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Summary: Comments from other reviewers
Review: "However the next chapter in Korea's turbulent history is written, [The Two Koreas] can help both policy makers and the American public meet future events with greater knowledge and better understanding. The more who read it, the better." -The New York Times Book Review, Oct. 26, 1997 "Don Oberdorfer calls himself just a journalist. But the former Washington Post correspondent has produced an authoritative and readable work of history that will inform his colleagues and the public at large as they watch the future of the Cold War's last remaining division unfold." -USA Today, Oct. 16, 1997 The Two Koreas majestically fulfills Oberdorfer's goal of drawing attention to the role of outside powers have played in the two Koreas' history. -Washington Post Book World, Oct. 12, 1997 "Oberdorfer is one of America's keenest analysts of the international scene. That he has turned his attention to the Korean Peninsula...is a boon to efforts to understand the critical events that unfold there daily." -James A. Baker, III, 61st U.S. Secretary of State "A remarkably informative, interesting, and insightful book...Wonderful and most rewarding." -George Shultz, Former Secretary of State "This truly important work will, without question, become the standard against which other books on modern Korea will be judged." -Donald Gregg, Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
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Summary: skarv
Review: A brilliant and very informative book on the modern hirtory the the two Koreas. Loaded with with interesting details and fun to read. I would recommed this book to anyone interested in the politics and hirtory of North and South Korea. Don is a very compitent writer and makes reading an over 500 pages book fun to read
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Summary: Simply Wonderful!
Review: As a former Army Sergeant who spent two years in South Korea as a soldier in the military intelligence branch, I found this book to be very enjoyable and informative. What I found remarkable was the way the author was able to convey to the reader just how precarious South Korea's existance is, and has been since Dean Rusk and a fellow Army Colonel took a schoolboy's map and divided the country at the 38th. This book is a tremendous testimony to the strength, if not outright stubbonrness of the South Korean people in their refusal to submit to the horrors of Communist misgovernment, and to the United States of America, which has stood by the Korean people for close to 50 years. An excellent read for students of Asian affairs and international relations.
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Summary: The Two Koreas
Review: Don Oberdorfer knows the tension and animosity between the North and South better than a Korean like me, although I must confess I immigated to this country some 30 years ago, so I'm not up on Korean news in detail. Recently, however, South Koreans seem to be giving in to North Koreans' aspirations bit by bit, even though at times they seem imperceptible. Oberdorfer predicts high drama between the two, but even before that Americans and South Koreans should be vigilant about any straying toward the North's agenda.
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Summary: Recent Korean History
Review: Don Oberdorfer's book The Two Koreas is an excellent history of North and South Korea since the Korean War. The book is well written and easy to read. The book is written so that anybody can understand what is happening and why, even if the reader has little or no knowledge of Korea and its past. The Two Koreas talks about what happened internally in South Korea during this time period and some about what happened in North Korea, but the book focuses on the relationship between North and South and the external influences on the two Koreas. The United States has played an especially important role. The first important subject of the book is the DMZ. The book explains the DMZ and its role in the relationship between the powers of the region. The DMZ's importance is that it is heavily mined making it a barrier to any military attack for each side. All the military clashes in the book between ether the North and South or the US and the North take place in the DMZ. Several of those clashes caused international incidents. The DMZ is also an important wildlife preserve since it is off limits for development for obvious reasons. Throughout South Korea's history since the Second World War it was and still is reliant on the US for military assistance. US troops are still stationed in South Korea and have been involved in the history of Korea throughout this book. While the South relied and still does rely on the US the North relied on the Soviet Union and Communist China for support throughout the Cold war. The book explains these relationships in more detail and explains why the North has invented the philosophy of Yushin (Korean self-reliance) even while relying on the Soviet Union and China for support. One of the key developments in Korea since the end of the Korean War was the South's transition to democracy. The book explains how the previous military governments ruled and how the transition took place. There certain people that were instrumental in the transition and the book explores briefly who they are and then explains what they did. A huge event for North Korea was the ending of the Cold War. Despite North Korea's Yushin philosophy it was always reliant on the support of the Soviet Union and China. The North lost important means of support as the Soviet Union disappeared and China wasn't interested in helping the North without getting anything back. The book explains the terrible consciences of this event on the North. In the early nineties the dictator of North Korea Kim Il Sung died. Kim Il Sung had been the leader of North Korea since the end of World War II. Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jung Il took over the country. As Kim Jung Il consolidated his power it seemed that he relied on the military far more then his father. The military had always been the harder edge in North Korean politics. This turn of events left many people wondering what was going to happen under this new leader. The most dangerous moment for the two Koreas as well as the United States security on the Korean peninsula came in the early nineties. In the early nineties the North began a serous effort to create a nuclear weapon. The US and South Korea were determined not to let the North develop a nuclear weapon. The book details the diplomacy that eventfully ended the crisis in a peaceful agreement. The book ends with things looking better. The book ends with the end of the Clinton Administration and with a new South Korean president that is the most dedicated to peace of any South Korean leader. If you are interested in learning about the recent history of Korea and the conflict there The Two Koreas is an excellent place to start.
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Summary: Highly relevant. A "must read".
Review: I bought this book based on my satisfaction with Oberdorfer's outstanding book, TET, which I read many years ago. THE TWO KOREAS is mainly a political history of the two Koreas since 1972. He begins with a broad and basic overview of Korea's history, and the absurd way in which the country came to be partitioned at the end of WWII. The main story line begins in 1972, with the origins of communications between the two Koreas, and continues up through 1996. Although the focus is political developments in the conflict between the two Koreas, economic and social elements are added to contrast their respective development over time. The word that comes to mind when contemplating North Korea is "bizarre". The most interesting theme is on North Koreas' drift to aquiring nuclear weapons, and the factors that prompted it. Interestingly, South Korea had pursued the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970's, but that effort was stopped by the United States. Later, North Korea began nuclear development which lead to the situation we find ourselves in today (2002), with North Korea admitting it has nuclear weapons. Readable, relevant, interesting, and insightful, this is an excellent start to understanding how the two Koreas came to be, and while the story ends with 1996, it isn't difficult to understand how North Korea eventually came to have nuclear weapons. Those looking for scholarly analysis and major footnotes will not find them. However, the book does have fascinating accounts of the major player's actions and thinking, and first person sources that only a journalist will have. Those sources add personal insight and current perspective to the issues discussed. This book is well worth the money and effort.
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Summary: Best Read for Big Picture Understanding of Korean Politics
Review: I don't know hardly anything about the politics of Koreas but recent North Korean crisis motivated me to read this book and find out more about what is going on. The book is not boring, it is very interesting. What amazed me was the amount of manipulation, planning, deception that is involved in the world of politics. And what amazed me even more was when I realized that this is the way the world politics works. I didn't realized that we were at a brink of a nuclear event in the mid 1990's when I was happily pursuing my goals. I guess sometimes, ignorance is bliss! This book is written by a newspaper columnist and is his understanding of what has happened in the Korean peninsula while he was covering the political events. It is easy to read and understand unlike some of the other political science book. I would recommend this book to anybody who has any interest in politics, especially regarding the two Koreas. I would have given it 5 stars but I was dissappointed with the concluding chapter of the book.
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Summary: ignorance is bliss!
Review: I don't know hardly anything about the politics of Koreas but recent North Korean crisis motivated me to read this book and find out more about what is going on. The book is not boring, it is very interesting. What amazed me was the amount of manipulation, planning, deception that is involved in the world of politics. And what amazed me even more was when I realized that this is the way the world politics works. I didn't realized that we were at a brink of a nuclear event in the mid 1990's when I was happily pursuing my goals. I guess sometimes, ignorance is bliss! This book is written by a newspaper columnist and is his understanding of what has happened in the Korean peninsula while he was covering the political events. It is easy to read and understand unlike some of the other political science book. I would recommend this book to anybody who has any interest in politics, especially regarding the two Koreas. I would have given it 5 stars but I was dissappointed with the concluding chapter of the book.
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Summary: Contemporary readable history of modern Korea
Review: I had the good fortune to read this book while I was in Korea during the recent presidential election and currency devaluation. The background on Kim Dae Jung, the president elect, made my time in Korea more interesting. The author retells in detail how the peninsula was almost embroiled in war over the tree cutting incident in the DMZ along with many other chilling stories that were difficult to fully understand when they were happening. Well worth reading if you are interested in what is happening in modern Korea.
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Summary: A Must Read!!
Review: I just wanted to say that I am presently reading this book at this moment and I have enjoyed it greatly.. I am currently stationed in South Korea (Armed Forces) and was greatly appreciative of discovering this book to read... This book "The Two Koreas" is greatly adding to my knowledge of the conflicts that have happened to this small peninsula.. The best part so far in this book is when South Korean President Park asked Lieutenant General James F. Hollingsworth (Commander of the ROK/U.S. I Corps Forces) "Are you going to do the same think here you did in Vietnam?" Hollingsworth's response: "I'm here to fight and die to save your coutnry. That's what I"m going to do." (pp61) Excellent book. A must read!!!
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