From Pusan to Panmunjom (An Ausa Book) [Hardcover]

Sun Yup Paik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992 | Series: An Ausa Book

Here is General Paik Sun Yup's personal story of a cataclysmic war that many are only now beginning to understand. His candid reflections on the desperate battles he fought as the leader of ill-equipped and untrained South Korean troups brings new insights to this key moment in world history. 12 photographs and 9 maps.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

General Paik, acknowledged by most military specialists as the finest South Korean commander in the 1950-53 conflict, has written the first account of this war from the perspective of the nation that provided the most manpower and suffered the greatest casualties. Rising from division commander to commander-in-chief to representative at the peace talks, Paik provided the leadership largely responsible for the transformation of the South Korean Army into a formidable ally. He presents revealing insights into allied strategy, which he feels was wrong, and allied leaders--he dubs Van Fleet and Ridgeway competent, MacArthur vain and weak. His book offers a different perspective on a war that caused as many allied casualties as the longer Vietnam conflict. For all Korean War collections.
- Richard Nowicki, Emerson Vocational H.S., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Engrossing wartime memoirs from South Korea's first four-star general. Paik was a 29-year-old colonel in command of the 1st ROK Division when Communist forces rolled across the provisional boundary partitioning Korea in mid-1950. Though outgunned, Paik's ill-equipped, poorly trained men performed valiantly, halting the enemy's sneak assault on the South for a precious three days. Having helped create a defensive perimeter north of Pusan around the Naktong River, the author's South Korean troops then went on the attack. In the murderous period following Chinese intervention, Paik's prowess on battlegrounds up and down the peninsula earned him promotion to chief of staff of the ROK Army. In addition to overseeing its expansion and deployment under fire, he represented his country's interests in armistice negotiations, first at Kaesong and later at Panmunjom. Beyond its harrowing accounts of front-line engagement--in which quarter was neither asked nor given--the author's narrative goes a long way toward setting the record straight on such issues as the cruel myth that ROK units did not pull their weight in combat. While no match for their foe at the outset, his soldiers, Paik documents, fought in subsequent campaigns even though they were the preferred targets of Communist offensives (owing mainly to their relative lack of firepower). The author also conveys the immense difficulties involved in building, equipping, and training an army during a vicious conflict and while almost wholly dependent upon the resources of allies with variant agendas. Much has been written of the Korean War's geopolitical and military significance. While scanting neither, Paik reminds an often forgetful world of the country that, in a struggle for its very survival, provided the most manpower and sustained the greatest casualties. Impressive and instructive. The vivid, perceptive text has maps (not seen). -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Brassey's Inc (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028810023
• ISBN-13: 978-0028810027
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST KOREAN-AUTHORED BOOK ON THE KOREAN WAR., May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From Pusan to Panmunjom (An Ausa Book) (Hardcover)

I FIND GEN PAIK'S ACCOUNT OF THE KOREAN WAR TO BE REFRESHING AND ACCURATE. ONE MUST NEVER FORGET THE STATUS OF THE ROK ARMY AT THE ONSET OF THE KOREAN WAR. HIS LEADERSHIP AND COURAGE SET AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL ROK AND UN SOLDIERS. I GRANT YOU, THE BOOK IS SOMEWHAT 'HAZY' AT TIMES AND OFTEN APPEARS ROK 'SELF SERVING', BUT THAT IS REALLY NOT THE CASE WHEN ONE CONSIDERS HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THE CULTURE (TRANSLATION) IN WHICH HE WRITES. IT IS TRUELY A REMARKABLE ACCOUNT OF A GREAT WARRIOR. IT NEEDS TO BE RE-PUBLISHED SO THAT ALL CAN GREATLY APPRECIATE THE TREMENDOUS SACFICES MADE BY THE GENERAL AND FOR THAT MATTER THE KOREAN PEOPLE. I HAVE READ THE BOOK NO LESS THAN 5 TIMES, OFTEN MARKING PASSAGES, AND EACH TIME I FIND A NEW UNDERSTANDING FOR A GREAT PEOPLE AND A GREAT WARRIOR. POULIOT

4.0 out of 5 stars A believable memoir by ROK's best fighting general, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From Pusan to Panmunjom (An Ausa Book) (Hardcover)

The book is a believable account by ROK's finest general in the Republic's history, albeit somewhat embellished. I, myself, am a Korean but can cut through the crap, when I smell one. The memoir's contension that the ROK troops have stood and fought despite the insurmountable odds are seriously challenged by the Americans who fought with them.</p>
During the Korean Conflict, the ROK fighting units were, all too often, substandard, poorly-led by inexperienced, underaged incompetents, thus, undisciplined and cowardly. The ROK troops suffered from pathological fear of the NK tanks and the Chinese volunteers, and thus relied heavily on the American firepower to do the fighting for them. (General, your men never could "decimate" the Chinese alone!) The only exception to the South Korean rule were the 1st ROK Division commanded by the author himself, and the ROK Marine Regiment.</p>
In any event, the exploits of the General and his division is well documented. I was quite frankly amazed with his superb English. The author's well-written account is somewhat believable, but the highly-exaggerated tales of the "ROK fighting prowess," prevents this memoir from earning five stars.</P>

5.0 out of 5 stars Best look at the Korean War from Korea's 1st 4 Star General, August 24, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Pusan to Panmunjom (An Ausa Book) (Hardcover)

Taken in context and compared against all that has been written about the Korean War, GEN Paik provides his personal account of Korea's fight against the Communist North. GEN Paik explains the difficulty his newly freed country has fighting their brothers, winning and then having the Chinese weigh in against them. He looks at his experiences with the U.S. officers and enlisted who shed their blood along side their Korean comrades and helped to preserve a free country in the South. GEN Paik discusses the troubles his new found Army (50 years old this Oct 1998) adapting to modern equipment and tactics after being under the rule of Imperial Japan. A must read if you are truely interested in Korea and the Korean War. This book is an excellent read and a wonderful new look at the Korean War.