Only time for a couple of stops today on my journey south to Busan. The Samsung Innovation Museum in Suwon was an uplifting contrast to some of my more macabre visits. It’s living testament to South Korea’s meteoric rise. From colony to supplicant, the country now boasts the tenth largest economy in the world and a tech sector at the cutting edge.
Though South Koreans have displayed a laudable determination to uplift themselves, the US has undoubtedly been instrumental in occasioning their newfound prosperity. It did so first by rescuing them from the maw of communism, then subsequently through heavy post-war investment and providing a market for their burgeoning exports. It was thus fitting that my next visit was to the Task Force Smith Museum in Osan, which commemorates the first battle fought by American-led UN forces in the Korean War. Their calamitous defeat precipitated the dramatic escalation of involvement that South Korea would so greatly benefit from.
The museum exudes a palpable sense of gratitude towards the US. In its final room, I watched an animated video imagining an American veteran’s reflections on the war seventy years on. At the end, he thanks South Korea for not letting his sacrifice be in vain. It struck me that this museum has not been constructed for the benefit of South Koreans but rather to vindicate the US decision to enter the war. The video’s juxtaposition with a sign at the exhibition’s entrance asking visitors what they would be willing to sacrifice to help those in faraway countries was deeply compelling. It seemed a sincere expression of thanks from a worthy recipient.
Today, South Korea has not only assumed a critical position in the global economy, but has shown itself to be a venerable international actor. It provides billions in financial aid annually and has deployed 40,000 members of its armed forces to participate in international peacekeeping operations over the past twenty years. Those in the West who question the efficacy of our interventions in distant conflicts may wish to heed this.
“When we received orders to ship out to Korea, we asked where that was. They told us, You’ll find out when you get there.”
William C. Coe — Radio Operator, Task Force Smith
