North Korea Guide
Pyongyang
Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum
If you have any say in your daily schedule, make sure that it includes a visit to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. Right from the huge, cheery mural at the entrance, you'll be subjected to the most fervent America-bashing that you're likely to hear in North Korea; the terms "aggressors", "imperialists" and "imperialist aggressors" are used avidly. Inside you'll be escorted through rooms filled with photographs and documents relating to atrocities said to have been inflicted on Korea by the Americans, many of which were apparently seized after the liberation of Seoul during the Korean War. The important bits on the documents are underlined, which helps to steer the eye away from some suspiciously shoddy English – however obvious forgeries may be (and there are some), don't go making any claims, and just treat it as part of the game. The tour then continues to the basement, which is full of war machinery including several bullet-ravaged planes, a torpedo ship and some captured guns and trucks. Of most interest is a helicopter shot down over North Korean territory; next to the vehicle's carcass is an extraordinary photograph of the pilot surrendering next to his dead buddy. From here you then move on to the panorama room, a relatively new addition where the scenery slowly revolves around a central platform. This depiction of a battle in the Daejeon area is spectacular, having been rendered on an apparently seamless 15m x 132m length of canvas.