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"In three days the number of so-called ‘volunteers’ reached over three hundred men. Very quickly they organized us into military units. Just like that I became a North Korean soldier and was on the way to some unknown place.”—from the book

South Korean Lee Young Ho was seventeen years old when he was forced to serve in the North Korean People’s Army during the first year of the Korean War. After a few months, he deserted the NKPA and returned to Seoul where he joined the South Korean Marine Corps. Ho’s experience is only one of the many compelling accounts found in Voices from the Korean War.

Unique in gathering war stories from veterans from all sides of the Korean War—American, South Korean, North Korean, and Chinese—this volume creates a vivid and multidimensional portrait of the three-year-long conflict told by those who experienced the ground war firsthand. Richard Peters and Xiaobing Li include a significant introduction that provides a concise history of the Korean conflict, as well as a geographical and a political backdrop for the soldiers’ personal stories.

The personal accounts . . . are sharp and interesting. They offer a keen insight into the camaraderie, suffering, hardship and even humor from both sides of the war. They stories hit as hard as a massed infantry attack and vividly portray the brutality of war. -- On Point

"Renders a balanced snapshot of the Korean War and its associated horrors. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice

"What sets apart this history book is the personal touch of interviewing participants on both sides of the conflict."--WTBF

"Before the memoirs begin, there are six chapters that summarize the course of the war better than most thick volumes devoted only to that subject."Military -- Military

The personal accounts . . . are sharp and interesting. They offer a keen insight into the camaraderie, suffering, hardship and even humor from both sides of the war. They stories hit as hard as a massed infantry attack and vividly portray the brutality of war."--On Point

"There have been anthologies of oral histories of the Korean War before, but until now the reminiscences of Chinese and Korean combatants have not been available in an English-language publication."--Military Trader

"[This book] is a must-read for those who participated in the Vietnam War, or for just planin military history buffs."--The Union Leader

"Before the memoirs begin, there are six chapters that summarize the course of the war better than most thick volumes devoted only to that subject."--Military

“A fine book of tragedy, heroism, and survival that will hopefully spark a deeper interest in this pivotal conflict.”--Army History

“A work that gives texture and depth to the more sanitized and generalized narratives that begin and end at the 38th Parallel.”--Army History

“Voices from the Korean War is a fine book of tragedy, heroism, and survival that will hopefully spark a deeper interest in this pivotal conflict.”--Bryan Gibby, Army History

"Li's book is a powerful reminder that it was individuals with thier own schemes of life and with their own dreams and hopes who did the fighting for a complex mixture of reasons."--Andreas Hilger, H-net Reviews

Publication Date

2-13-2004

Publisher

The University Press of Kentucky

Place of Publication

Lexington, KY

ISBN

9780813191201

eISBN

9780813145938

Keywords

Korean War, Personal narratives

Disciplines

Military History

Voices from the Korean War: Personal Stories of American, Korean, and Chinese Soldiers
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