• those desires in full. The program was intense, difficult, and demanding. Only
about one-third of the applicants were selected, and not all of those selected
actually completed the program, which included a year of intense Korean-
language training, a year at a civilian university for an advanced degree,
and a year of specialized orientation and travel in one’s selected area. My
first stop, after picking up my wife, Jody, and two young sons, who had been
waiting for me in Hawaii, was the Defense Language School in Monterey,
California. I found the Korean-language course to be the most difficult phase
of the training, and finished only in the middle of my class despite working
very hard. In fact, learning Korean is a nightmare for most Americans—
the structure is backward from English, the grammar convoluted, and the
words are hard to pronounce and very alien to us. The level of speech is dic-
tated by the relationship between the two parties in terms of status, age,
position, and other factors. The same thing can be said several different ways,
even using different words, depending on the relationship of the speakers.
Korean has one of the highest dropout rates at the Defense Language School,
and even the graduates seldom achieve real fluency in the language. In later
years, those of us who did manage to graduate decided that the reason Korea
maintained its independence for so many centuries while surrounded by
powerful neighbors was that no one on the outside could ever understand
the language.
Following language training, I attended the University of South Caro-
lina for a year, obtaining a master’s degree in international studies, with
East Asia as my major field. My professor and mentor that year was Rich-
ard L. “Dixie” Walker, who at the time was teaching East Asian politics and
heading the International Studies Department. Professor Walker was a big
influence on me, and I developed much respect not only for his wide knowl-
edge of Asia but also for his courage as an administrator. For example, be-
cause of widespread opposition to the Vietnam War, army officers were not
welcome on most college campuses in those days. Professor Walker not only
accepted me and several other officers as students but also actively recruited
us and made numerous special efforts to make us feel welcome. This resulted
in a special bond between us that has continued to this day. In later years,
the University of South Carolina continued to attract army officers to its
Asian studies program, and there became a significant number of alumni
and classmates who studied under Professor Walker. Soon he was jokingly
referred to as the “Godfather of the Korean Mafia,” especially after Pres.
Ronald Reagan nominated him to be ambassador to Korea in . But this
jumps ahead of my story.