Voices from the Korean War: Personal Stories of American, Korean and Chinese Soldiers

By Xiaobing Li and Richard Peters

Book Overview

"In three days the number of so-called 'volunteers' reached over three hundred men. Very quickly they organized us into military units. Just like that I became a North Korean soldier and was on the way to some unknown place." -- from the book South Korean Lee Young Ho was seventeen years old when he was forced to serve in the North Korean People's Army during the first year of the Korean War. After a few months, he deserted the NKPA and returned to Seoul where he joined the South Korean Marine Corps. Ho's experience is only one of the many compelling accounts found in Voices from the Korean Wa r. Unique in gathering war stories from veterans from all sides of the Korean War -- American, South Korean, North Korean, and Chinese -- this volume creates a vivid and multidimensional portrait of the three-year-long conflict told by those who experienced the ground war firsthand. Richard Peters and Xiaobing Li include a significant introduction that provides a concise history of the Korean conflict, as well as a geographical and a political backdrop for the soldiers' personal stories.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813122937
• ISBN13: 9780813122939
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.4"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Unique Perspective on A Long Forgotten Conflict!

In "Voices from the Korean War" Xiaobing Li brings a unique perspective to a long forgotten conflict. Professors Li and Richard Peters, a Korean War veteran, have gathered together the personal stories of American, South and North Korean, and Chinese soldiers in the war. A short history of the conflict is provided at the beginning of the book and another chapter on perspectives at the end. In between, the authors allow the belligerents who fought the war on both sides to speak for themselves. The result is a uniquely compelling and informative work that is easy to read. I found the chapters written by North Korean and Chinese soldiers, as well as by those written by American soldiers held captive by the Communists, particularly interesting. The final chapter, written by a Chinese colonel who took part in the massive Koje-do Camp POW riots, is especially powerful and provides a new perspective on a conflict within a conflict that resulted in the death of hundreds of North Korean and Chinese prisoners of war. This book is recommended for anyone interested in the Korean War and especially in the experiences of the everyday soldiers on both sides that fought it.