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Project Eagle

The American Christians of North Korea in World War II

Robert S. Kim

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Imprint: Potomac Books
Published: 05/2017
Pages: 368
Subject: History
eBook ISBN: 9781612349305

DESCRIPTION

Robert S. Kim contributes to a fuller understanding of Asia in World War II by revealing the role of American Christian missionary families in the development of the Korean independence movement and the creation of Project Eagle, the forgotten alliance between that movement and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), called Project Eagle.Project Eagle tells the story of American missionaries in Korea from 1884 to 1942. They brought a new religion, modern education, and American political ideals to a nation conquered and ruled by the Japanese Empire. The missionaries' influence inextricably linked Christianity and American-style democracy to Korean nationalism and independence, meanwhile establishing an especially strong presence in Pyongyang. Project Eagle connects this era for the first time to OSS-Korean cooperation during the war through the story of its central figures: American missionary sons George McCune and Clarence Weems and one of Korea's leading national heroes, Kim Ku. Project Eagle illuminates the shared history between Americans and Koreans that has remained largely unexamined since World War II. The legacy of these American actions in Korea, ignored by the U.S. government and the academy since 1945, has shaped the relationship of the United States to both North Korea and South Korea and remains crucial to understanding the future of U.S. relations with both Koreas.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert S. Kim has almost two decades of experience in law and foreign affairs. He has worked in international financial law at a New York firm and in financial regulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and at the Department of the Treasury. He previously worked at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and served as the Treasury Department's deputy attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad from 2009 to 2010.  

REVIEWS

"Robert Kim's highly informative, intriguing, wonderfully illustrated, and readable Project Eagle helps us envision a reunified Korean nation collaborating with the United States and other Pacific Rim nations toward widespread stability and prosperity in the region."—Robert M. Sargent, U.S. Foreign Service (Ret.)   

"Project Eagle is well researched, well written, and full of much-needed information about Korea."—Helen McCune, daughter of Dr. George M. McCune and granddaughter of the Rev. George S. McCune, contributors to Korean independence  

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