Jeffrey Miller's Blog: Jeffrey Miller Writes, page 15
July 15, 2013
Buy this Book!
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice which technically ended the Korean War, though the US and ROK service members and South Korean civilians who lost their lives since the end of the Korean War on July 27, 1953 would beg to differ.
There are still over 7,900 US service members still listed as missing in action from this so-called police action and forgotten war. For all their loved ones, the Korean War has never been a forgotten one.
There is no reason not to buy this book.
There are 7,989 reasons why you should.
War Remains, A Korean War Novel (Kindle)
June 25, 2013
Arirang Radio’s “Travel Bug/Guest House”
It was fun.
That’s what best describes my appearance on Arirang Radio’s “Travel Bug” hosted by Korean celebrity Lisa Kelley. It was a lot more informal than I expected which made it more fun and allowed me to feel more relaxed.
The program is a veritable cornucopia on things Korean, Lisa, who was a most gracious host, explained that the majority of her listeners are from outside Korea who are interested in Korean culture, travel, music, and food.
I was invited to appear on the show to talk about War Remains on the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Although the show was taped on Tuesday, June 25th, the show will not air until the day after. They would have liked for me to be on the show’s Monday taping, but timing became a bit of a problem.
I got the chance to talk about the book, how I came to write the book back in 2009, and at the end of the show, I was asked to read an excerpt. Now whether or not these listeners will be flocking to download copies of any of my books due to my appearance on the show remains to be seen.
Add one more “cool” thing to the list of things I’ve done while I’ve been in Korea. Now I can tell people, “yeah, I’ve been on radio.”
It was a lot of fun.
June 22, 2013
On the Air
Guess who’s going to be on a radio show in Korea next week?
Give up?
Okay it’s me.
The call came from Arirang TV/Radio the other day that they want to have me on a show, talking about War Remains, as well as my travels in Korea (after all the show I will be on is called Travel Bug).
I’ve known for some time that I would be featured on an Arirang Radio show but I didn’t know which one. I’ll have the chanct to talk about myself in part I, talk about War Remains in Part II, and then, in Part III, talk about my travels in South Korea or other destinations.
What travel destination should I talk about? I think I’m going to talk about the first trip I took in Korea to Kyongju with my friend Ken Celmer in January 1991, just a few weeks after I arrived. That trip will always stand out most in my mind, especially when we climbed the mountain to see the Sokkuram Buddha.
Should be a lot of fun, wouldn’t you say?
June 14, 2013
Flying into Panmunjom with CNN — June 14, 2001
Of all the cool things that I got to do when I was a feature writer for The Korea Times, one of the coolest things was flying into Panmunjom in a Blackhawk helicopter with CNN on June 14, 2001.
In 2001, the U.S. Army switched from their green/camo fatigue hats to black berets and the 8th Army would be one of the first commands to don the new head gear. Given the attention to the Korean peninsula following the North-South summit in the summer of 2000, not to mention the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War, the USFK and the 8th Army decided to make it a big media event. All the major US TV networks were invited to Korea to cover the “beret changing” event as well as CNN. Because I had written many stories about Korean War commemorative events as well as various articles about USFK, I was invited to join CNN for the beret changing ceremony at Camp Casey (home of the US Second Infantry Division) and later fly to Panmunjom.
That was one sweet ride, flying over the Imjin River and landing inside Camp Bonifas where we were met by Col. William Miller the JSA Commander. I got to meet Sohn Ji-ae, who was the CNN Seoul Bureau Chief at the time (now she’s the CEO of Arirang TV).
Although I was just along for the ride (I didn’t file a story) I did take some cool photos including this one of Ms. Sohn conducting an interview in front of The Bridge of No Return.
June 10, 2013
On the Waterfront
I’m not sure what’s going on in this photo via the Chosun Ilbo. Doesn’t look like too many people want to go swimming. Maybe the waves are too high.
Where’s the fun in this just standing on a crowded beach?
June 9, 2013
Black Roses
Sometimes a writer needs the luxury of time and distance to finish a story or to revisit one.
Such is the case with “Black Roses” a story that I wrote way back in 1986 when I was attending Eureka College. I got the idea for the story during a trip to Chicago with one of my friends and colleagues, Kevin McQuade. We stopped for lunch at this hot dog place called Byron’s and the wheels inside my head started turning. I wrote the story and entered it in the annual Eureka College Creative Writing Contest. It won second place. And it might have become a minor footnote in my life had it not been for my friend Dave Steele who typed out the story and sent it to me a few years ago.
Recently, I started work on this collection of short stories and I thought about this story again. It was, for all practical purposes, the first short story I ever wrote, other than the one I wrote as a freshman at Southern Illinois University (and one that still gives me nightmares: the teacher must have had a really bad time grading assignments because the time he got to mine, he got SO angry with my misuse of certain words that his red pen got a very good work out). Dave has told me many times that he liked this story a lot. That’s when I thought I should revisit it again.
There’s still a good story there, but it needs some work. However, I can see where I have come from; how I have evolved as a writer. It’s fun to go back in time and rework this story, taking in account the time and distance from the time I first wrote it.
June 8, 2013
Black Death
Black Death
I had plenty of cultural things to learn when I arrived in Korea back in 1990 such as the black cylindrical briquette canisters, about the size of a can of motor oil that were once predominantly used as a source of fuel for cooking and heating in Korea. Problem was when these briquettes, called yontan in Korean were burned in short, squat barrel-shaped stoves they produced black soot that got on everything. Even if you didn’t burn your own yontan, it was still everywhere. Take down a picture from the wall and you would see its black outline. Go to bed at night; in the morning there would be a film of black grit everywhere. Even my white dress shirts and t-shirts, which I hung to dry in the laundry room next to the kitchen, soon were imbued with a grayish tint. Breathing in that shit wasn’t good for you either. I must have coughed up a bucket of black mucous that first winter.
I bitched and moaned when I had to clean up that black soot on the kitchen table, my desk, and the television every morning, sometimes again at night. Sometimes I forgot and after a while I got used to it until I heard what happened to the family of five who lived in the apartment next to mine. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning last night. Someone forgot to open a window.
July 27, 1953
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War when the armistice was signed at Panmunjom.
For some families though, the war has never ended.
June 5, 2013
Multicultural Festival 2013: Our diversity makes us one
One of the highlights of the school year at the SolBridge International School of Business is the annual Multicultural Festival. It is a chance for students to share their cultures with their classmates and faculty through song and dance as well as traditional clothing. It is more than a celebration of culture, though. It is a celebration of our diversity which makes us all one at SolBridge.
A week before finals, students take time out from their studies to practice dance routines, songs, and prepare their traditional clothing for this big event. The rest of the student body and faculty, knowing the kind of cultural festivals which have been held in the past, are equally excited, waiting to see what kind of dances and songs will be performed at this year’s event.
Students look forward to this night all semester. Not only is the night the chance for them to entertain their classmates with traditional songs and dances, the students also prepare various dishes from their country. Sadly, the food runs out rather quickly!
This year I tried Uzbekistan food as well as curry from Thailand and desserts from Vietnam. I wish the SolBridge cafeteria or Sol Bistro would have an “international” food day once a week featuring one or two dishes from some of the countries are students are from.
Food aside, the performances which the students put together are simply amazing!
Some of the performances are quite breathtaking. What’s also amazing is the students have been able to find (or bring with them) the traditional clothing and costumes.
June 2, 2013
François Truffaut’s 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups)
Took me long enough.
I’m embarrassed that I hadn’t seen this film until now.
François Truffaut’s first feature, The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups), is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut’s life-long cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), The 400 Blows sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut’s own difficult childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, petty crime, and a friendship that would last a lifetime. The film marks Truffaut’s passage from leading critic of the French New Wave to his emergence as one of Europe’s most brilliant auteurs.
What a brilliant movie. What impressed me the most about the film was Truffaut’s use of the camera, the way the camera moved (the tracking shot at the end is unbelievable) and intimate the scenes were for the viewer. In addition the friendship between Antoine and René is one of the cinema’s most tender and heartwarming friendships.
Better late than never to see this classic film.
