Remembering Korea 1950: A Boy Soldier'S Story (Paperback)

by H. K. Shin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
When the North Korean army invaded South Korea in June 1950, H. K. Shin was a sixteen-year-old high-school student in Chinju, about ninety miles west of the port city of Pusan. The son of a poor civil servant, Shin had grown up in a traditional Korean household in a small agricultural town about fifty miles away. The invasion of a country still reeling from decades of Japanese occupation and intense post-World War II political turmoil created a national disaster. Shin's school was closed, and he and his younger brother returned to their home in Kochang. But the family was very soon forced to flee their home, and Shin ended up in alone in Pusan, a refugee without resources or any means of support. To save himself from destitution, he lied about his age and volunteered for service in the South Korean army.

Shin's account of the months that followed is a unique, vivid, and often intensely moving record of the Korean War from the perspective of an ordinary ROK soldier. He recounts his hasty training and subsequent experiences as a battlefield soldier in North Korea, as a guard in a prisoner-of-war camp, and as a refugee again in the massive flight of civilians and ROK military personnel retreating before the onslaught of the Chinese invasion. Through it all, Shin struggles to retain his humanity and pursue his education. In the process, the naïve schoolboy becomes a man.

Today, H. K. Shin is an internationally respected chemist, but in the pages of this memoir he carries us back to Korea during a pivotal moment in that country's history. This is the first account in English that describes the war from the perspective of a Korean who lived through and fought in it. Shin's detailed, remarkably readable and lively narrative will be unforgettable reading for anyone interested in the history of modern Korea. It is also a stirring monument to the survival of human decency and kindness in the midst of terror, cruelty, despair, and the destruction of a proud nation.

About the Author
H. K. Shin, a professor of chemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno, has published widely in his field. A Boy Soldier Remembers is his first nonscientific work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874174821
• ISBN-13: 978-0874174823
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,428,361 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh and Important Perspective, May 30, 2001

By	Tom Bliss "tom_bliss" (New York) - See all my reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this moving story of a boy removed suddenly and without ceremony from high school and thrown at an all-to-early age into combat and all variety of other circumstances of war.

While we in the USA have a tendancy to dwell on the impact to the USA and our soldiers, here is a local perspective. Ironically, in addition to seeing Korea through the eyes of this young soldier, we see the UN troops from his perspective and so get an additional point of reference on ourselves.

In addition to being a great, fresh perspective, what happens to Private Shin is incredible. It is a laugh, cry and be moved type of adventure that compells you to read it in one sitting.