Freedom is not free

November 14th 2016

Next to some surface-to-air missiles hangs a poster advertising the Yongsan Baby Expo — we're at the War Memorial of Korea, where we are shown a propaganda-heavy take on the Korean War under the tagline "Freedom is not free": Japanese occupation, independence, military buildup up north, democracy down south, attack of the North, retreat to Busan, US-Korean offensive, crossing the 38. parallel, communist China entering the war, another retreat, ceasefire — with emphasis on weapons, offensives, fame, glory and freedom.
On top there's Kim Il-Sung's limousine and plenty of other military gear to marvel at.
Even though (or especially because?) the the drama is dialled to 11 at times (larger-than-life hyper realistic soldiers under gunfire anyone?), the museum makes for a really interesting experience — including, of course, the baby expo underneath full-size fighting jets suspended from the ceiling.
It's really interesting to see South Korean propaganda here. All over the city we see references to a small island claimed by both South Korea and Japan.

One Million Drops

Perhaps you've seen the news, but if not: The largest protests of the century are taking place in Seoul right now — Korea Times reports one million protesting Koreans on the streets today.
Just to put this into context: If we'd go protesting in Frankfurt, we couldn't make that number even if every last person joined in.
Unfortunately, the Korea Times' figures aren't quite accurate — we are estimating closer to 999.998 Koreans and 2 Germans. Because obviously, we are right at the heart of the protests — Freedom is not free, after all.

We are handed a sign with political demands of questionable radicality and, with the candles we've also been given, we make really good protesters: People ask us where we come from, take pictures with us, and thank us for being here today.
If the president reads this... just know that if we were calling for your execution, we didn't do it on purpose.
The atmosphere here is remarkably positive and peaceful: There's live music, people light each other's candles, families with kids, youths and seniors are all standing in the streets together, waving flags, holding signs and candles. We feel like we're part of something here — something bigger than us, something important. A drop in the ocean, a pale dot on the photo — but something nonetheless.
These protests move an entire nation, we definitely notice that. It's almost like a huge festival — including the large trucks providing the crowds with Wi-Fi coverage — it's South Korea, after all.