Customer Reviews

The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Revised and Updated Edition)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don Oberdorfer's The Two Koreas is generally a triumph of style over substance and I do not believe that it merits all of the high ratings it has received here. He does not know Korea as well as some of the other reviewers here think he does. To be sure, Oberdorfer is a compelling writer and he tells the story of North and South Korea since the 1970s with a great deal of flair. He did turn up some useful materials on American policy toward Seoul and Pyongyang during the 1980s through filing Freedom of Information Act requests. Through the use of these materials, interviews and newspaper articles, the book gives a fairly thorough if workmanlike account of Korean history from the early 1970s through the 1990s. He covers the emergence of Yusin, the Seoul Olympics, the negotiation of the Agreed Framework and other events in a fairly readable manner.

But Oberdorfer's overall knowledge of Korea and Korean history is very shallow. Oberdorfer does not speak or read Korean and he can only use Korean sources that have been translated for him. His research in Korean materials is non-existent. How can a serious expert on Korean history not cite a single Korean language source in his entire work? Those who lavish praise on the Two Korea's really need to answer this question. The author's limited knowledge of Korean history often shows in his analysis. First, his chapters on Korea before the 1970s are extremely superficial and contain very little useful information. In this sense, the book has a sort of truncated structure. Koreas history since the 1970s is incomprehensible without an understanding of the period between 1945 and 1972 when Korea was divided and the two Korean states were launched on their very different trajectories. Oberdorfer really doesn't give any reason for why he begins with the 1970s although I suspect that the real reason is that this is the time that he started covering it as a journalist.

I also believe that scholars working on a particular issue have an obligation to examine all relevant materials. But Oberdorfer does not examine any of the new Korean materials that became available at the time that he was writing the book. Even more materials were available at the time that he wrote the revised edition but again Obedorfer chose to ignore these. The documents declassified by the ROK Foreign Ministry tell a story that is different in many places than the one that Oberdorfer tells. They demonstrate in many instances that the considerations of South Korean officials were more complex than Oberdorfer makes them out to be. They also demonstrate the importance of Korean agency to many of the events that Oberdorfer describes. The book's failure to incorporate these and other Korean materials represent a significant failing.

Ultimately, Oberdorfer's telling of the events of the last three decades could have been greatly enriched by a deeper understanding of how the actions taken by Korea's leaders during this period were rooted in Korea's long history and fascinating culture. Like Nicholas Eberstadt, Selig Harrison and other Washington area journalists who write about Korea without ever bothering to learn the language or study Korean history, Oberdorfer is really just a dabbler in Korean politics. His work may satisfy those who want a basic telling of recent events but is useless to those who want to gain a deeper understanding of Korean history.

Length:: 3:05 Mins

Brief, general impressions of Don Oberdorfer's 'definitive' account of modern North and South Korea. The reviewer lives in S. Korea and was disappointed with the author's treatment of major figures in Korean history.

I picked up "The Two Koreas" before leaving for my first visit to Seoul and Busan hoping to get a full picture of political and economic developments on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War. I usually pre-screen my book purchases thoroughly, but in this case chose Oberdorfer's piece simply because it appeared to be the best option available on short notice.

This isn't a bad book; but it is a bit awkward. First, the only logic to the timeframe covered (roughly 1972 to 2000) is that it cooresponds to Oberdorfer's personal experience in Korean affairs as a journalist with the Washington Post. The post-war years of the authoritarian regimes of Syngman Rhee and Kim Il Song are not discussed at all, nor are the early years of Park Chung Hee's regime in the 1960s as he laid the groundwork for the South Korean economic miracle of the late twentieth century.

Second, the weight of the narrative is heavily focused on the North Korean nuclear program and the efforts of the Clinton administration to negotiate a settlement with Pyongyang in the 1990s. Large and important swaths of Korean history in the 1970s are dealt with in a largely cursory manner, but the 1994 nuclear crisis is reconstructed in an almost hour-by-hour chronology of events. Indeed, nearly half of the book is dedicated to just a handful of events in the 1990s.

Finally, the style of "The Two Koreas" is a clumsy blend of narrative history and personal memoir cum political analysis. Oberdorfer should have pursued one of two approaches to his topic. He could have written a comprehensive contemporary narrative of post-war Korea in the spirit and style of similar endeavors by veteran foreign journalists, the most notable example being Stanley Karnow's wonderful piece on the Philippines, "In our Image." Or he could have fully embraced the use of the first person and written a memoir on his experiences in Korea and how that experience has shaped his perception of Korean history and the future of North/South relations, much as Tom Friedman did with his award-winning memoir/history "From Beirut to Jerusalem." Instead, "The Two Koreas" reads like a personal, casual conversation with Don Oberdorfer over drinks at a club on Capitol Hill. He delves deeply into the topics he knows best, punched up with anecdotes from personal encounters with the key players at the time, while providing just basics on the other parts of the story he is less familiar with.

The above notwithstanding, "The Two Koreas" does provide a good introduction to some of the key players and Korean events of the past three decades, from the ax-handle murders at the DMZ in 1976 and assassination of Park Chung Hee in 1979 to the government crack-down on government protests in Gwangju in 1980 and the arrest of former presidents Roh Tae-Woo and Chun Doo Hwan in 1996 on corruption charges.

Concerning the on-going North Korean nuclear crisis, which is really the focus of this book, Oberdorfer clearly sees the program as Pyongyang's only effective card to play in relations with the United States and the international community. As the communist bloc imploded, North Korea witnessed the blossoming relationship between Seoul and the Soviet Union and China with no reciprocal rapprochment between Pyongyang and Washington. Oberdorfer suggests that Pyongyang basically stumbled upon the nuclear program as the one sure-fire way to the undivided attention of leaders in the United States and develop the dialogue and aid packages the beleagered communist state so desperately needs.

One final point should be noted. The cover states that the book has been "revised and expanded," but any potential reader should know that "The Two Koreas" does not cover critical events in the 2000-2005 timeframe, including Pyongyang's admission that the government never lived up to the original terms of the Agreed Framework in the first place.

Oberdorfer's account of the historical, political, and cultural perspectives on the Korean peninsula are extremely well framed for both foreign policy experts and laymen.

If you have an interest in the Korean Peninsula -- business person, servicemember, diplomat, student -- I strongly recommend this book as an effective tool in establishing a solid baseline for further study and analysis or if you only want to get a "scratch the surface" understanding of Korea.

Additionally, Oberdorfer has written an effective and readable work rather than simply a pedantic academic dissertation.

The most interesting impression left from reading The Two Koreas is how little the two Koreas have played a role in their own history. The previous sentence smacks of macro-world naiveté, but one hopes for more Korea and less Cold War. Impossible given the circumstances? Doubtful. Off topic? In Dan Oberdorfer's view, yes. He states from the beginning that his version of modern Korean Peninsular history would focus mostly on the relationships of the two feuding governments with the three principle foreign actors shaping them, making Korea what it is today. The result is every Korean's nightmare: a world view of them being pawns in the great spherical powers' chessboard.

Like a family divided from bitter divorce, the Soviet Union jealously takes North Korea and moves to a hippie community, while the United States keeps South Korea in Battery Park. As such, the two Koreas jealously watch each other and marshal their resources in attempts to upstage each other. North Korea grows into a rebellious teenager who exploits the ideological conflict between mother Russia and China for personal gain until its benefactors have a change of heart. South Korea, following in the footsteps its chairman-of-the-board American father, achieves junior executive status by 1980, and senior executive by 1990.

Oberdorfer's book is a dual edged sword. It provides a necessary history of the Cold War's begrudging last battle ground. It counters many DPRK characterizations that it is a reckless or insane government (if only its domestic policies were as successful as its diplomatic brinkmanship). It is a wonderful demonstration of successful modern diplomacy: networking and aid Vs. military power and imperialism. It does a remarkable, albeit obtuse job covering the first Korean nuclear crisis, being the most comprehensive retelling we will get. It also counters specific South Korean accusations of American domestic meddling and "colonization."

On the other hand, Oberdorfer is as respectful as he can be of a country he condescends to. As the Washington Post's Asian Correspondent from the 1970's, one would expect more poignant observations than smells of garlic in elevators. The insultingly trivial conclusion, "Hold on your hats. Korea is a land of surprises," gives credence to Korean / Eastern complaints of Western cultural arrogance. Imagine the outrage if France wrote an American history book portraying the Revolutionary Army and the Founding Fathers as self-righteous, unclean children. The development of the North and South is glossed over as Oberdorfer concentrates on building the context of the next big international standoff. Incomprehensibly, progress in the modern Korean story is defined by outside recognition, not by domestic progress. This is not helped by Korean obsession over its international image, particularly in Europe.

Sadly, this book will be the most substantial source of knowledge and exposure to Korea for Americans (Korean barbeque and Samsung don't count); it is a shame that it couldn't be less self-satisfying. Korea has been a subject to international powers for hundreds of years. Independence achieved, history proved it is not without its cruel irony. One country developed two political systems more contrasting than the yin-yang on the South Korean flag.

Today, South Korea is the 12th richest country in the world. Its people are urbane, educated, and hardworking. It has modern infrastructure and the latest in technology. It is one of the great success stories of the second-half of the 20th century. North Korea, on the other hand, redefines hermetically sealed. Its singularity of consciousness is both dehumanizing and terrifying. The snippets of information collected from it astound: human meat markets, mass performance art, the Potemkin capital Pyongyang, outrageous propaganda from Korean Central News Authority, and its "illusive" leader, Kim Jong Il. Without a doubt, it is the most unique society on earth. Surely, the two Koreas deserve more introspection than what they are given here. But as smug elistists would say, only successful adults deserve such navel gazing.

As I have recently moved here, this book was a must read to increase my understanding of Korea. This book does an admirable job of overviewing 1972-2001 on the Korean peninsula, and not only paints a portrait of the politics of South Korea, but also does so with North Korea. Although the specifics of what exactly went on in Pyongyang can only be guessed at, the author makes a competent stab at it, by utilizing the facts as we know them. The journey this book takes you on is astonishing: South Korea's transformation from a largely agrarian authoritarian society to an industrialized, democratic one, and North Korea's slow downward spiral from one level to hell into worse and worse ones.
The book does regurgitate facts, this is true, but for me at least, some were forgotten or previously unknown, so this was a good review. And it is organized well and written coherently. However, I give it four stars because of the following flaws: 1) it would have been good to catch a glimpse of how the Koreas fared in the aftermath of war on up until 1972 (the author glosses over this critical period) and 2)his rather annoying use of first person pronouns. As one who has a history degree, this habit was "beaten" out of me early on, and I was hoping the author, though he is a journalist and thus taught differently perhaps, would not utilize "I", "me", and "myself" as often as he did. But these flaws are minimal. Bottom line: if you want to know what the fuss is over the Korean peninsula, and why we still have troops to keep the peace there, read this book. It illustrates all of this and does so in an very readable and enjoyable manner.

Oberdorfer's book focuses primarily on North-South relations, and also the United States' involvement. It could be written a bit better. It's kind of like reading a bunch of newspaper articles. But it provides an essential overview of the issue, and Oberdorfer's use of declassified material (from the US, former USSR and others) is very illuminating. I read Korea's Place in the Sun after this book, and found that they balanced each other nicely. Oberdorfer's views are very much from the right. Don't expect anything other than the standard views here. ie. North Korea are evil communists, they invaded the South, the South is good because they are capitalists, the US has done wonderful things on the peninsula etc. If you're looking for some more depth you'll have to consult other books.

Once again, this book is on the State Department reading list. Oberdorfer provides a well-researched, thorough perspective on the strategic, diplomatic, economic and social implications of the ongoing relationship between the divided Korea, and the influence of relations with nations such as China, the United States and Russia. It is particularly noteworthy for the attention it focuses on the current and recent leadership in both Koreas, and the respective pedigrees of those leaders as a means to explain their allegiances and goals. A recommended read for anyone with any interest in East Asian and Pacific political affairs.

Another fine book on Korean history. "The Two Koreas" focuses on modern Korean history and provides the reader with the author's experiences during the post war period. Mr. Oberdorfer served in the Korean War and returned throughout the period most overlook by foreign observers. Soon after the Korean War, Korea began its ascendancy towards a modern and developed nation. However, this period of growth and change was also a time of political uncertainties. Military coups and assassinations occurred, not to mention the problems with North Korea. After reading this book and the discovering the details of the post war political upheavals, I am even more astonished with Korea and the Korean people. However, the book does not provide a complete history of Korea. If you have not studied Korean history before, I would suggest that you start with "Korea's Place in the Sun" by Bruce Cumings. After you finish that book, you will be prepared to learn about modern Korea.

I first read Oberdorfer's book in 1997, not long after it came out and in the midst of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Having lived in South Korea since 1990, I found his analysis of the two Koreas a must read for anyone interested in Northeast Asia.

Jeffrey Miller, author of War Remains a Korean War novel.