Places in Korea: The Gloucestershire Regiment Memorial

Basic Information

• Name: Gloucestershire Regiment Memorial
• Where: Jokseong, Gyeongi-do Province
• Cost: Free
• More Info: Cultural Heritage Admin. Korea

Narrative

For those that have read my posting about the Hero of the Korean War, Lieutenant James P. Carne and his men of the Gloucestershire Battalion during the Korean War, you may be interested in seeing what the battle site looks like today.  Fortunately the area that the battle took place has turned into the nicest memorial of any other Korean War battle field I have seen yet.  The memorial is located below the large Kamaksan mountain and just outside the village of Jokseong on Highway 56:

It takes less than hour to drive to the site from both Dongducheon and Uijongbu on Highway 56.

The memorial is easy to spot due to this large sign on the side of the highway:

Besides the sign the prominent flags also give away the fact that this area is a Korean War memorial site.  The flags were backdropped by Gloster Hill which is where the Gloucestershire Regiment made their final last stand during the Battle of the Imjim:

I have been to the site three times and each time the site has been well maintained and very clean which is not always the case with other Korean War memorial sites I have been to.  The memorial is divided in half with a park on one side of the river and the actual memorial on the other. The park is actually a popular picnic area for Korean locals. There are even restaurants and cafes adjacent to the park for visitors to use.

To reach the actual memorial you have to cross over the creek with the use of this bridge:

The bridge is specially decorated with British flags:

Seeing so many British flags just seems so odd considering you are in Korea, but their are many more Union Jacks on display here than Taegukis. Near the bridge is also a plaque and map describing to visitors the Battle of the Imjim:

Just across the bridge and at the base of Hill 235 is this memorial carved in the rock face:

Here is how the memorial looks up close:

Here is a close up look at the inscriptions on the plaques:

Conclusion

The site may be easy to find, but it can be a bit difficult to get to if you don’t have transportation. Buses from Dongducheon run to Joeksong regularly and from Joeksong the site is only a short cab drive away. This is how I first visited the site but I had to walk back to Joeksong afterwards to catch the bus again.  I later led a group of Soldiers to the site for a leader development session that I did.  This battle has a lot of interesting lessons learned and leadership examples that make for a great professional development opportunity.  Ultimately I recommend this memorial to anyone with an interest in Korean War history.