Studies in War, Society, and the Military

Contested Memories of an Unended Conflict

Michael J. Devine

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781496236036
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Korean History
• Index: History

Michael J. Devine provides a fresh, wide-ranging, and international perspective on the contested memory of the 1950–1953 conflict that left the Korean Peninsula divided along a heavily fortified demilitarized zone. His work examines “theaters of memory, ” including literature, popular culture, public education efforts, monuments, and museums in the United States, China, and the two Koreas, to explain how contested memories have evolved over decades and how they continue to shape the domestic and foreign policies of the countries still involved in this unresolved struggle for dominance and legitimacy. The Korean War Remembered also engages with the revisionist school of historians who, influenced by America’s long nightmare in Vietnam, consider the Korean War an unwise U.S. interference in a civil war that should have been left to the Koreans to decide for themselves. As a former Peace Corps volunteer to Korea, a two-time senior Fulbright lecturer at Korean universities, and former director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Devine offers the unique perspective of a scholar with half a century of close ties to Korea and the Korean American community, as well as practical experience in the management of historical institutions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The “Police Action”
• 2. Forging Memories
• 3. Lessons Learned
• 4. Memorializing across America
• 5. The Korean War Veterans Memorial
• 6. Conflicted Memories of Allies and Foes
• 7. Memory, Truth, and Reconciliation
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About Michael J. Devine
• Series List
• Illustrations