Korea: echoes of a war

¶ … Butler's "Korea: Echoes of a War"

Steven Butler's main idea in the article "Korea: Echoes of a War" is that hope, even 50 years after the fact, seems too much to ask for when it comes to Korea and its government. Butler provides a brief account of what lead up to America's involvement with Korea and how, at the end of the day, everyone involved suffered from the Korean War save North Korea, a country that lives in division today. Butler hopes for hope but it is diminished by the events of the past and present circumstances.

To support his thesis, Butler asserts that when Kim Kong Il and Kim Dae Jung meet, they will have to come to terms with the notion that South Korea is not going anywhere. This first-time meeting, 50 years after North Korea almost wiped South Korea off the map, is an attempt to "restore unity to an ancient nation" (Butler). Herein lies Butler's hope - that something will come from the undeniable presence of South Korea. In addition, Butler supports his thesis by adding that the hopelessness that hovers over Korea now is practically the same hopelessness that hovers over Korea 50 years ago. He writes that the process of restoring unity was more difficult than anyone could have imagined, especially since Japan had spent the previous 35 years ruling Korea. Butler claims that America had considered the mission of restoring unity "hopeless" (Butler). Finally, Butler points out the mistakes and miscalculations that could have only lead to failure and more hopelessness. He asserts that America had wrongly assumed that the invasion of Taiwan was part of a "communist master plan" (Butler) devised by the Soviets to take over the world and that it might be an easy triumph. Butler also claims that President Truman did stop to consider the law of unintended consequences or any consequences at all when he ordered troops into Korea. The first unintended consequence was the "unexpectedly disciplined and well-equipped North Korean Army" (Butler). The second unintended consequence was that the troops that were securing the northern border were "forced into a chaotic retreat" (Butler). The third unintended consequence was MacArthur and his insubordination. These ideas form the basis for Butler's theory that peace and unity, while nice to think about, may not be in the cards for Korea - at least not of yet.

Butler seems biased in his opinion and, underneath it all, he seems to interject some anger toward the American government for getting involved in the war. This is evident when he first states that the war "settled nothing" (Butler). When all is said and done, over 36,000 Americans and countless Koreans and Chinese died just for the opposing sides to agree on an "existing demarcation line" (Butler). Secondly, North Korea is still as oppressive as it ever was and poses a threat to the rest of the world with taunts of nuclear playthings. Shamefully, South Korea has progressed "tortuously" (Butler). Thirdly, the fact remains that Korea is still divided with over a million troops on either side of the 38th parallel, leaving the impression that things, at least in that area of the world, have not changed very much. Butler is certainly entitled to his opinion but he should state be clear when he is interjecting it into his story.

However, in support of Butler's assertions, we cannot overlook the truth of the matter. Butler's hopelessness is not without cause. Korea is a country divided. Bruce Cumings supports this notion. In his book, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. Cumings compares the political structure of North Korea to an inner circle and an outer circle. The country's inner circle "represents power and dominion, exercised everywhere by the few. The outer circle includes all the rest, and their search for community, decency, and participation through the architecture of politics" (Cumings 432). His assertion that the two circles have never been able to come to terms on any agreements is fair enough and supports Butler's theories.