Jeffrey Miller's Blog: Jeffrey Miller Writes, page 18

Upcoming Book Events: 10 Magazine Book Club

On Sunday, April 28th, I will be the special guest author at 10 Magazine’s monthly book club meeting. I’ve been looking forward to this event for some time and the chance to talk about my books, especially War Remains and Ice Cream Headache. Kudos to Barry Welsh, the organizer of this event, who personally invited me to participate in this event.

I am following in the steps of greatness, a who’s who of Korean Arts, History, and Literature including, Michael Breen, Daniel Tudor, Charles Montgomery, Andrew Salmon, and Robert Neff. I invite you to check out what they have written and done.

Where are you going to take us this time, Mr. Miller?

You know, I had such a wonderful time writing Ice Cream Headache that I thought I would head on back to the Oglesby in the 1960s and see what else was back there to write about. My book in progress was originally a flash fiction piece I wrote back in 2010 while I was writing War Remains. A week ago, I read it again and went, “Hmm….”

This story is very near and dear to me, much the same way that Ice Cream Headache was.

If you enjoyed Ice Cream Headache, you’re going to like this one. I promise.

Have I ever let you down before?

Why I Write: Back to the basics

It started with Invaders from Mars and Other Tales of Youthful Angst, followed by Ice Cream Headache, When a Hard Rain Falls (due out later this year) and now for my latest book in progress, Going Long, I am traveling once again back in time, back to the 1960s and back to Oglesby and the Illinois Valley.

This time, with Going Long, I am going back to my roots, though. Back to what got me interested in writing in the first place, but more importantly, back to the kind of books I liked to read as a child. Back to the kind of books I would order from Scholastic Book Services when I was a student at Washington Grade School and then wait anxiously for those books to arrive.

One of the first stories I wrote was a sports story about a young boy who is “drafted” by his favorite Little League team. Although this modest heartwarming attempt was more wishful thinking on my part because I really wanted to play Little League baseball and get to wear a real baseball uniform than a story per se (I never got around to finishing it as far as I remember) it was the kind of story that a young boy would probably want to read.

And that is where I am going with Going Long. It’s one of those stories that all writers feel they have to write for themselves and in my case, a story I want to write for my sons. What I have always wanted from the first time I picked up a pen and started to write was to write the kind of stories that I would like to read. Now I would like to write some stories that my sons would like to read.

But it’s all about telling a story and being a good storyteller. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most.

That is why I write.

Dennis Rodman: Our Man in Pyongyang

Guess who’s thinking about going back to Pyongyang to hang with his bud, Kim Jong Un?

The Worm.

At least that’s what the digital Chosun Ilbo is reporting today:

Rodman told the Miami Herald at a charity gala last Friday that he and Kim “have no plans really, as far as what we’re going to do over there, but we’ll just hang and have some fun!”

You can read the rest of the story here if you want to keep up with America’s unofficial roving ambassador.

If Rodman wants to hang with his bud, at least it’ll keep Kim preoccupied and having a good time instead of threatening the region with destruction.

 

Welcome Home, Lt. Col. Don Faith

Of all the men listed as missing in action from the Chosin Reservoir in November-December 1950, perhaps none are more famous than Lt. Col. Don Faith who commanded the ill-fated Task Force Faith. His remains were positively identified last October and next week, April 17, he will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In late 1950, Faith’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, which was attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team, was advancing along the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir, in North Korea. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 1950, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces encircled and attempted to overrun the U.S. position. During this series of attacks, Faith’s commander went missing, and Faith assumed command of the 31st RCT. As the battle continued, the 31st RCT, which came to be known as “Task Force Faith,” was forced to withdraw south along Route 5 to a more defensible position. During the withdrawal, Faith continuously rallied his troops, and personally led an assault on a CPVF position.

Records compiled after the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, to include eyewitness reports from survivors of the battle, indicated that Faith was seriously injured by shrapnel on Dec. 1, 1950, and subsequently died from those injuries on Dec. 2, 1950. His body was not recovered by U.S. forces at that time. Faith was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor­­ – the United States’ highest military honor – for personal acts of exceptional valor during the battle.

 In 2004, a joint U.S. and Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea team surveyed the area where Faith was last seen. His remains were located and returned to the U.S. for identificationTo identify Faith’s remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, compiled by DPMO and JPAC researchers, and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparison. They also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched Faith’s brother

Today, more than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American teams.

Until They are Home.

Nothing new under the son

Now it looks as though North Korea is going to go ahead and re-start its nuclear facility at Yongbyon.

There’s a good article in The Christian Science Monitor about this latest news to come out of the North and whether or not the international community should be worried about it. Yes, we should be worried about it, but like so much of the rhetoric the North has been using, the fact that they are telling the international community is still part of their game plan. It’s their way of scaring the world into action with their high-stakes blackmail.

In one sense, Korea watchers say, the new regime is simply rehashing and upping the volume of an ideology and a language that the North and the Kim family have used for many years to remain in power and keep people unified by the threat of an enemy.

This is what I have been saying all along. This has been North Korea’s modus operandi since 1965 when they started down the road again (after they had rebuilt their industrial base which had been destroyed during the Korean War) to reunify the peninsula with every means possible. Military provocations along the DMZ, raids, murder in the JSA, sea battles, underground tunnels, terrorist acts, nuclear and missile threats–these have all been used to perpetuate their regime and to threaten the international community into action.

There really is a method to their madness.

There’s a method to their madness

Okay, so it’s been a little intense here on the Korean peninsula for the past month with all the angry rhetoric and threats North Korea has been making, but after having lived here for the past twenty-three years, this is nothing unusual.

Yes, there bellicose rhetoric has alarmed a lot of people, but here in Daejeon (about an hour south of Seoul by Korea’s high-speed express train, KTX) and for the rest of South Korea it’s been business as usual the past few weeks. This is not to say that we’ve become complacent. It’s just that we have been down this road many, many times before.

You see, there’s a method to their madness.

On one hand, Kim Jong Un needs to let folks know he’s the one in charge and is capable of controlling the military to make the folks at home know that he’s up to the challenge like his father and grandfather. At the same time, there might be some internal maneuvering by some party members who feel Kim can’t control the control his own country. So, he can’t back down from the threats he’s making. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is his way of cleaning house.

North Korea has resorted to this kind of saber rattling blackmail in the past to get the United States and South Korea to come back to the negotiating table or to give them aid. In this regard, North Korea is the school bully, grabbing a kid by their shirt and threatening to beat them up if the kid doesn’t give him money the next day.

This will all pass in the next few weeks. Sure, this high stakes game of chicken is making a lot of people nervous, but cooler, saner heads will prevail, and all this will soon pass.

How well do you know the two Koreas?

So, you think you know everything about Korea






Listly by Jeffrey Miller




So, you think you know everything about Korea


With the two Koreas in the news a lot these days (much more North Korea) it might be hard to understand for non-Korean pundits how things have gotten to the current intensity level on the Korean peninsula. To best understand what is happening one needs to turn to some classic studies about Korea. 






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The Two Koreas -- Don Oberdorfer

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The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future -- Victor Cha

Want to know what's really going on in North Korea? Read this book.

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Korea's Place in the Sun -- Bruce Cumings

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Troubled Tiger -- Mark Clifford

One of the first books I read on Korea. Too bad it's out of print.

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The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies -- Michael Breen

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Korea: The Impossible Country -- Daniel Tudor

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Waking Up in the Land of the Morning Calm -- Jeffrey Miller

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Korea, A Walk Through the Land of Miracles -- Simon Winchester

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The Cleanest Race -- B.R. Meyers

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The Aquariums of Pyongyang -- Kang Chol-Hwan

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View more lists from Jeffrey Miller

You can’t go home again; or can you?

Why did you write Ice Cream Headache?

That’s what someone asked me today who bought my book.

Because I wanted to go back home, back home to the memories which I have nurtured and cherished all these years. Memories like an old friend you’ve not seen for a long time but remember exactly everything the last time you met.

When was the last time you went home?

The Wheels of Fate

In the split second that it took for him to decide to go after the man running down the alley, the wheels of fate turned against the both of them. He remembered yelling for the man to stop; the next thing he knew, he was kneeling down over the man trying to stop the bleeding.

Oh my God, what have I done?

What happened to Earl that summer night? Why did the wheels of fate turn against him and change his life forever?