Eye on Korea_ An Insider Account of Korean-American Relations

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The military attachés broke down into three basic groups. The first group

was those who took their duties very seriously. These were generally officers

from countries that had a close and important relationship with Korea, or

some similar reason to pursue their duties diligently. This group included

the American, the Japanese, and the German attachés. Members of the sec-

ond group were interested in Korea, but their duties were often more repre-

sentational than strictly professional, that is, the daily gathering of

information and maintaining an in-depth understanding of the military

situation. Unlike the first group, they had little or no Korean-language ca-

pability or background in the local history or culture. Most of the military

attachés fell in this category, including those from Canada, Australia, Great

Britain, Malaysia, and Italy, among others. The third group appeared to be

in Korea for the primary reason of enjoying diplomatic life and parties. Some

Latin American countries were in this group, and they hosted some very

interesting affairs. Usually their offices did not open until about : A.M.

and then closed early in the afternoon. They would then gather for a late

supper, followed by dancing and other party activities until very late in the

evening. I envied their social life, but soon found that it was impossible to

keep such a schedule and still function effectively the next day. All in all, the

attaché group was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed our association with each

other immensely.

Other Activities

We also were able to play some golf during this tour, especially with my

Korean military friends. From time to time, however, the Roh government

would decide that golf was not appropriate for senior military officers or

other government officials.

I had been in the habit of playing about once a month with a certain

General Kang, who was crazy about the sport. We had established a golf

date well in advance, but between then and the actual tee time, there was

some economic downturn or other minicrisis, and the Roh government was

discouraging golf participation. When I arrived at the golf club, I did not

even recognize my good friend Kang. He was almost in a state of total dis-

guise, wearing sunglasses with a hat pulled down on his face and a large

overcoat, even though it was very warm. He also had used a friend’s auto-

mobile to drive himself to the club so his own license plate would not be seen

in the parking lot. Such were the measures that some would go to in order

to enjoy a round of golf!