Special Exhibition

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JOURNEY TOGETHER Special Exhibition Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the ROK-U.S. Alliance

09-22-2023(Fri) ~ 03-17-2024(Sun)

National Museum of Korean Contemporary History 3rd Floor Exhibition Hall

Price : Free
Hours :10:00 – 18:00
Opening hours will be extended to nine o’clock in the evening on Wednesdays and Saturdays. (Last admission is one hour before the closing time.) For additional inquiries call : +82-02-3703-9200

PROLOGUE

The traces of US influence can be seen in the Korean modern and contemporary history. Owen Nickerson Denny, an American who served as an adviser for King Gojong, criticized Qing China for interfering in Joseon’s affairs and claimed that Joseon was an independent country. The Qing government came to hate him, and he was forced to return to the United States. The Taft-Katsura “secret treaty”* reveals how the US meddled in Korea’s fate in ways most Koreans are unaware. US President Woodrow Wilson promoted the concept of national self-determination, which served as the ideological basis for Korea’s March First Independence Movement in 1919. The US is now the only nation with which the Republic of Korea is allied.

* The Taft-Katsura Memorandum was a backroom arrangement concluded in July 1905 in which the US agreed to accept Japan’s hegemony over the Daehan Empire in exchange for Japan’s acknowledgement of US control in the Philippines.

01. Background of the Treaty Signing: The ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty was signed to guarantee Korea’s security once the Korean War was over. However, the effects of the new political backdrop that formed internationally after World War II hindered Treaty finalization. A close examination of the United Nations establishment, the Korean War, and the Security Treaty between the United States and Japan provides a more rounded picture of how the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty was concluded.

02. Up Until the Treaty’s Conclusion: Faced with turbulent conditions internationally and war domestically, the Republic of Korea strove to obtain a guarantee for its national security. The Korean and US governments had been locked in a cycle of conflict and reconciliation when the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty was finalized in 1953. The Treaty was formally ratified in 1954 and then went into effect. After the Treaty signing, the US side added a proposal in the Agreed Minutes of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty for resolving any unsettled aspects regarding the Treaty.

03 After the Treaty Signing: The Republic of Korea and the United States strengthened their close relations in multiple areas after the Mutual Defense Treaty was concluded in 1953. The bilateral ties were primarily in the form of one-way relief to Korea immediately after the Treaty signing, but as time passed, the two countries increasingly assisted one another. The Korea-U.S. relationship evolved from a purely political alliance to one that involved the political, economic, social, and cultural realms. The Treaty became the foundation for a successful partnership that is very rare in world history.

Epilogue

The ROK-U.S. Alliance evolved from the political realm to encompassing value, including culture, as well. An exhibition called Masterpieces of Korean Art toured eight cities in the US between December 1957 and June 1959. This was an opportunity to show that Korea as a US ally went beyond being a simple recipient of US aid to being a partner that engages in cultural exchanges and provides positive effects. Please consider that the written materials, reports, and video footage on the pieces displayed at that time reflect the initial stage of the ROK-U.S. cultural alliance. The Republic of Korea and United States of America differ in various ways, but they remain friends who have journeyed a turbulent modern history together. We look forward to the stories that you will create regarding these two countries.

Primary exhibition materials

Denny's Taegeukgi

circa 1890 │ National Museum of Korea │ Treasure
The Star-Spangled Banner

United States Forces Korea(USFK)
The United Nations flag

1940s │ National Memorial for Abductees during the Korean War
US Army battle rations(C-ration)

1950s │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Box of articles left behind by US soldiers killed in action in the Korean War

1950s │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Table used for the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement

circa 1890s │ The War Memorial of Korea │ National Registered Cultural Heritage
Pages from the Korean War Armistice Agreement

1953.7.27. │ National Archives fo Korea
Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America

1953.10.1. │ National Archives fo Korea
The complete text of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty

1953.8. │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Full text of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty

1953.10. │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Commemoration of agreements for establishment of M-16 rifle plant

1971.3. │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
M2 Browning machine gun

1950s │ The War Memorial of Korea
Album for international students at the US Army Artillery School

1955.2. │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Syringes

1950s │ The Museum of Medicine,
Letter from University of Minnesota president

1954 │ Seoul National University Archives
Brown Memorandum of 1966

1966 │ Diplomatic Archives
A Korean flag signed by the fellow soldiers of an officer returning home

1964.6.25. │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
Box shipped home by repatriated troops from the Vietnam War

1960s │ National Museum of Korean Contemporary History
German reporter Jürgen Hinzpeter and US Peace Corps volunteers preparing for an interview

1980 │ The May 18 Foundation │ Donated by Hinzpeter
Exhibition book of Masterpieces of Korean Art

1957 │ Private collection
Report on Masterpieces of Korean Art in the US

1960.6. │ Private collection

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