Diplomacy in Progress

c1950. Korea. Refugees are on the move over an unimproved road that has already been reduced to muddy ruts by military traffic. A G.I. shares a treat from his ration box: a Jim Dandee cookie? A Brachs candy? Or a stick of gum?  That it came from a five-year-old ration box didn't matter to this little girl.

The young man to the right rear is an enigma.  Ostensibly a civilian, he bears a load on the A-frame perched on his back. He is old enough to be a soldier. Why has he not joined ranks with the Republic of Korea army to defend his country?  Is he travelling covertly as a scout for the North Korean Peoples Army, or as a guerilla sympathetic to those forces? If so, he was hardly unique.

Even this brutal war allowed humanity to display brief moments of kindness. The identities and fates of these individuals are unknown. We can only hope they forged memories durable enough to detract from the hardships that each would endure.

South Korean Civilians

September 1950. Chinhae (now Jinhae), South Korea. Chinhae is on South Korea's southern coast, about 25 miles west - as the crow flies - of the port of Pusan (Busan).  This site represented the southernmost extent of the Pusan Perimeter, behind which U.N. forces made their last-ditch stand against encroaching North Korean Peoples Army. Korean civilians - mostly women and children - are seen here working with hand tools to repair a segment of road that has undoubtedly been pounded by military traffic. They may be locals from Chinhae, or refugees from someplace north, displaced by the invading NKPA. Language barriers not withstanding, a U.S. Army engineer has solicited these citizens' labor, probably in return for bags of rice. Note the Japanese truck to the far right. The viewer is left to admire the dignity of these long-suffering people. It is for the freedom of these individuals that Pvt. Philip Hughes made the ultimate sacrifice on September 12, 1950, in the shadow of Hill 300, north of Kyongju. Photo from the U.S. Army 8035 Signal Unit, courtesy of the great and growing photo collection of Doug Price.

Dignity and Resolve

This photo is a classic for good reason. The setting is South Korea, 1950, the land of morning calm.  Without knowing the backstory of the war initiated that year, the viewer may ask: Why would there be conflict here in this barren place? It's impossible not to admire the order displayed by both columns of people. The soldiers march into harm's way. The refugees form an orderly column toward an unknown destination. The dignity and resolve of everyone involved are immeasurable.

Korean War Refugees

Korean War history, as extensive as it is, fails to adequately recognize the hardships of the many civilians caught between the belligerents.  It is hard to imagine the plight of these families. In 1950, faced with consequences of regime change, they would rather abandon their homes and farms. The unknown was more bearable than what was to be imposed on them by the forces encroaching from the north.  The U.N. forces coming to the aid of South Korea shared roads clogged with men, women, and children, their worldly possessions limited to what they could carry.  They took flight, generally south toward Pusan, not knowing what accommodations may await them.  One of the better descriptions of the refugee experience was provided by New Yorker magazine's E.J. Kahn in "The Peculiar War: Impressions of a Reporter in Korea."