From Pusan to Panmunjom : Wartime Memoirs of the Republic of Korea's First Four-Star General

"Engrossing wartime memoirs . . . impressive and instructive."?? Kirkus Reviews

Paik Sun Yup was born in 1920 near Pyongyang. He graduated from Pyongyang Normal School, and in 1941 from Manchuria's Mukden Military Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Manchurian Army, in which he served until the end of World War II. Just ahead of the onrushing Soviet Army, Paik made his way back to Pyongyang, where he assisted Cho Man Sik, a leader of Korea's fledgling national liberation movement. Realizing in 1946 that a communist takeover of the North was inevitable, Paik fled south for a new life and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the South Korean Constabulary (later the Republic of Korea Army). When North Korea invaded in 1950, Paik was a colonel and commander of the ROK 1st Division. During the course of the war, he rose to become South Korea's first four-star general and was his country's representative at the peace talks. Following the armistice, he served twice as army chief of staff (founding South Korea's first field army between terms) and was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One of the most highly decorated officers in the ROK Army, he earned two Taeguk Medals (Korea's highest award), as well as seven U.S. medals, including one Silver Star and four Legions of Merit. General Paik retired from the army in 1960 to begin a second career as a diplomat. He served as ambassador to R.O.C. (Taiwan), France (and concurrently sixteen other European and African nations), and Canada. Paik left the diplomatic service in 1969, was minister of transportation until 1971, and then was president, until 1980, of Korea General Chemical Corporation. Currently he serves as honorary chairman and adviser to various government and private organizations. Residing in Seoul, General Paik and his wife of forty-eight years, In Sook, have four children.