Another masterpiece by Park Tae-gyun following 『The Korean War』!

Why did the United States intervene in the Vietnam War? And why did South Korea, unable to even protect its own security, send combat troops to Vietnam? Why did the South Korean government decide to send troops when Britain and France, America's closest allies, refused to participate in the Vietnam War, which was initiated by active US intervention? Where does the Vietnam War, as remembered by us, originate?
Professor Park Tae-gyun of Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies, who received attention in 2005 for his book "The Korean War," has published a new book that comprehensively covers the Vietnam War.
This book was published after analyzing a vast amount of data, including domestic and international books and papers, as well as diplomatic documents, and after over ten years of research.

From the time South Korea first dispatched troops to the Vietnam War in 1964 until their withdrawal in March 1973, more than 320,000 South Korean troops went to Vietnam.
About 5,000 of them were killed in action, and more than 10,000 suffered from Agent Orange after the war.
And countless innocent Vietnamese people died.
The dispatch of troops to the Vietnam War was notable as the first and largest overseas dispatch of troops, and it was also a landmark event in modern Korean history as it had a significant impact on Korea's economic growth.
However, the issue of massacres of deployed soldiers and civilians, hidden in the special circumstances of war, is nowhere to be found.
We examine the footprints left by the Vietnam War, another war of the 20th century, on Korea and the world.

When the United States first requested the dispatch of Korean troops, the South Korean government's decision was based on considerations for the ROK-US alliance and to prevent a reduction in US troops stationed in Korea or their transfer to Vietnam.
But over time, the South Korean government learned that it was possible to achieve another goal.
The point was that it was possible to receive more compensation from the United States, as the United States urgently wanted more Korean troops.
The Brown Memorandum of early 1966 was a prime example.
The Brown Memorandum contained a provision that the United States would provide economic as well as military aid to Korea in return for sending combat troops to Korea.
However, while the United States viewed the Brown Memorandum as the final compensation to the Korean government, Korea viewed it as a signal that it could receive more compensation.
--- p.40

The reasons why the United States and its allies withdrew from the Vietnam War without achieving their intended objectives can be approached from three main aspects.
First, the United States intervened in a war without a justification and waged the war with a flawed strategy.
Second, it was criticized by world public opinion for its immoral behavior, including the massacre of civilians.
Finally, the Vietnamese people fought well against the United States and its allies.
Although all three issues were important, the most important cause of the escalation of the Vietnam War was American policy and strategic errors.
And the faulty American strategy was due to America's miscalculation of Vietnam.
The United States and its allies did not fully understand why the war in Vietnam had begun.
Is the main enemy North Vietnam or the Viet Cong? Are the majority of South Vietnamese who support the Viet Cong enemies or allies? If Vietnam becomes communist, could China bring all of Southeast Asia under its sphere of influence? --- p.84

Going to war and sacrificing one's life for something is never easy.
There must be something worth sacrificing one's life to protect.
Something more important to me than life.
It was necessary to prove to those who lived in the Cold War era, a time when they “firmly pledged to dedicate their bodies and minds to the eternal glory of their country and people and to be loyal,” and who were “born in this land with the historical mission of national revival,” that it was worth risking their lives to protect something.
(…) the state failed to give them a reason to fight.
And instead of protecting their individual security, it threatened their security.
There they had to fight on their own, without the protection of the state.
The anti-war movement spread worldwide.
Why is the security of a nation that cannot protect the security of individuals important? The anti-war movement arose not only socially but also within the military.
--- pp.122-123

What must have been the feelings of the citizens who watched the Tet Offensive on TV? Having witnessed the deaths of their neighbors, the young men next door, their nephews, and their children during the Tet Offensive, citizens concluded that they could no longer send their young people into this swamp.
The anti-war movement gained momentum, and the leaders who had decided to intervene deeply were now forced to step down.
President Johnson requested negotiations with Ho Chi Minh on April 15, 1968.
It was a historic day.
It recognized North Vietnam as a dialogue partner.
When the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred in 1964, the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese supporters were simply targets to be eliminated from this world, but now they are partners in dialogue.
(…) Even while proposing negotiations, there was something Johnson did not forget.
A threat of massive retaliation if the US offer is not accepted.
But it was not Ho Chi Minh but Johnson who backed down.
--- p.179

Amidst the strengthening of the conscription system and the full implementation of the resident registration system, which strengthened social mobilization and control, President Park Chung-hee suddenly emphasized the importance of the "second economy" during a New Year's press conference on January 16, 1968.
As the material 'first economy' grew, a corresponding spiritual 'second economy' was needed.
President Park insisted that a "mental reform effort" must begin to eliminate "mental backwardness."
It was similar to Lee Gwang-su's theory of national reform.
The second economic theory, which aimed to reform the people's spirit, led to the erection of a statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin in Gwanghwamun in 1968 and the enactment of the National Education Charter.
Now, a system was created that could successfully mobilize and control all citizens “born into this land with the historical mission of national revival.”
--- p.218

The South Korean army also suffered considerable casualties during the withdrawal process because it withdrew only at the very last minute.
(…) The Viet Cong also launched a full-scale offensive ahead of the ceasefire.
The Korean army was caught up in the fierce battle between the South Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong to secure one more place before the ceasefire.
(…) While the ROK military was no longer an "Aladdin's lamp" preventing the reduction or withdrawal of US troops, was it also seen as an "Aladdin's lamp" in another sense, capable of modernizing the ROK military through wartime specials or US aid? While the ROK military struggled on the Vietnam front, news related to wartime specials constantly filled the Korean newspapers.
After the Blue Dragon Unit withdrawal plan, the Army Division withdrawal plan was postponed from June to December 1972 and then again to the following year.
--- pp.264-265

Humans are stupid.
Because it is quickly forgotten.
The United States, which was struggling in the swamp of Vietnam, said it would not get stuck in the swamp any longer.
But now the United States is stuck in the swamps of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Vietnam War taught Korean society the lessons of democracy, transparency, and fairness.
Although democratization has been achieved, Korea is currently failing to properly fulfill any of these three goals.
As President Park Chung-hee pointed out in his emergency address in 1975, we are 'wasting time by just sitting around arguing point by point.'
We must not forget the lessons of the Vietnam War in order to 'unite the government, the military, and the people as one and confront with all our might.'
We must become a government that the people want to protect.
That's not going to happen soon.
--- pp.319-320

Does the portrayal of the Vietnam War in Korean films and dramas accurately portray the true nature of the conflict? Unfortunately, the true nature of the Vietnam War and the situations Korean soldiers actually experienced are not portrayed realistically.
(…) Korean films and dramas about the Vietnam War clearly show the content and characteristics of Korean society’s memories of the Vietnam War.
In Korean society, only half of the Vietnam War is remembered.
Only what you want to remember is remembered.
Memories of only part of an event, rather than the whole event, also distort the event itself.

--- p.324