GIs in the Land of the Morning Calm

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GIs in the Land of the Morning Calm

Posted : 2021-03-02 23:38

Updated : 2021-03-04 19:17

U.S. and Korean soldiers working together, published in The Korea Times Jan. 1, 1978. / Korea Times Archive

By Martin Limon

I think of myself as the Forrest Gump of Korea.

During five tours, starting in 1968 and ending in 1986, I stumbled into such a vast array of experiences that it provided me, I believe, with a unique view of not only the secretive and insular life of the 8th United States Army but more importantly an insight into how we lowly enlisted G.I.s interacted ― and often clashed ― with the broader Korean culture.

Author Martin Limon in 1975, left, and in the 21st century / Courtesy of Martin Limon

Over the years, my military duties were unusually varied. I worked in the 8th Army Public Affairs Office, wrote bylined articles for the Stars and Stripes, routed top-secret messages at the Yongsan Compound communications center, edited a small unit newspaper for the 1st Signal Brigade, served as a 105mm Howitzer gun crew chief near the DMZ, evaluated aerial imagery of North Korean military deployments and, finally, managed the enlisted club at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu. In my off-duty time, I developed skills as a blackjack card counter that not only supplemented my income but allowed me even more opportunity to travel.

Tourists visit the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, published in The Korea Times Sept. 20, 1986. / Korea Times Archive

These experiences have been the basis of the 15 novels and over 50 short stories that I have published during the past 30 years.

U.S. soldiers run on a U.S. military base in Korea, published in The Korea Times Jan. 1, 1978. / Korea Times Archive

Probably my greatest honor was being allowed, as a very young reporter for the Stars and Stripes, to interview Dr. Frank W. Schofield, a Canadian veterinarian who had participated in the 1919 March 1st Movement. After many years of absence, he had been invited by the Korean government to return to Seoul to attend the 50-year commemoration on March 1, 1969. I interviewed Dr. Schofield in a downtown Seoul hospital. Through his writings he had brought international attention to the Korean protests against Japanese occupation but he refused to talk about himself and spoke mostly about his respect for the Korean people's struggles and his high hopes for their future. A little more than a year later, he succumbed to illness and became the first foreigner to be buried in the Korean National Cemetery.

Yongsan's Knight Field, published in The Korea Times June 3, 1976. / Korea Times Archive

I received an over-the-top reprimand from a colonel back in 1969 for comparing North Korean rhetoric (capitalist running dogs) to the rhetoric used by the U.S. Forces Korea (lawless communist bandits) when reporting on a Military Armistice Commission meeting at Panmunjeom. Since an article referring to that 50-year-old scolding was published recently in The Korea Times, I've been asked why that colonel's anger seemed disproportionate to the alleged offense. For decades, I didn't know the answer.

The Joint Security Area between North and South Korea, published in The Korea Times Nov. 1, 1996. / Korea Times Archive

Finally, while reading a book published in 2013, "ACT OF WAR" by Jack Cheevers, an account of the hijacking of the USS Pueblo by the North Korean navy, I solved the riddle of that colonel's explosive rage. In the photo section, there he was, serving in Korea at the time while 82 U.S. sailors were held captive in North Korea. No mistake. I remembered him clearly. The book explained the raw nerve I had unwittingly stepped on. More importantly to me, the incident also inspired a similar but different character who I used to advance the plot of my 2018 novel, "The Line," featuring 8th Army CID agents George Sueno and Ernie Bascom.

The captured USS Pueblo is seen in Pyongyang in August 2010. / Courtesy of Jon Dunbar

I hope to show how all those years spent in Korea and in the U.S. Army somehow coalesced into a desire, finally, to write. A desire that hasn't left me in all the years since. And with any luck, never will.

Martin Limon is a full-time writer having published 14 novels set in Korea's modern past, featuring CID detectives Sueno and Bascom. He spent 20 years in the military, 10 of which were in Korea on three tours: 1968-69, 1973-76 and 1977-80.
Limon will give a lecture for Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea about his experiences that helped lead to his prolific writing career. The talk begins at 7:30 p.m. on March 9 and is free to attend, although donations are welcomed to support the society. Visit raskb.com for more information.

jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr