"Tiger Season: A Novel of Korea," by Gojan Nikolich

My latest Korea Times article is a review of "Tiger Season: A Novel of Korea," as well as an interview with the author, Gojan Nikolich, who was kind enough to answer a series of questions. I really enjoyed the novel. There have been a small number of novels by former US soldiers about the world of US base camp towns in Korea in the 1960s and 1970s, but Tiger Season stands out above the others. Another I remember was an engaging-enough story, if featuring too much of the 'soldier and sex worker with a heart of gold' for my tastes, but ultimately was incredibly disappointing due to its abrupt ending. That's most certainly not the case for Tiger Season, which is very carefully constructed, as I note in my article.

Below are the (lightly-edited) original responses to my questions. Many thanks to Gojan Nikolich for allowing me to post these:

"When I Was There:

I served my Korea tour as an E5 Sergeant with the 2nd Infantry Division in 1970-71 at Camp Howze (Bongilchon) and Camp Casey (Dongducheon), where I worked as a military journalist/public affairs specialist and as editor of the 2nd ID newspaper. I traveled frequently on army reporting assignments and also as a stringer for the Tokyo office of Pacific Stars & Stripes, where the division newspaper was composed and printed. I wrote about and attended meetings at Panmunjom as part of my public affairs job, so that’s where I gathered some of my personal impressions for the book. This was during a busy period of DMZ/North Korean activity following the 1968 release of the Pueblo crew.

Personal Experience:

It wasn’t difficult to take advantage of my own history for a book like this, but I hope it’s been adequately disguised. The fiction of probability is often truer than the truth.

In 1970 I was involved in a patrol jeep incident along the DMZ that was similar to the one depicted in the book — both the crash off the cliff and the injuries of the main character.  After spending several months in hospitals in Seoul and Busan, I too searched for the mystery farmer/guardian angel who mysteriously happened to call in a rescue helicopter. Sadly, I was never able to thank him. I’ve had a big soft spot in my heart for Koreans ever since. 

During my hospital rehab, with nothing else to do, I scribbled my thoughts about Korea’s strange camp town world into a notebook that ended up packed away and forgotten for 50+ years in a box that I didn’t discover until a few years ago when I was cleaning out my garage. Those notes sparked memories, so I used the fictional vehicle of Eddie Profar, Jia the courtesan, Yevgeny Lee and the tiger to tell the story. 

I’m glad I was an old geezer before I wrote about Korea. The younger version of me couldn’t have done it properly.

Research:

My research for this project was selective and based on what would drive the narrative and the plot, so a scholar I am not. I used creative license to put certain historical facts into perspective and tried to be aware of Korea’s evolving attitude regarding the history of US military camp towns. Until a few years ago, the subject of sanctioned post-war brothels along the DMZ was largely ignored by the US public and media, although the Korea Times has written about the military border town controversy quite extensively. Much of my research was to get a sense of Korea’s refugee crisis during those early months of the war and to explain how this was affected by the US Army’s “Pusan Perimeter” during the late summer of 1950. This is the time when Jia and her family attempted to flee south from their village.

Why 1968:

I set the book in 1968 because that was the height of the so-called “Little Korean War” (1966-69), and this seemed to provide me with all the ingredients needed to introduce the reader to the neglected tension of those times. This was also the height of Korea’s camp town era. I wanted to tell that tale and relate it to the controversial (and under-reported) Cold War aftermath of the Korean War itself. I also felt that someone should talk about the refugee and orphan history of many of the women who were recruited involuntarily into the kijichon world.

True Or Not:

• To my knowledge, nobody who negotiated at Panmunjom ever wore a catheter, although many of us discussed how this might offer a certain advantage during long summer arguments with the North Koreans, who always seemed reluctant to get up and use the bathroom during their marathon Panmunjom meetings.

• Yep, I once attended a mandatory lecture and graphic slide show during which we were told about the consequences of catching VD. 

• The outdoor DMZ propaganda broadcasts were introduced by the Park Chung Hee government and the DJs at AFKN did occasionally contribute parody musical stunts, though this wasn’t encouraged and didn’t happen with the frequency that I suggest in the book. 

• Soldiers on duty at night on the DMZ loved to bullshit each other, so I’d heard about ghost-story talk of a roaming tiger loose out on the ice of the Imjin River. I imagined how this would put a little extra jump in your step while working at night along the fence. 

* The vibe at the camp’s nightclub was as described in the book. 

* The train trip from Busan to Seoul, including the Korean family that shows kindness to Eddie and gives him food…that was true and I made the same trip after I was released from the hospital.

Writers I Like:

I’ll read anything from the most trashy, pulpy thriller or cowboy western to the best of all the 19th century Russians to Faulkner and Hemingway. Charles Portis is a favorite. Anything by Cormac McCarthy, Vonnegut and Don DeLillo. Murakami is another. I actually read much more non-fiction than fiction and keep re-reading the writers I’ve always liked."

As a follow-up to his answers I asked about a few more topics, and wondered if the 2ID newspaper he worked for was the Indianhead, to which he answered, Yes, and included some clippings, "along with the Indianhead newspaper masthead, just to give you a sense of the general vibe of what was being  written at the time":

"The Army brass pretty much left us alone, though they would occasionally insist on a positive PR twist to a story that might favor official military policy. This was to be expected. However, being in our early twenties, we’d play a cat and mouse game and sneak in reporting with subtle references that GIs would fully understand. For some unknown reason, they allowed me to write a free-form opinion column (“Smoke Signals”) that sometimes got me into trouble. I once mocked the 2nd Div commanding general for building an expensive duck pond and pet duck shelter behind the HQ building. The company CO called me on the carpet and ripped into me to never write something like that again…or else. 

"A few months later they gave me a medal for writing exactly that kind of stuff, much of it pretty amateurish in hindsight. The US Army operates in mysterious ways.

I recall that there was a cooperative back-and-forth story pickup arrangement with Stars & Stripes in which some soldiers were attached as staffers out of Tokyo or 8th Army in Yongsan. My stringer stuff got used, bylined and not, and sometimes the Indianhead would contribute reporting as part of a S&S compilation story. The wire services and Army Times would also use our material, especially photos.  I’d re-write and edit certain reporting to submit to S&S while I was in Tokyo every two weeks to lay out and print the division newspaper.

Regarding The 1971 Race Riot:

Yes, I remember that event but was traveling out of the area when it happened. I went into the hospital in late January 1971 following my injury, so was out of the entire news loop for a few months. 

Yes, the GI clubs seemed to be generally divided based on the category of music they played, by race, and according to the unwritten rules and preferences of the “business women” and the bar owners. There were many exceptions, however. Some clubs catered to older NCOs, some skewed toward officers. Some to African Americans. I remember one club that only played country music and so attracted those customers accordingly. 

The Army often put clubs off-limits for a variety of reasons, including for discriminating against black soldiers.  Mostly it was because a club had too many drug use reports from the MPs or if their bar workers exceeded accepted VD rates. The newspaper would announce off-limit clubs. I remember a general feeling of underlying tension that prevailed some nights in the village outside of Camp Casey — Tongduchon, known as “TDC” and now spelled “Dongducheon.” TDC was the largest camp town along the DMZ at that time. Most of the streets were barely paved. This was the tail-end of the 1960s civil rights era in the US, so most everyone was aware of the racial issues at hand since we’d already experienced the same unrest back home, especially if you came from a large city.  On a one-on-one basis, I had the sense that the races worked together routinely well on the DMZ itself (at guard posts, together on patrols, etc) and I don’t recall individual conflicts other than when there were organized public events like the Yongiugol “rally.” Again, that’s my general memory of things. I think if something dramatically stood out that I would recall it with more clarity. 

Regarding Marijuana:

I don’t remember anything ever tightening up regarding the smoking of weed, though it was officially verboten.  You could easily get a big fat paper bag of grass for about $10 from any number of sources: a Korean houseboy at the barracks, a shop owner outside the front gate at Camp Casey or directly from one of the girls at a club, who would expect a tip for the convenient middle man service. The main hard drugs used at the time seemed to be Meth and Seconal. 

Itaewon:

I personally never visited Itaewon, which was a long and inconvenient bus ride away. The DMZ area, though only about 40 miles from Seoul, was considered to be in the boonies and anyone stationed in or near Yongsan was thought to have a cushy Korea tour assignment. Whatever I knew of Itaewon came from someone else’s stories. I do remember it being considered more expensive than the local village club district.  I believe that all the camp town club districts operated under similar un-written rules of conduct for GIs. The camp town culture was similar everywhere and had been honed and perfected since the 1950s.

Below is an answer to a question for those who have read the book, since it's certainly a spoiler.

Eddie’s Final Phone Call:

Yes, the young woman who return’s Eddie’s call was his daughter. I kept it vague and left it up to the reader to speculate if he realized this or not as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror having his heart attack while the phone rang. I like to believe that yes, he knew…but it was too late, of course. His daughter is among the visitors at the hospice.

When Park Chung-hee and the US Ambassador visited Gayang-dong for Farming Encouragement Day

For over a decade I've done tours for the RAS of western Seoul, particularly the area around Gaehwasan and Gungsan / Yangcheon Hyanggyo. I was visiting the area with friends on the weekend and walked by a section of street (across from the Botanical Garden in Magok) with posts marking the sights of the 'history and culture street' that had a stone monument I'd never seen (Kakao Map street view tells me it wasn't there a year ago). I had no idea what 권농일 was and we were on the move, so I snapped a photo to look it up later.

As it turns out, it's a monument to the 17th National Farming Encouragement Day (권농일), when in 1965 Park Chung-hee (and others, as we'll see below) held a commemorative ceremony at Yangcheon Elementary School. This school was established in 1900, which makes it rather old (I was made aware of this when I taught a student who attended the school in 2005, and she told me it was her school's 105th anniversary). Since the president was there, I figured it must have been covered in the news, and indeed, the June 10, 1965 Kyunghyang Shinmun even has a photo of Park planting rice:

Industrialization Must Be Preceded by Agricultural Modernization – Emphasized in President Park’s Address

On the Occasion of the 17th National Farming Encouragement Day

June 10 marked the 17th National Farming Encouragement Day (권농일), and with a severe drought — the worst in 60 years — both farmers and city dwellers met the day with uncharacteristically somber expressions.

The Meteorological Office forecasted that it was unlikely to rain before the end of June, when rice transplanting would be at its peak. Authorities responded by establishing emergency drought countermeasures, aiming to uphold the significance of this year’s Farming Encouragement Day.

At 10 a.m. that day, a commemorative ceremony for the 17th Farming Encouragement Day was held at Yangcheon Elementary School along the Yeongdeungpo–Gimpo road, with many domestic and foreign dignitaries in attendance. These included President Park Chung Hee, Chairman Kwon of the National Assembly’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee, Minister of Agriculture Cha; other government ministers, U.S. Ambassador Brown; and members of the diplomatic corps.

Following a commemorative speech by Mr. Go, president of the National Agricultural Federation, President Park delivered an address in which he emphasized that “Farming Encouragement Day must not be limited to merely encouraging agriculture, but should become a new opportunity for the entire nation to revere agriculture and value farmers.”

He further stated, “We must abandon the dangerous mindset that national modernization refers only to urban-centered industrialization. The modernization of agricultural production, which can resolve the rice problem, must be achieved before industrialization.”

After the ceremony, the three branches of government and the diplomatic corps participated in a symbolic rice planting with the farmers.

◇After the Farming Encouragement Day Ceremony, President Park and other guests are planting rice seedlings. (In Gimpo)

I was surprised to learn the American ambassador was there. Unlike the photo caption above, the Dong-A Ilbo that day reported that the planting took place near the school (perhaps the Kyunghyang Shinmun had forgotten the area - formerly part of Gimpo - had been incorporated into Seoul in 1963):

Commemorative Rice Planting by President Park in Gayang-dong, Yeongdeungpo

On the morning of June 10, at 10 a.m., the 17th National Farming Encouragement Day commemorative event was held in Gayang-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. The ceremony took place in the schoolyard of Yangcheon Elementary School and was attended by about 200 people, including President Park Chung Hee, government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Seoul city government.

In his commemorative address, President Park said, “The Meteorological Office has forecast no rain for the next month, so we must anticipate continued drought through mid-July. Let the entire nation unite to overcome this drought together.”

Following the ceremony, President Park personally participated in a commemorative rice planting in a paddy field in front of the school, setting an example through action.

The event, hosted by the Land Improvement Association, was carried out under tight security unlike previous years, and as a result, local farmers were not permitted to participate in the event.

I have doubts that photo was taken that day, considering the security precautions. Why there was "tight security," I'm not sure, but the signing of the controversial ROK-Japan Normalization Treaty was less than two weeks away (June 22), so that may have been the reason.

The 45th Anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising

 Today marks the 45th anniversary of the beginning of the Gwangju Uprising. I've written about this event on this blog many times (an index is here), an RAS Transactions article ("'Tell the World what is Happening': The Americans who Witnessed the Kwangju Uprising," which can be read here), and co-authored the memoir of David Dolinger, a former Peace Corps Volunteer who was a witness to and participant in the uprising  This week he was granted Gwangju honorary citizenship for his role, along with missionary Arnold Peterson (posthumously) and Jennifer Huntley.

The Hankyoreh also covered the fascinating stories of the military officers / police officials who refused orders to fire on protesters during the uprising. I'd known the story of Police Chief Ahn Byeong-ha, but not the others. At least one of the stories shared adds evidence to the assertion that the chain of command was being violated and orders were being sent to officers on the ground directly from martial law command in Seoul.

And, of course, it wouldn't be this time of year without some conservative politician making questionable choices, in this case when the People's Power Party appointed Chung Ho-yong - who commanded Special Forces during 5.18 and was, along with Roh Tae-woo, one of Chun Doo-hwan's main co-conspirators - as a senior advisor to Kim Moon-soo’s presidential campaign, only to quickly reverse this decision amid public backlash. What were they thinking? Needless to say, he wasn't invited to any memorial ceremonies.

How Park Chung-hee exploited the fall of Saigon to justify a ban on all dissent

On this day 50 years ago, Park Chung-hee’s efforts to suppress challenges to his rule by pro-democracy clergy, students, and journalists culminated in the promulgation of Emergency Measure 9, which banned all dissent and decreed sentences ranging from one year in prison to the death penalty. The reason he felt there was a consensus supporting this authoritarian measure was due to the way he and the Yusin state exploited the fall of South Vietnam, arguing that dissent needed to be suppressed lest North Korea take advantage of the divisions in the South to launch a new war. In addition to ‘encouraging’ various groups in society to show their support for the ROK government via street demonstrations and newspaper ads, the authorities also mobilized newly-arrived refugees from Vietnam to speak to audiences, particularly students, nationwide.

This is the story my latest Korea Times article tells.

I couldn't include these in the article since they are from the Korea Herald, which was then a government-run newspaper, but it printed numerous photos of these pro-government demonstrations in early May 1975. Seen below are banners like 'Overthrow Kim Il-sung,' 'Smash the communist party,' and 'Defend Seoul to the death.'

A "massive rally" held in Yeongdeungpo, Korea Herald, May 8, 1975.

                      Rally by entertainers, "including comedians,"Korea Herald, May 6, 1975.

From the Korea Herald, May 7, 1975.

A rally by the Construction Association of Korea, Korea Herald, May 10, 1975.

Korea University rally, Korea Herald, May 10, 1975.

The rally of 1.4 million citizens in Yeouido, Korea Herald, May 11, 1975.

Beyond digging through contemporary Korea Times and Korea Herald articles (along with some Korean language newspapers and various wiki articles used to find exact dates), I also consulted Letters from South Korea, which covers the resistance against Park Chung-hee from 1973 to mid-1975, and Paul Y. Chang's Protest Dialectics State Repression and South Korea's Democracy Movement, 1970-1979.

Letters from South Korea is well worth reading, as it goes into great detail about the price paid by those who spoke out - and their families. It puts a human face on the suffering caused by the dictatorship, and all as it was ongoing. Various volumes were produced; the first two can be read and downloaded at Archive.org: Volume 1 ; Volume 2. Other editions were reprinted in Pyongyang and may be edited. A search here turns up various volumes. 

Another interesting story I had to leave out, regarding this paragraph: 

Its most audacious act was kidnapping Kim Dae-jung from a Tokyo hotel with the intent of throwing him from a boat into the East Sea — a fate averted by the U.S. State Department condemning the kidnapping as an “act of terrorism” and U.S. Ambassador Philip Habib offering the Park regime the face-saving understanding that a “rogue KCIA faction” had carried out the abduction.

What is left out is the story of the man at the State Department’s Korea Desk who issued the statement calling the kidnapping an “act of terrorism” – Donald Ranard, who had been the political officer at the US Embassy in Seoul during Park Chung-hee’s 1961 coup. While the CIA and USFK learned about the coup beforehand (and warned the ROK Army commander), the embassy was completely surprised by it. After trying but failing to undo the coup, charge d'affaires Marshal Green (there was no ambassador at the time) somehow came out of the incident unscathed, but the State Department wanted to punish someone at the embassy for having been so out of touch, so Ranard was chosen as the fall guy, and his career never really prospered after this. And so it was that he was at the Korea Desk in Washington in 1973 when Kim was kidnapped from Tokyo, and apparently Ranard issued the statement, with its unprecedented criticism of the ROK, without sanction from his superiors. One imagines this gave him some satisfaction. (More about that episode can be found here and here, but the 'scatological' bit contradicts Donald Gregg's memoir, Pot Shards, and since Gregg was there, and because his assertion that Habib quietly made clear that the US would accept a face-saving explanation of 'rogue KCIA elements' if Kim were set free makes more sense, I find his account more likely.)

I'm also reminded that Philip Habib sent a cable to the State Department in March 1973 about newspaper cartoons. This came just months after the advent of the Yusin constitution, and according to Habib they were about the only public source of criticism, mild as it was, of government policy at that time. Habib's cable, which was part of  a collection of such cables at the National Assembly Library website, can be read here.

Lastly, here is the 'tour de force' mentioned in my article - an appeal made by the Save the Nation Society in the Korea Times on May 11, 1975:

FOR OUR FATHERLAND AT STAKE

An Appeal to the People

May 10, 1975

Our nation is at present experiencing a grave situation. In the light of the of the unconditional surrender to the Communists of Cambodia and South Vietnam, the changing shape of international power politics, and the confrontation, complications and antagonism in our political society caused by the personal dissatisfaction, obstinacy and self-righteousness of some people, we are now in a juncture where unless we are awakened and united, the state as well as individual cannot survive any more.

World history well shows that weak nations, if they are not alert, are unwittingly deprived of their territory and sovereignty by the power politics of big nations. The already-devastated Indochinese situation is a good lesson to us and it should by no means be regarded as a mere fire across the river.

Kim Il-sung of the north Korean Communist clique, all out to invade us again, forgetting the national tragedy of the Korean War which started on June 25 1950, visited Peking to conspire and decide on a strategy to communize by force the whole of the peninsula. We, who experienced the bloody tragedy of war in 1950, cannot but worry about the maneuvers of north Korea as he is unleashing remarks and activities to fan war provocations.

We, who have lived in this beautiful land for about 5.000 years since the foundation of the nation by Tangun, have just come to the door of prosperity. But due to the ominous situation in and out of the nation, we are now compelled to make a wise and courageous decision as to what to do and how to behave ourselves to cope with this unprecedentedly difficult period.

At this time of making an important decision, we should take as a yardstick for our behavior the wisdom our forefathers have shown in time of national crisis.

1. Our forefathers during the Silla Dynasty achieved unification of three kingdoms on this peninsula through honest cultivation of national unity, wisely overcoming ceaseless threats and invasions from the Sui and Tang dynasties and Japan.

2. During the Koryo period, our ancestors continued to lay deep the foundation of the kingdom unified by the Silla Dynasty despite continuous invasions from the tribes on the northern border near Manchuria from the outset of the dynasty. But it well managed to repel all the invasions and threats and successfully maintained national sovereignty. And the Koryo Dynasty was wise enough to train 300,000 reserves called "Kwanggun" to crush any outside aggression in order to maintain national identity and sovereignty. Thanks to the establishment of the "Kwanggun" Army and self-defense spirit, the Koryo kingdom successfully kept its sovereignty from the aggression from the north including the invasion by the Mongols for more than 40 years during the 13th century. One thing we should not forget about the Koryo kingdom is that our ancestors despite the outside aggressions tenaciously cultivated the artistic sense to the extent of fashioning blue celadon, which widely commands acclaim even today for its exquisiteness. It was the Koryo Dynasty that produced the world-famous engravings of Buddhist scriptures on 80,000 wood blocks and invented metal printing type for the first time in world history.

3. But in the Yi Dynasty period, our ancestors were regrettably not so wise at the time of invasions from China and Japan as were their forefathers during the Koryo and Silla Dynasties. In restrospect, the Invasion by Japan during the 15th century was the work of Hideyoshi Toyotomi of Japan. But we had better criticize ourselves before blaming the Japanese general. The Invasion in part can be blamed on diehard factionalism during the reign of King Sonjo For instance, two emissaries were sent to Japan on the sly to glean information as to whether Japan was preparing an attack against the Yi Kingdom. One of them made a correct report saying that Hideyoshi was preparing to attack but the other made quite contradictory report Just to trap his opponent as he was from a different faction.

Such factionalism led to the disintegration of national unity and at last incurred a situation luring Japanese invasion rather than preventing it. At last the invasion occurred as we were not prepared against it and left the beautiful land devastated during the seven-year invasion,

Even after the invasion, our forefathers were not wise enough to build up national strength on the basis of firm national consensus, after making self-criticism. Regrettably, they continued to be bogged down in factional strife, irrespective of what was happening in China. This at last invited attacks from China.

The afore-mentioned historical facts well show what should be done for the buildup of national strength and what should be avoided, like a mirror. In the face of national trials before us now, it is evident what we should do and what we should avoid. Therefore, after learning historical lessons from our history, we should again follow wise and courageous determination to safeguard the national sovereignty and prosperity.

Firstly, as shown in the special statement by President Park Chung-hee on April 29, north Korea has been busy with reckless war preparations, designating this year as being most favorable to invade south Korea. This year coincides with the 30th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Therefore, we should first of all fortify our total security posture further on the basis of national unity irrespective of wealth and classes. Before this sublime goal, any factors no matter how small in number and weak in force should be resolutely eradicated if they are inimical to total security. This is because creatures like fleas on lions are likely to weaken the foundation of national power only to the advantage of the enemy.

Secondly, as a total security system is impossible without firm economic support, we should exert increased efforts for more production. And we should refrain from pursuing egoistic personal interests, an easy-going spirit, and whatever luxuries,

Thirdly, what the enemy hopes most is to win victory against us without a fight by causing the nation to split, availing itself of all means. Therefore we should achieve firm unity in consensus. Regrettably, there are some politicians, intellectuals and religious persons tending to disintegrate the national consensus and causing agitation about freedom, human rights, and democracy as if they were their personal belongings.

Such activities should be avoided and that immediately for the nation, which is in a virtual war situation against north Korea. It should be borne deep in mind that the brilliant culture of Rome and Greece collapsed because limitless freedom comparable to license and claims for democracy and human rights on the basis of individualism flourished wildly.

Fourthly, we should sublimate our spirits and concentrate them on winning victory against the Communists after suspending political strife, ideological debate and factional strife in religious circles in order to achieve the urgently-needed national consensus.

The outcry by some politicians, who are blind with greed for power, calling for a replacement of our embattled general cannot be taken for granted no matter how limitlessly freedom of speech is reserved for them. Politicians should refrain from uttering such reckless words as they would only result in advantages for Kim Il-sung.

Fifthly, everyone should be prudent in their words and deeds to prevent the nation from being split and to highly fortify the spirit of victory over communism. And all kinds of practices affected by vague flunkyism and just for criticism of others for criticism's sake should also be abandoned,

All of the nation should faithfully carry out their duties. And students, as main force to shoulder the fate of the nation in the near future, should be first of all concerned with their prime mission of study. More than that, they should cultivate their potentialities by arming themselves with knowledge and study ways and means of defeating Communists every time they encounter, learning the scheme and power of north Korea.

Lastly, what we should know is the stark fact that our nation excels north Korea by far in every held. On the top of it, there is no change in the policy of our friendly allies including the United States toward Korea. Therefore, it is up to the cараbility of our nation to decide on our own destiny on the basis of its own strength whether we would survive or not.

As our Adm. Yi Sun-shin earlier stated, we will invariably win if we fight with the determination to die but will surely be defeated if we fight cowardly to live. Since our nation is armed with undying courage and patience, victory is always on our side if we fight tenaciously in firm unity.