Land of the Morning Storm -- Story

Close your eyes for just a moment. Let your mind's eye paint a tranquil hillside very far away, lush with trees and tall grass swaying slightly in the warm summer's breeze.

Before you spreads a gathering of the village that lies below. Above puffy white clouds pass slowly overhead. The air is fragrant with pine; a perfect day! We are here to honor Grandfather Park, whose sixtieth birthday is today.

Here in Korea one's sixtieth birthday marks an important passage in one's life: it signifies the end of middle age, the end of work, and the entrance into a time when one is honored. So it shall be with Grandfather Park, the elder of the village of Taebak and the father of four strong sons.

Although every family in Taebak has brought food or drink for the occasion, Grandfather Park is still concerned: will all his sons be able to attend? His oldest, An-sik, is serving in the Army, near the Parallel, facing the Communists.

When will he marry? wonders Grandfather. Nearby the brightly costumed dancers he spies Chi-su, the quiet, plain, but wonderfully warm-hearted daughter of the Kangs, who own the general store. Grandfather sighs -- how lovesick she is for his eldest son! How nervous, how excited she is, anticipating his arrival! Grandfather sighs.

The youngest, San-sik, the poet, has gone to the ancient monastery. Byon-sik, the second son, the misfit who married too young -- he'll come, of course. Grandfather frowns -- then smiles, knowing his lively and precocious granddaughter Soon-ee, the joy of an old man's life, will come soon.

And then there is Tal-sik, the third son, the rebel. Grandfather suspects he won't attend, but little does he know the real reason.

Tal-sik wears the uniform of the People's Army. At this very moment he, a dedicated Marxist-Leninist, and thousands of other Communist troops are preparing for a lightning invasion of the South. The Soviet-made tanks, the artillery, tens of thousands of men, all are lined up on the border waiting for the signal from Kim Il-sung to liberate their southern comrades and unify their divided land.

In Seoul, just thirty miles south of the border, an American military officer named Hadrian Alexander escorts a visiting general to the front. They cannot see the vast preparations on the other side of the mountain.

Hay's mind is not on politics or strategy, however; for after the day's work he will visit his lover, a beautiful Korean named Kyong-ee. Again he will ask her to marry him, to return with him to America; will she accept this time? Or will the demands of her culture, her traditions, force her to leave Hay and take, as her mother insists, a Korean husband?

But only hours from now everyone's world will change; the whirlwind from the North will sweep across South Korea, and its reach will extend far beyond the small Asian peninsula.

For President Harry S. Truman, the Korean Conflict is a crisis of the gravest proportions requiring immediate American intervention. But America has demobilized after World War II and this attack has caught it painfully unprepared. He fears the political consequences will devastate his administration.

For General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the visionary hero of World War II, liberator of the Philippines, the war in Korea suddenly presents the greatest opportunity ever given a soldier: invade Korea and push back the Communists, of course. But MacArthur sees beyond that: paving the way with the new superweapon, the atomic bomb, drive north through Korea, into Red China, thence to the soft underbelly of Soviet Russia.

He can see it all, so clearly: Eliminate the Communist scourge at a stroke and impose a brilliant pax Americana on a grateful world.

In Beijing, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai view American troops in Korea as a dangerous threat, and let it be known through diplomatic channels that Americans on their border will not be tolerated. In Moscow, Josef Stalin sees Korea as a wonderful distraction, taking America's eyes off the grand prize, Europe. Germany, Italy, France, and the rest of the continent -- all will soon be Red, and Korea is the key.

From time to time the great forces of history converge on a single, unexpected place, and the titanic storms they create change everything -- not just for the powerful leaders, their governments and policies, but for countless ordinary people as well. Indeed, were it not for Kim Il-sung's invasion and Harry Truman's response I, me, the author of this page, would not even exist (see the Interview).

And that, finally is what Land of the Morning Storm is all about.

Back to Land of the Morning Storm home page.


	Land of the Morning Storm by Barry L. Briggs
	Story
	Close your eyes for just a moment. Let your mind's eye paint a tranquil hillside very far away, lush with trees and tall grass swaying slightly in the warm summer's breeze. Before you spreads a gathering of the village that lies below. Above puffy white clouds pass slowly overhead. The air is fragrant with pine; a perfect day! We are here to honor Grandfather Park, whose sixtieth birthday is today. Here in Korea one's sixtieth birthday marks an important passage in one's life: it signifies the end of middle age, the end of work, and the entrance into a time when one is honored. So it shall be with Grandfather Park, the elder of the village of Taebak and the father of four strong sons. Although every family in Taebak has brought food or drink for the occasion, Grandfather Park is still concerned: will all his sons be able to attend? His oldest, An-sik, is serving in the Army, near the Parallel, facing the Communists. When will he marry? wonders Grandfather. Nearby the brightly costumed dancers he spies Chi-su, the quiet, plain, but wonderfully warm-hearted daughter of the Kangs, who own the general store. Grandfather sighs -- how lovesick she is for his eldest son! How nervous, how excited she is, anticipating his arrival! Grandfather sighs. The youngest, San-sik, the poet, has gone to the ancient monastery. Byon-sik, the second son, the misfit who married too young -- he'll come, of course. Grandfather frowns -- then smiles, knowing his lively and precocious granddaughter Soon-ee, the joy of an old man's life, will come soon. And then there is Tal-sik, the third son, the rebel. Grandfather suspects he won't attend, but little does he know the real reason. Tal-sik wears the uniform of the People's Army. At this very moment he, a dedicated Marxist-Leninist, and thousands of other Communist troops are preparing for a lightning invasion of the South. The Soviet-made tanks, the artillery, tens of thousands of men, all are lined up on the border waiting for the signal from Kim Il-sung to liberate their southern comrades and unify their divided land. In Seoul, just thirty miles south of the border, an American military officer named Hadrian Alexander escorts a visiting general to the front. They cannot see the vast preparations on the other side of the mountain. Hay's mind is not on politics or strategy, however; for after the day's work he will visit his lover, a beautiful Korean named Kyong-ee. Again he will ask her to marry him, to return with him to America; will she accept this time? Or will the demands of her culture, her traditions, force her to leave Hay and take, as her mother insists, a Korean husband? But only hours from now everyone's world will change; the whirlwind from the North will sweep across South Korea, and its reach will extend far beyond the small Asian peninsula. For President Harry S. Truman, the Korean Conflict is a crisis of the gravest proportions requiring immediate American intervention. But America has demobilized after World War II and this attack has caught it painfully unprepared. He fears the political consequences will devastate his administration. For General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the visionary hero of World War II, liberator of the Philippines, the war in Korea suddenly presents the greatest opportunity ever given a soldier: invade Korea and push back the Communists, of course. But MacArthur sees beyond that: paving the way with the new superweapon, the atomic bomb, drive north through Korea, into Red China, thence to the soft underbelly of Soviet Russia. He can see it all, so clearly: Eliminate the Communist scourge at a stroke and impose a brilliant pax Americana on a grateful world. In Beijing, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai view American troops in Korea as a dangerous threat, and let it be known through diplomatic channels that Americans on their border will not be tolerated. In Moscow, Josef Stalin sees Korea as a wonderful distraction, taking America's eyes off the grand prize, Europe. Germany, Italy, France, and the rest of the continent -- all will soon be Red, and Korea is the key. From time to time the great forces of history converge on a single, unexpected place, and the titanic storms they create change everything -- not just for the powerful leaders, their governments and policies, but for countless ordinary people as well. Indeed, were it not for Kim Il-sung's invasion and Harry Truman's response I, me, the author of this page, would not even exist (see the Interview). And that, finally is what Land of the Morning Storm is all about. Back to Land of the Morning Storm home page.