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A Tortured Relic

A Tortured Relic Drawing on national and local news stories, newly declassified documents, u.s. prisoner of war ( pow ) memoirs, and popular films, this article argues that the legacy of the Korean War in the United States from 1953 to 1962 dramatically shaped how Americans imagined the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( dprk ). It specifically examines how media portrayals of North Korean atrocities, the alleged misconduct of u.s. captives, and the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the dprk affected public perceptions of “North Korea” as a subjective construct. The painful legacy of the Korean War, particularly the experience of u.s. pow s, encouraged Americans to think of North Korea as an inherently violent foe and as part of a broader “Oriental Communist” enemy in the Cold War. When the experiences of u.s. soldiers contradicted these narratives, media sources often made distinctions between “ N orth Koreans,” a repugnant racial and ideological “other,” and “ n orth Koreans,” potential u.s. friends and allies. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of American-East Asian Relations Brill

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References (2)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Articles
ISSN
1058-3947
eISSN
1876-5610
DOI
10.1163/18765610-02204002
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Drawing on national and local news stories, newly declassified documents, u.s. prisoner of war ( pow ) memoirs, and popular films, this article argues that the legacy of the Korean War in the United States from 1953 to 1962 dramatically shaped how Americans imagined the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( dprk ). It specifically examines how media portrayals of North Korean atrocities, the alleged misconduct of u.s. captives, and the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the dprk affected public perceptions of “North Korea” as a subjective construct. The painful legacy of the Korean War, particularly the experience of u.s. pow s, encouraged Americans to think of North Korea as an inherently violent foe and as part of a broader “Oriental Communist” enemy in the Cold War. When the experiences of u.s. soldiers contradicted these narratives, media sources often made distinctions between “ N orth Koreans,” a repugnant racial and ideological “other,” and “ n orth Koreans,” potential u.s. friends and allies.

Journal

Journal of American-East Asian RelationsBrill

Published: Nov 26, 2015

Keywords: Cold War; brainwashing; North Korea; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Korean War; historical memory; North Korean atrocities; prisoners of war; u.s. cinema; u.s. mass culture

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