THE NEW KOREA, New Land of the Morning Calm

by Kyung Cho Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 20, 1962

It is only fair to surmise that New Korea is the product of a great patriotic zeal. The pity of it is that Kyung's journalism suffers from gross subjectivity. He is obviously torn between abject pleading for increased American aid to his country and a fierce, scornful pride that makes the gracious acceptance of such aid next to impossible. It is almost embarrassing to observe him penning on one page the kinds of arguments he seems to think Americans want or expect to hear, and then contradicting his own conclusions on the next page. The extraordinary number of cliches and mixed metaphors he uses will make the native English speaker sigh for the era of the implacable editorial pencil. But if one correctly attributes and looks past the flaws in the book, one finds a lot of information about the Rhee administration, the reasons for the Korean War, present relations between North and South Korea, and prospects for the future. Two appendices give the text of important state documents. Kyung clearly bids for American sympathy as he describes the terribly sad spectacle of an indomitable and history-conscious people seeking both freedom and stability while quivering in the net of a winner-take-all international badminton game.

Pub Date: Aug. 20, 1962

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1962

Categories: NONFICTION