Project Mulberry

Known as the “Forgotten War” in the United States, the Korean War (1950-1953) was complicated for everyone involved. The American military had only racially integrated in 1948. Therefore, POC/BIPOC (especially Black) and white soldiers were no longer (supposed to be) segregated, though this took longer to put into actual practice than it did on paper. On the home front after World War II, Americans preferred to focus on cultural and entertainment developments rather than warfare abroad. Many “forgot” about it, even as friends and loved ones were fighting overseas. It would not be until the Vietnam War (1955-1975) that Americans would see, for the first time, the horrors of war via television.

For Koreans, the war was far more devastating. Koreans had suffered many atrocities under 35 years of Japanese colonial rule (ending with Japan’s defeat in 1945 at the end of World War II); these included forcing Korean girls and women to serve as “comfort women” to the Japanese military. These experiences continue to affect Korea-Japan relations today.

When Japan left Korea, the Japanese predicted the Soviets (and communism) would soon lay claim to the peninsula and therefore chose a leader calculated  to gain Soviet approval (Holland, Elisa Joy. “Massacre at Nogun-Ri.” Asia Society, Asia Society, 2022). The United States, fearing communist expansion, sent its own puppet leader, Syngman Rhee, but entered Korea with little understanding of the country’s (and its people’s) situation. Once the Soviet- and US-backed regimes had divided Korea along the 38°N parallel (creating what are today North and South Korea), conflict continued to spread. Even before the war officially began in 1950, the Jeju uprising in 1948, a subsequent US-supported counterinsurgency campaign (which resulted in a massacre), and the 1950 South Korean massacre of political prisoners and “suspect” citizens further traumatized an already traumatized people.

The Korean War, which killed about 2 million civilians and split families apart, continued the devastation: The initial eight months of battle saw front lines all over the Korean peninsula, resulting in waves of refugees, captures and recaptures of Seoul, and aerial attacks against civilians themselves, such as the July 1950 No Gun Ri massacre by the US Army. The USAF dropped 635,000 tons of bombs and napalm on North Korea (more than was used in the entirety of the Pacific in World War II), which not only destroyed 75% to 90% of most cities in North Korea and killed 1.5 million North Korean civilians, but also severely damaged vital infrastructure.

While the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, formally ending the fighting, the Korean War itself never truly ended, as the division of North and South Korea reflects the continuing proxy Cold War conflicts between the US, China, and Russia. Citizens of both North and South Korea bear psychological scars from the war, spanning generations. Military service—especially for men—is still a requirement in both Koreas, though the minimum length of service varies by country.

Mr. and Mrs. Song’s differing perspectives regarding diversity in the United States may reflect their personal/familial experiences in Korea. While the novel does not explicitly explain either character’s views, Patrick’s suggestion about the Korean War’s legacy and Mr. Song’s description of his own experiences hint at possibilities. Given the history of Japanese colonial rule as well, it would not be surprising if Mrs. Song’s experience (as a woman) was more negative than her husband’s (as a man).