Flashbacks from 'Miss Saigon'
By Chang Se-moon
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On Jan. 2, I was invited to enjoy the superbly-choreographed musical, “Miss Saigon,” at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
I expected a similarity in the story between the fall of Vietnam and the end of the Korea War in that both involved a massive withdrawal of American soldiers after a long and bloody war.
The story of “Miss Saigon” goes like this.
Shortly before the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, a 17-year old girl named Kim is brought to the Dreamland, a Saigon bar and brothelowned by the hustler named Engineer. The U.S. Marines arepartying with the Vietnamese sex workers at the bar. Chris Scott, a sergeant, goes to the bar with his friend John Thomas.
Girls at the bar compete for the title of Miss Saigon for the right to go to the Marine who wins a raffle. Gigi wins the crown for the evening and begs the Marine who won the raffle to take her to America.
It is not clear to me whether Chris won the raffle. Regardless, Chris is attracted to the young Kim. The two dance, and spend the night at Kim's room. The two fall in love and there is a long and lovely scene of them building up their bond.
The girls hold a wedding ceremony for Chris and Kim in which the night's Miss Saigon, Gigi, declares Kim as the real Miss Saigon. During the ceremony, Kim's cousin Thuy shows up to take Kim with him. When Kim was 13 years old, she was forced to marry Thuy. Thuy became an officer in the North Vietnamese Army and is unhappy to see Kim with Chris.
When Thuy and Chris point guns at each other, Kim tells Thuy that their arranged marriage is now over since her parents are dead. Thuy curses them and leaves the scene. Chris promises to take Kim with him when he leaves Vietnam.
The Vietnam War is over and the American soldiers, including Chris, have left, leaving Kim behind. The scene of a helicopter leaving the U.S. Embassy was superbly done. Chris did not know that Kim was pregnant with his baby.
Three years later in 1978, a street parade is taking place in Saigon to celebrate the unification of Vietnam and the defeat of the Americans. Thuy, a high-ranking officer in the Communist government, finds the Engineer, and forces him to find Kim who was hiding in a very poor area, still believing that Chris will come back and take her to America. Chris, on the other hand, married Ellen after he returned to America.
When the Engineer takes Thuy to Kim's hiding place, Thuy asks Kim to renew marriage. When Kim introduces her son Tam to Thuy, Thuy tries to kill Tam with a knife. Kim then pulls out a gun and kills Thuy.
Kim tells the Engineer of what happened. Still harboring the thought of going to America with Kim and Tam, the Engineer calls himself Tam's uncle and the three flee to Bangkok.
Through the organization that connects children conceived during the war with their American fathers, Chris finds out that Kim is alive and tells his wife Ellen about Kim. He goes to Bangkok with Ellen.
Hearing that Chris is in Bangkok, Kim now working as a dancer goes to his hotel room, where she finds Ellen alone. Ellen reveals that she is Chris's wife. Kim is heartbroken.
When Chris returns to hotel room, Kim has already left. Ellen tells Chris all about Kim's visit, and tells Chris that Kim wants to see him at her place. Back at her place, Kim lies to the Engineer that they are still going to America. The Engineer imagines the wonderful life that he will lead in America,and leads the best danceof the entire show of the evening, with all dancers repeatedly chanting “The American Dream.”
Chris, John and Ellen find the Engineer who takes them to see Kim and Tam.While the Engineer takes Tam outside to introduce him to his father, Kim shoots herself. When Chris comes in and holds Kim, she repeats something that he said to her on the first night they met. She dies in his arms.
All during the show, flashbacks of my own repeated in my mind. Two places in the U.S. I know of have a large Korean community: Enterprise in Alabama near Ft. Rucker Army training center where I assisted a woman by being a court-appointed interpreter, and Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, where I led a woman who could not speak Englishto an airport authority.
Both have a large number of Korean females who were married to American soldiers. Some lived happily, some were divorced, and some were abandoned.
Itaewon in Seoul was notorious for many Korean girls who entertained American soldiers just like Miss Saigon did. Koreans treated these ladies and their children terribly. When you think about it, it is the fault of society for them to be placed where they were. I think it is about time for all of us to treat them and their history in a positive perspective.
Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies.