Korean War and US general Douglas MacArthur

By Janet Shin

According to recent research, approximately 80 percent of South Koreans have a good impression of the United States. The exact figure may be due to the current political and social environments, but it seems obvious that most citizens have a favorable feeling toward Americans. Although each may have individual reasons, one specific incident in Korean history may have helped caused this perception _ and General MacArthur played a very important role in this phenomenon.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and began the Korean War (1950-1953), which is often referred to as “The Forgotten War.” The war lasted for three years, resulting in the division of the Korean territory. It was not a fight over national survival or even to protect the territory. The conflict between the Soviet-governed communist North and the U.S.-led democrats who occupied the South first erupted after the surrender of the imperialist Japanese in 1945. So the war was one of ideology between world powers, fighting on the Korean peninsula.

Douglas MacArthur was a commander of U.N. force to help South Korea during the conflict. On Sept. 15, MacArthur’s naval forces landed in Incheon just when the North Korean army had almost captured the southern part of Korea, forcing the Northern forces to retreat. The Incheon Landing gave a clear and strong perception to all South Koreans that the General MacArthur saved the country and its ideology.

Looking at his life, MacArthur himself also had peaks and lows. We are here to review the saju of MacArthur, who was born Jan. 26, 1880.

He was born with yang wood energy as per his day master. Yang wood is represented by big trees such as the pine or willow. It shows a desire for success and the competitiveness to win. Its energy is like an arrow that constantly moves forward, growing, rising and expanding. Yang wood people usually like to stand on the front line. Other friend stars in the day and year branches would have made him stronger than other ordinary wood people.

The month branch, which governs the day master, is earth. Earth is the money star and also signifies a father figure. In MacArthur’s life, we can see the influence of his father, who was also a major general. This type of earth represents a swampy, cold land, which means he needs warmth to balance the condition of his life aura.

On the other hand, we cannot see any water (knowledge star) or metal (career star) in his saju, as they are hidden in the month branch (yin earth).

The knowledge star denotes respect and reputation, and the career star is power. His knowledge star (water) is welcomed as it helps wood to grow. However, his career star (metal) needs to be taken care of cautiously. Adding more wood energy to this saju could have caused conflicts and controversies.

Now, if we look at specific incidents in his life, we would catch the facts that the water years brought him to fortune and honor; the fire years provided him with the visions to express his talents. But the years of wood and metal were likely to cause adversity with his competitors.

In 1899, the year of water, he entered West Point.

In 1905, the year of fire, he became the chief engineer of the Pacific division.

In 1906, the year of fire, he received orders to proceed to Tokyo. He remained busy that year with travel to India, China, Thailand, Japan and back to the United States.

In 1922, the year of earth, he married. Earth also stands for ``wife’’ for the wood day master.

Between 1924 and 1925, the years of water and earth, he was promoted, becoming the Army’s youngest major general.

1950 _ metal and wood _ was the year the Korean War broke out and when he orchestrated the Incheon landing. Though the incident may have made South Koreans perceive him a hero of the country, it caused great distress in his later life.

It’s possible he considered running for president as a Republican during the years of 1950-1951, as he received the energy of metal career star (power). However, his life would not have ended with power, according to his saju, and he chose another life path, stating that he had no political aspirations in 1952, the year of earth (money star).

The destiny that one pursues is written in saju. Though people may struggle to change their lives, it would seem many do not succeed in moving beyond their destiny.

Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny”?

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Contact Janet at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of ``Learning Four Pillars.’’

For more, visit her Web site at www.fourpillarskorea.com