Korean War Memorial as Response to American War Memorials and the Vietnam Memorial

Although the monument is unique because it emphasizes the challenges of war rather than just the honor of sacrifice and because veterans of the war were responsible for it, in many ways it still conforms to the archetype of the American war monument. The soldier has no marks of individuality. He simply represents the average soldier. Like so many other monuments,  each soldier’s unique experiences and motivations for fighting are ignored. The monument almost takes away each soldier’s humanity. It is also notable that the soldier chosen to represent the general experience is shown as a white man. The choice of a generic subject aligns with most war monuments, which display themes of sacrifice without referencing individuals. The monument also, like other war memorials, furthers the narrative that the U.S.’s foreign policy is just and that it is noble to die for one’s country. Even though it depicts suffering, the flags and the memorial itself project the ideas of patriotism and democracy. Although the soldier makes it clear that those who served faced great hardship, a viewer can also tell they did so for a greater purpose. 

The veterans behind the memorial wanted to show their willingness to sacrifice to preserve freedom. The soldier facing the inclement weather stays loyal, he holds on to his gun and is ready to fight. In that way, this memorial is consistent with others that show the United States' willingness to sacrifice to ensure that democracy prevails around the world. In the Korean War, the United States positioned its support of South Korea as the need to fight against the spread of Communism. Senator John Chafee explains, “[t]he stand that the United States took in Korea showed clearly that aggressive Communism would not be tolerated.”[3] At the dedication ceremony of a Korean War memorial in Exeter, Rhode Island, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S., Lee Hong-koo called the Korean War the “beginning of the end of Communist dictatorship around the world.”[4] He told the veterans who gathered that “we must cherish our independence and never forget those who fought for our freedom.”[5]

In some ways, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was a revanchist response to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. The Vietnam War Memorial was groundbreaking. It is far simpler than most war monuments and therefore didn’t glorify war. It is not meant to be in praise of American actions and the armed forces as an institution. Instead, it emphasizes individual experiences by simply listing the names of those who died. Viewers have understood this and leave objects at the memorial, such as photos or letters, that emphasize not only the death of soldiers but also their lives. The memorial shows the cost of war on soldiers, the trauma it causes to veterans, and questions the correctness of entering and remaining in the war. Maya Lin’s design revolutionized the concept of memorials, and many artists creating monuments afterward drew from her design or themes. While the Korean War Veterans Memorial does also seek to emphasize the cost of war and centralize individual experience, it also offers a return to glorifying sacrifice for a greater cause.