War-torn Seoul

The war-torn city of Seoul during the Korean War.

Commentary about this image by Bob Jagger

We felt sorry for the South Korean people – many had lost their families to the war. When we arrived in the fifties, the whole of South Korea was pretty rugged, I suppose because of the conflict with North Korea. The people had been pushed out of their homes in the city. They had not only lost a lot of their people but many had no homes. Seoul itself was rundown and war-torn. The buildings had been badly knocked about in the battles, leaving thousands upon thousands in ruins.The city was pretty well destroyed. I saw quite a bit of Seoul when I drove to pick up newly arriving officers for Kayforce. Sometimes they would want to take a photo, so I would take my chance too. When we visited again as War Vets in 1995, it was hard to recognise the modernised place as the old Seoul.