the Ernest Hemingways and the James Joneses.
Korea's history did not, of course, begin with the U.S. entry into the 1950-53 war, although that period undoubtedly marks the beginning of many Americans' recognition of the Koreans as a separate people.
The strategic location of the Ko- rean peninsula meant that from the beginning its inhabitants were often subjugated outsiders, especially, for centuries, by invaders from the Chinese hinterland. The Chinese ruler Ch'i Tzu in 1122 B.C. subdued Korea's...