Visiting Busan 9 years later, I sought to add more components of the Busan Wartime Capital nomination. From my first visit, I could not form an opinion whther this serial property is deserving of world heritage status or not. I feel confident I can now.

Ami-dong Tombstone Village

As previously mentioned, the village can be a bit tricky to navigate. At the Ami Culture Village Information Center there is a QR Code map that will help significantly. One of the best examples of spolia (pictured) is number #4 'Rest Area Tombstone'. Using the map I visited tombstone spolia at locations 1-5. I did not cross the street to visit locations 6-9. Besides the spolia, the small exhibits in the homes (via small labelled doors) highlight the life of refugees. These are free and open with no staff, so you just browse at your own pace (there are about six 'home or work' exhibits).

Uam-dong Cattle Shed Village

The main place to visit here is the Uam-dong Somangmaeul House, where a shed house has been converted into a museum. Like the small refugee homes in Ami-dong, its a wonder these modest structures survived. The museum does a good job showing the evolution of the village during the war years and afterward. You can walk around the village and you will notice a few other cattle shed features, but I'm unsure if anything beyond the museum will be included.

United Nations Memorial Cemetery

Arriving at the cemetery, I had to take shelter …

I guess few people outside of the Koreas often think about the Korean War (1950-1953). Still, it was a very bloody struggle with 3 million casualties, it saw a confrontation between China and the USA during the Cold War and its repercussions (such as the continuation of the Kim dynasty in the DPRK) are felt until today. To refresh my knowledge, I listened to two recent episodes of the podcast ‘Empire’ during my flight to South Korea, which dealt with the Korean War and the period leading up to it. 

As only one of two cities in the South never captured by the communist insurgents, Busan was the de facto capital of South Korea during the war period. It also hosted 500,000 refugees from the rest of the country, more than its regular inhabitants. The TWHS ‘Sites of the Busan Wartime Capital’ aims to illustrate that particular period in the city’s history via 9 component sites. I visited 3 of those.

I started at the Busan Citizens Park, which was a horse race track during the Japanese occupation of Korea and later the US Army Camp Hialeah. It was used by the US Army until 2006, but the grounds have since been returned to the City of Busan which transformed it into a public park. I strolled around it in the early evening, accompanied by joggers and people walking their dogs. A few signs and odd constructions give away its former use. There are guardposts and various …

For those who have visited Busan, you can be forgiven for not prioritizing its wartime history! The fact is, Busan is a lively city and its main attractions (Taejongdae, Jagalchi Fish Market, Seaside temples, Gamcheon Culture Village, and beaches) are more alluring for the casual visitor than the Seokdang Museum of Dong-A University. The later museum was formerly known as the Busan Provisional Government Headquarters during the Korean War. Today, it’s an excellent museum that covers ancient to modern Korean History. While a visit to the museum is genuinely rewarding and the building is caringly preserved, it does not add significantly to one's understanding of the 1,023 days when Busan was the temporary capital.  

The Provisional Capital Memorial Hall (Formerly the President's Residence) includes moving exhibits about the conditions refugees experienced upon arrival to Busan. Much of the “house” museum maintains rooms in their 1950’s decor when President Rhee occupied the residence. I found the visitor experience here solemn and emotive. Exhibits highlight the time and events of Busan's darkest days. Some visitors were visibly moved by the exhibits. Considering modern day life in Busan and that of the half-a-million plus refugees in the 1950's, the difference in those 70 years is stark. I have not forgotten the photographs displayed on-site.

The journey of this serial nomination has been arduous, the nomination was “conditionally” approved in 2017 by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. Busan’s primary OUV will be as a “Cold War” heritage site and its refugee past. There …