Published on 22 April 2022

Korea collection

The archive of the Swiss–Korea Association is located in the Library Am Guisanplatz (BiG). It consists of diaries, films, photo albums and slide collections by Swiss military personnel who were stationed in Korea during the 1950s.

Panmunjom, Korea. Sign leading to the NNSC buildings of Sweden and Switzerland. In the background the roof of the ‘freedom pagoda’ can be seen. Photo by Pierre Barbey 1967/68.

The sketch of the Korean peninsula appeared in one of Fred Bieri’s journal entries.

Heinrich Herter not only produced illustrations of his deployment for the Swiss Korea Mission, he also took photographs of the country and its people.

The mountainous landscape fascinated the Swiss members of the Korea mission. This photo was taken by Heinrich Herter, 1953.

The border between South and North Korea runs between the blue barracks, photographed here by Alexandre Zermatten during his deployment in Panmunjom 2004-06.

Swiss and Swedish representatives are still in the service of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) today. Polish delegates still take part in the commission meetings twice a year. Photo by Alexandre Zermatten, 2004-06.

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Peacebuilding in practice – what was life like for Swiss soldiers serving in Korea? The Korea collection at the Library Am Guisanplatz (BiG) provides insights into the work and everyday life of the Swiss peace mission in Korea. Since 1999, the library has maintained the archive of the Swiss–Korea Association, which was founded in 1954. This archive primarily consists of personal documents, diaries, films, photo albums and slide collections by Swiss military personnel.

Swiss military personnel have been stationed in Korea since 1953. At the end of the Korean war, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Czechoslovakia took on the task of monitoring the ceasefire between North and South Korea.

To achieve this, these neutral states formed two commissions: the NNSC (Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission) and the NNRC (Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, 1953-1954).

The mission in Korea is the Swiss Armed Forces’ longest-running peacebuilding mission. Today, Switzerland still helps to build trust and transparency between the two Korean states by deploying five NNSC delegates there.

You can access the Korea collection online via the research portal Alexandria. Alternatively, you are welcome to consult the collection catalogue on-site at the library.

Links

• Library collection