DMZ Museum

As a part of the Three Major Modelization Projects of South-North Korean Exchange, one of the main projects of Gangwon-do, the DMZ Museum within the civilian control line in Goseong, Gangwon-do, was established as a public museum in Gangwon-do on August 14, 2009, as a place of exchange for restoring cultural homogeneity and preserve the world's only demilitarized zone as a historical record.

First space encountered when entering the exhibit hall on the first floor. This place conveys the background of the Korean War and provides an orientation for guests before entering the main exhibit. The panels are arranged in a disorderly fashion to symbolize the state of confusion during the war.

Learn about the truce talks here. On June 16, 1951, the secretary-general of the Allied Forces proposed a ceasefire between North and South Korea. Thus, the truce talks began in Naebongjang, Gaeseong on July 10, 1951. On July 27, 1953, the UN Forces,  the North Korean Army and the Communist Forces signed an armistice agreement, except for South Korea, which actually fought the Korean War and did not sign the agreement (preamble and Article 5, Clause 63). And thus, the three years and one month, or 1,129-day war, came to a halt.

After passing the corridor showing the UN Forces and Communist Forces heading toward Panmunjom for the armistice agreement on the walls on both sides.

See the space that recreates the moment of the Armistice Agreement at 10:12 a.m. currently called Korean Standard Time or KST on July 27, 1953, Lieutenant General Harrison of the UN Command and North Korean General Nam Il signed the Armistice Agreement, and at 1 p.m. (KST), General Clark of the UN Command signed the agreement. Kim Il-sung of the Communist Forces signed the document at 10 p.m. (KST), and at 09:30 a.m. (KST) on the following day, July 28, Chinese General Peng Dehuai signed the agreement.

The exhibition continues to lead you to experience the DMZ, the result of the Korean War and Armistice Agreement, in the museum exhibition hall.

Walking along the barbed wires, you will arrive at a space to remember the countless unsung heroes killed during the Korean War. Displayed in this space are the artifacts from the excavation of remains from the Korean War in border regions by the Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification including the articles of the late Major Lim Choon-soo.

Even after the ceasefire, military tensions continued at the DMZ. Here, you can discover the major fights and skirmishes by year, from the 1960s to the 2010s. 

This place recreates scenes from the Cheorwon area, which has a relatively high number of relics from the tragedy of the Cold War. Learn about the Labor Party Office, the Agricultural Products Inspection Center, the Second Financial Association, the Ice Warehouse, the Water Station (state-registered cultural heritage),  etc.

Tragically, there are still many mines that were buried during the war at the DMZ. Indirectly experience the dangers of those mines.

This space shows the unification process of Germany, a country with a history of separation like Korea.A piece of the Berlin Wall is on display at the outdoor exhibit.

Though unreachable, the DMZ is a place of peaceful life for animals and plants that have lost their homes due to urban development and environmental destruction. At this exhibition space, you can see the beauties of the DMZ through a documentary video showing the four seasons of the DMZ.

Artifacts, such as equipment used for propaganda against North Korea, old steel fences at the southern limit line of the DMZ, are displayed at the outdoor exhibition area.