One Piece Of The Korean Puzzle
353216
In many military history classes, this book is taught under strict instruction and with numerous other sources to collaborate and contradict the text that Ridgeway has written.  Without a balanced, structured, approach to this book, a reader will come away with an incomplete and biased view of the Korean War.

The nuanced evaluations of the relationship between MacArthur and Truman are a thinly veiled contrast to his own relationship with President Eisenhower. Disagreements between the two while Ridgeway was Chief of Staff ultimately ended a career that many assumed would continue.  Additionally, Ridgeway is widely noted as a student of Patton - some going so far to allege that Ridgeway viewed himself as Patton's successor.  The portrayal of MacArthur as narcissistic serves to make MacArthur's dismissal justified while Ridgeway's appears to be an injustice. The added bonus is that by tarnishing MacArthur, Ridgeway bolsters the image of himself as a successor to Patton. This memoir was published a year after Ridgeway's retirement - surely such thoughts were on this mind while it was written. While interesting, Ridgeway's take on the Truman/MacArthur relationship is unreliable and self serving.

Another self serving aspect is the diminished acknowledgement Ridgeway gives to James Van Fleet, widely considered today to be the true genius of the Korean War and the father of the modern South Korean military. This is one of the primary reasons why this book must be supplemented with other, unbiased sources.

The greatest tragedy of this work is the way that Ridgeway develops his assessments on the effectiveness of limited versus total war. From the first chapter, a palatable white man's burden emerges from his narrative.  While many of his descriptions are factually true, his conclusions about many sociological aspects of Korean culture are inaccurate. This ultimately invalidates many of his arguments about the outcome of the Korean War as a victory. The Korean people suffered - and still continue to - long after hostilities ceased. What infuriates many scholars is his refusal to acknowledge in a book written over a decade after the war that his "limited war" may have brought just as much misery and suffering as the total war he avoided. That its publication coincided with his retirement over disagreements about the scope of American involvement in Vietnam bitterly punctuates his assessments.

None of this means that "The Korean War" isn't relevant or valuable as a text. The Korean War is undoubtedly complex and this is one piece and one perspective that help an individual gain knowledge. However, this book should not be read without some kind of supplement. The classic "This Kind of War" by T.R. Fehrenbach and "From Pusan to Panmunjom" by Paik Sun Yup provide excellent counterbalances to this flawed memoir.
1047142
Our Twisted Hero is both the story of a student dealing with a classroom bully and also a political allegory with hints of Orwell's Animal Farm, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and a fair bit of Golding's Lord of the Flies. The political allegory, of course, is intended to refer to Korea and its recent history.

Beneath it's simple schoolroom setting is a meditation on totalitarianism, and how intellectuals who might oppose it are at least partially brought to heel by it, either through a process of intimidation, or a process of assimilation and ease. Even when they can escape, the process is messy and incomplete.

In some ways it is a fish out of water story with a young protagonist (I say protagonist because he is not the "hero" of the title) moving from Seoul to the countryside and entering a new school there. The protagonist, Han Pyong-Tae is a clever fellow, and sees his new, somewhat bumpkin schoolmates as beneath him. He plans to become student #1. This ascension is blocked, however, by Om Sokdae, a student of extreme power and charisma, little formal intellect, but a rather devious understanding of power and coercion. Om Sokdae rules the classroom through a cult of personality that would be immediately recognizable by Koreans on either side of the 38th parallel.

Om Sokdae's orderly rule is, of course, a representation of Korea under its dictatorial regimes and the idealistic but utterly failed leadership that follows is representative of the early democratic regimes, which could not successfully follow the dictatorships. A hint is also made here that in the new, freer regime, certain ex-subjects will look back with nostalgia on the previous oppressive era.

This is an interesting take, and Yi Mun-yol was one of the first Korean writers who did not merely apply a romantic gloss to the awkward flounderings of the early Korean democracy. As far as I know, Ch'oe Yun's The Grey Snowman was the next to take on this kind of issue, and that was in 1992, nearly 5 years later.

Han Pyong-Tae fights mightily against Om Sokdae's regime, but even when Han temporarily gets his teacher on his side, he fails. Om's regime is eventually threatened, but only by an even greater `totalitarian' power.

Our Twisted Hero should only take an hour or two to read (Amazon estimates the Kindle pages at 64, and it combines an fairly understandable and relatable story of school and bullying with a brilliant series of political allegories.

Definitely one of Yi Mun-yol's best.
1925833
First of all, I'd like to admit that I don't own the book, but I used the Look Inside feature to sample it.  I've been living in Korea for over 10 years, and have learned to speak Korean reasonably well.  This book may serve someone who is casually interested in Korean, but for someone who really wants to learn Korean, it has at least one obvious drawback.  The words aren't written in Korean.  Korean has it's own phonetic writing system which is very easy to learn (I taught my mother the basics in only 2 hours).  Furthermore, Korean pronunciation is significantly different from English that trying to write Korean words in English (or vice versa) is pretty futile.

If you just want to scan through, pick up a couple phrases like "Hello" and "Thank you", along with some cultural tips, this book would probably be fine for you.  If you're really looking to study Korean, go elsewhere.

Click on my name to see my reviews of my favorite Korean language resources.
1675094
The book gives a good insight into North Korea and how hard it is to change the culture of an individual. A very easy read for a book based on fact
3237447
The name of the group is misspelled on this poster. It reads Blown instead of Brown. I'm assuming whomever translated it, translated it from the original Korean and isn't very good at English. I actually find it funny.
1766591
The korean language version has won critical acclaim, and I have bought that version because I've heard about the English translation not being as accurate.

The book contains a lot of basic recipes that I can relate to, but there are a few that are needlessly complicated (spicy rice cake stir fry being a big offender). Also, some ingredients will be named but will not have measurements because it will be to taste (this includes vegetables like green onions).

In korea, like in many other countries, recipes vary between regions as well as by families. So what is in this book isn't definitively "the recipe" for a particular dish.
4474479
My father had this puzzle. I played with it for about a half an hour and found it challenging, but I thought it would be an interesting exercise to write a computer program to solve it. So I did, and less than an hour later found the solution. There is only one solution and its reflections.
180835
The biases of those interested in this book are: Korea does/does not have 5000 years of history. The author is quite outspoken in his assertion that, if by "Korean" we mean a "Korean state", then a Korean state can only be traced as far back as the third century AD. Though the archeological record of those peoples who became modern Koreans go further back than that. He renders a valuable service in placing names to the various progenitors of the 5000 year history view, and the trends of thought that they represented. Not being tremenduously interested in archeology, my eyes glazed over with the myriad descriptions of dig sites that undoubtedly interest true archeologists. It is easy to see why this dissertation has offended so many Korean nationalists, particularly those in whose eyes the inhabitants of Gogoryo of 2500 years ago are identical genetic, linguistic, and cultural twins to modern day Koreans. A useful book for anyone interested in Korean origins, but targeted to those with more than an amateur interest in archeology.
178175
I lived in Korea in the beginning of the '70s, so looked forward to this book.  I think the translations were ok, but the pace of the stories was a little slow and hard to plow through.  Worth it, if you can stick to it..
4724036
For some reason, perhaps because of an abiding interest in totalitarian governments, I have become enamored with reading about North Korea - The Hermit Kingdom.  This book certainly looked fascinating because of the author's journey to North Korea and teaching at a 'officially sanctioned' school in Pyongyang.

Unlike years ago, with the rise of cheap technology including cameras, video, storage and other media that is readily accessible and able to to be easily secreted and transported, places like The Hermit Kingdom are becoming more difficult to insulate.  The author apparently had been to North Korea on other occasions, including the infamous New York Philharmonic trip to North Korea in 2008.  So, it is a bit surprising she is allowed to become a teacher at the PUST, ostensibly a Christian missionary college that becomes a magnet for many of the elite boys in Pyongyang (the elite don't live elsewhere in North Korea).

Her experiences are fascinating in the strange mixture of brainwashed, yet curious boys.  Imagine that the computer majors aren't allowed to access the internet freely, have no idea of Facebook and a myriad other recent technological developments, but are still expected to be well-versed in the 'world' constructed for them.  Yet, while ignorant of some pieces of basic knowledge we assume is common knowledge, the children of Pyongyang aren't allowed to travel anywhere, and are constantly monitored by everyone including classmates, and are taught, despite basic logic and slipping control, that an invasion by the United States and South Korea is imminent.  In short, it truly is Orwell's 1984 in real life.

Suki Kim is naturally a journalist writing here, and while she is allowed certain privileges (some basic internet access, television (few channels) and some shopping privileges, her life is about the students.  Her descriptions of the interactions is just amazing, because everything she says must be circumscribed due to the basic fact that she cannot be seen to be boasting or denigrating North Korea.  Imagine being asked why the United States has so many starving people - when you compare the streets of Pyongyang and the stunted people! - without trying to blurt out the obvious facts about North Korea.  It is, as she describes, tiring.

In short, if you wonder what life in North Korea is like, this is a very valuable account.  No, this book doesn't expose the reader to the prison camps, the true evil of the cult of Kim Sung I, II and III, and the complete misery of life of the average North Korean, but it sure sure shows you that the edifice of perfection that this cult projects is on a foundation of total lies and cruelty!  For that, this book is a valuable resource.  It is like watching a Twilight Zone episode, but yet it is real (and just visit Youtube for video proof).  A most worthwhile read.
2769618
In most histories of the Korean War, the Korean army tends to be overlooked except with respect to their combat abilities, or lack thereof.  However, this is a harsh assessment, and it should be noted that the Korean army put more troops in the field than the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada combined.  So while it could be considered that as a whole, the Korean army did not perform particularly well in combat, they did bear their fair share of the fighting, and this is reflected in their losses.  However, there were units of the ROK army that were militarily capable, and these obviously tended to be units led by the competent officers of the ROK army.  Paik was one such individual, who is regarded by Max Hastings in his book "The Korean War" as being the "ablest South Korean commander".  "From Pusan to Panmunjom" is the story of Paik's war, which stretched from the beginning of the war as a field commander to its conclusion, just over three years later, at which time Paik was Army Chief of Staff, and a four star general.

General Paik Sun-yup was commander of the 1st ROK Division at the time of the North Korean invasion of the South, which commenced in June 1950, and it is these early days of the war which form the initial portion of the book.  Paik remained in command during the counteroffensive, and led the 1st ROK division into Pyongyang.  This was significant for Paik, who had been forced to flee the city in late 1945 when communists threatened.  Paik then proceeded onto the Yalu.  Of course, the course of the war was quickly reversed upon entry of the Chinese into the theatre of war, and following the retreat of the allied forces, the war settled into a stalemate.  Paik, being involved as a field commander throughout the entire war, is ideally placed to comment and provide his views and experiences on all the major actions and phases of the Korean War.  Paik provides a mixture of command and field level experiences - ranging from interrogating Chinese POWs to having a telephone conversation with a frightened North Korean soldier defending Pyongyang as the 1st ROK Division approached from one direction while the US 1st CAV approached from another.  There are also interesting accounts of the interaction with American forces.  The great value in this book is the Korean perspective of the Korean/US relationship. It seems that, contrary to the generally accepted view, there was a great deal of respect between the American units that supported the 1st ROK Division (which admittedly was one of the most, if not the most, capable Korean unit).  Nonetheless, there were difficulties in the Korean/US relationship, and Paik does tend to tiptoe through these carefully.

Unlike some memoirs, there are a few (large scale) maps interspersed throughout the text that assist the reader in understanding the movement of various units.  There is also a selection of black & white photographs.  Generals Ridgway and van Fleet (Ridgway's successor as commander of the US 8th Army), both of whom worked with Paik, contributed a foreword. At times, the language tends to be relatively formal - but every now and then Paik breaks into a more casual turn of phrase.

"From Pusan to Panmunjom" is recommended for all those interested in the Korean War - this book offers a Korean perspective on the events of the war, a perspective which is in contrast to the multitude of US-centric books on the Korean War that are available.
176485
When Suki Kim was thirteen living in South Korea, her fathers business went bankrupt. Because bankruptcy was an offense punishable by law, Suki and her family fled to America. In her heart, however, Suki has always felt her home to be Korea. She feels displaced, melancholy, and haunted by stories of Korea and the tragedies of those family members who disappeared into Kim Jong-ils Hermit Kingdom. In this context, Suki, a successful novelist, writer, journalist, and professor, infiltrates North Korea posing as a Christian missionary and as an ESL teacher where she teaches college-age boys English.

There is a tension between what she knows and what she can tell he boys; what mythology the North Korean presents of itself and the hell that is the true reality. Kim must navigate these disparities while aching with melancholy as she contemplates her family members who disappeared there. This is a book about torment, deception, and myth-making.

The hell of Pyongyang is not just its appearance, but its symbolism. As we read, But it was not Pyongyangs physical attributes physical attributes that made it so ugly in my eyes. It was what it stood for. It was the most horrible city in the world to me, and every time I saw it in the distance, on the horizon, outside the van window, I felt disheartened. Pyongyang was the Xanadu of North Koreathe city the rest of the country slaved to feed. It was a greedy, bloodsucking monster, and sometimes I wished it would just go up in smoke.
4150433
I like this story. A little insight into South Korean students in the US and some of the daily struggles. While fiction, the reader gets a sense of a the author's perspective.
2474330
The best book you can know about Korea.
But I think part of content may embarrass
South Koreans.
Interpretation is Wetern-oriented.
1428062
Although Chong-Sik Lee is clearly biased towards the good things that Park Chung-hee did for Korea and doesn't mention a lot of the repression, it is an interesting look at Park's life.
4466715
I won't lie, the title is misleading. That's why I only gave it 4 stars. On the other hand, the book is excellent if you understand what it will and will not do: The book WILL help you learn the Korean alphabet. The book will NOT help you do much else. ^_^ That's a bit of hyperbole but there's very little reading material here so you'll have to look elsewhere for that.

I would recommend this as a first step for a complete newbie to the Korean language. In my case, I checked the book out from the library, read it a couple of days on the treadmill, made some flashcards, and was done with the book. I wouldn't necessarily buy it unless you've got some money to burn or just like having an extensive library!

In fact, if you actually have Korean friends/relatives to help you out, you may just want to skip on over to the New Sogang Korean series. It's an import but a good place to start as a beginner. Good luck!
2477586
Pretty good.  I'm 100% Korean .
  The questions are not that easy for me even though I'm a pretty much educated person.