Sinchon Museum of United States War Atrocities

Paintings on the walls of the museum depict alleged atrocities carried out by American soldiers during the Korean war. Details of the Sinchon massacre of October 1950 remain unclear. The museum in Sinchon tells the story thorough documents, photos and bodies and recovered artifacts, and to the Koreans it was an unspeakable horror perpetrated upon their countryfolk. However, research more and you find a Wikipedia page that is confusingly sparse and is speckled with words like “claimed”, and “alleged”; the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, who documented the massacre, are introduced as “non-governmental but allegedly Communist-affiliated” (Will future generations speak of “non governmental but allegedly neoliberal-affiliated INGOs”?). There is also the suggestion that war crimes were committed by both sides or by local anti communists.

So whose story to believe? Is it naïve to think that the Korean government, have done nothing but lay out the cold hard facts of imperial atrocities? That this is an incident that the US would rather sweep under the rug and obfuscate? Or would it be just as naïve to believe that the whole story is a fabrication aimed at furthering an anti-American narrative?

The museum hosts tour groups, schoolchildren and people from all walks of life. It doesn’t require a lot of empathy to see how such an exhibit could foster resentment. Over 60 years later, the most revealing question may not be “what is the truth?” but “what is believed to be the truth?”.

But while an analysis of perception and sentiment give us an insight into contemporary mindset, we can still take the truth that is staring us in the face. Even if the fog of war and the passing of time conspire to forever deprive us of clarity, let us mourn the victims and the brutally real horrors they faced. Let us not forget the needlessness of war.