that would lead to the least animosity.
So its suits the Koreans to remember that they were the victims. It bonds them together. It allows them to remain aloof. In South Africa, its a little more difficult to build monuments to the cruelty of the Afrikaner. That's because in South Africa, victims and perpetrator still share office space. It's difficult to "rise up in liberation" against your colleagues.
So for me its refreshing to be in a country that doesn't mince its words when its talking history.
Even if its still slaughters English while doing so.
2 comments:
hey jen, so glad you're blogging, loved reading your blog! have you ever been to the apartheid museum in jo'burg? while it doesn't graphically represent suffering in the way you describe, it does have a stark room with hundreds of nooses hanging from the roof, an armoured vehicle, separate entrances for "whites" and "non-whites" and an exhibition of ID documents with racial classification: in a subtler way, these are still shocking monuments to the atrocities of apartheid.
I think the Jo'burg museum is tastefully done. It is still shocking and honest, but without stirring up the kind of racial hatred that many Koreans feel towards the people who oppressed them.
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