Korea
The Forgotten Fighting Irish of the Korean War
I always look forward to St. Patrick’s Day. My maternal grandfather, Patrick J. Sullivan, did too. His father had come to America from County Kerry, Ireland, at the turn of the 20th century and had settled in Holyoke, Massachusetts, home at that time to one of the largest Irish-American communities outside of Boston. He worked…
Read MoreBringing History to Life: The Power of a Road Trip
Let’s go! Bali, Bali, Hurry, Hurry! Grab your bags and get on the bus! We all remember our favorite field trip. Whether it was for a day, an overnight, or a week, it became a permanent part our of memory. Snapshots of the teacher, place, and key moments of the outing flash through our minds…
Read MoreThe March First Movement and a Tiger Grandmother’s Legacy
I never met Shin Ae-gyun. But I wish I had. To spend just one day with her asking questions about her life and son, Dr. Hyun Bong-hak, the man who helped save 100,000 North Korean refugees at Hungnam, would have been wonderful. I know her only through family accounts, letters, pictures, and her autobiography, “Tiger…
Read MoreChildhood Dog Tag Hunts
Country “A”: “We don’t study that.” “No, our teachers never talk about it.” “I may have heard about it in a movie but not at school.” Country “B”: “Oh, yes, we learn about it starting in grade school.” “It’s taught as a great victory.” “We study it in detail.” Living in Korea for the past…
Read MoreHappy Birthday to the Soldier Who Never Left
Stepping off the bus in January 1965, US Army Private First Class John Nowell, a 22-year-old California native who’d been drafted the year before, immediately knew Seoul wasn’t the place for him. The impoverished city of 3.2 million, with few cars, an abundance of ox-pulled carts, spicy food he didn’t like, and people he couldn’t…
Read MoreSmall Town, Big Heroes: South Charleston, West Virginia
I’ve never visited South Charleston, West Virginia, but after spending the past two days reading about the small city, located four miles west of the state capital and on the south bank (hence its name) of the Kanawha River, I feel like I’ve been there. I know it has six elementary schools and a middle and…
Read MoreWhat’s in a Name?
We all have one, and although we have no choice in deciding what it’ll be, it’s permanent, staying with us from cradle to grave. It becomes a defining feature of our human character, and long after we’re gone, a memorial to what we did or didn’t do during our time on earth. Whether it’s chiseled…
Read MoreAlways Faithful: Three Marines, Two Countries, One Mission
In early 1956, with Elvis songs flooding the airwaves, “I Love Lucy” beaming into living rooms, and Eisenhower preparing to run for a second term, three young men reported to Quantico, Virginia. They were beginning The Basic School, or TBS, a six-month training program designed to turn newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenants into knowledgeable and confident…
Read MoreDuring the Darkest Hours Shine the Brightest Stars
They lived for the moment. They struggled, loved, failed, succeeded, and carried with them the enduring sentiments of optimism and hope, uncertainty and fear. The days, months, and years of their lives passed quickly, and like many of us, they wondered where the time had gone. But despite their “ordinary” lives, they performed extraordinary acts…
Read MoreThe Kim Sisters to K-Pop – Korean Music Makes Its Mark
Koreans love their music. From Pansori, a traditional Korean, operatic-style performance with a singer and drummer, to K-pop, the phenomenon that’s sweeping the world with its all-boy and girl bands, to the ever-popular karaoke, or “noraebang,” establishments where friends, usually after a night of drinking, sing in small rooms equipped with a sound system, video…
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