The two Koreas : a contemporary history /

For Americans, Korea takes on special importance, not only because of the vicious war of 1950-1953 but also because so many US soldiers are still there. Any hostilities on the Korean peninsula would instantly involve the US. During a 1993 visit President Clinton called the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating the two Korean states "the scariest place on earth." Oberdorfer, a veteran journalist, knows his subject well and from firsthand experience. He offers the reader an excellent briefing, with much fresh, even exciting, information on Korean foreign policy (north and south) over the past 28 years or so. The book unfolds in a series of episodes not always smoothly fused (a sharp editorial touch would have removed repetitions), with the emphasis strongly on politics, although Korea's remarkable economic growth is constantly given mention. The author does not conceal his opinions, but they do not shape the material. He informs rather than lectures. Oberdorfer's style is descriptive rather than analytical; the result is a highly readable book, attractive to someone who a quick and informed introduction to an intricate and important subject. General readers; undergraduates. J. C. Perry Tufts University

Oberdorfer first toured Korea in 1953 courtesy of the U.S. Army and returned often on the Asia beat for the Washington Post. In the present volume, his accounts of the conflicts of the last 20 years, appraisals of leaders based on interviews in Korea, Japan, Washington, and Moscow, and incisive policy analysis form a detailed and insightful history of North and South Korean politics and U.S. policy. Particularly engrossing is the analysis of relations between Moscow and Washington and their defiant clients, which turned domestic rifts into world conflict from the 1950s through the potentially nuclear crisis of 1994 and the present famine. The obvious comparison is with Bruce Cumings's commanding Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History (LJ 2/15/97). Cumings analyzes the evolution and nature of Korea's political economy over the last few centuries. Oberdorfer brings to life the events, leaders, and decisions of the last 20 years. Larger public and academic collections will want both volumes.‘Charles Hayford, Evanston, Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An old Asia hand offers a briefing that's more notable for the breadth than for the depth with which it addresses the issues still dividing North from South Korea. Oberdorfer (The Turn, 1991, etc.) starts his narrative in 1972, the first time that Pyongyang representatives had openly visited Seoul since the peninsular country was partitioned in the wake of WW II, and then reviews the ongoing negotiations on reunification. The author (a former Far East correspondent for the Washington Post) goes on to detail the South's blood-sport approach to politics at a time when the continued presence of Kim Il Sung lent the North a measure of stability. By way of example, the KCIA gunned down Park Chung Hee, opening the way for Chun Do Hwan. Following deadly riots in 1987, another would-be strongman, Roh Tae Woo, bested reformers Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam for the presidency, leaving him to oversee the 1988 Olympiad successfully staged in Seoul. In the meantime, Beijing gave Seoul a jolt, following Moscow's lead and establishing diplomatic relations with South Korea. Shortly before the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's founding father died in mid-1994, the wider world and Washington became gravely concerned about the Red state's nuclear capabilities. Jimmy Carter helped avert a full-blown crisis, however, and Kim's son (Kim Jong Il), who inherited an economy on the rocks, is coping as best he can with famine and a host of other daunting internal problems. Yet the impoverished North continues its efforts to subvert the flourishing South. Even so, Oberdorfer is reluctant to predict whether, let alone when, the two Koreas will be reunited. Indeed, he exits on the breezy note that there's no telling what may happen in a country so full of surprises. A fine overview of Korea's recent past, which will leave most readers frustrated by its lack of analysis on what might lie ahead for this divided nation. (b&w photos, not seen)