While many Americans’ memories of the “Forgotten War” may have faded, mine remain unclouded.
I was born in Incheon, South Korea, following the war, where General Douglas MacArthur’s historic landing provided allied army with a base from which to repel North Korean forces. The war’s devastation persisted even after armed combat ended. I remember clearly, as a small child, seeing American soldiers drive by in their trucks and drop candy, which was my first experience with the freedom and potential of my level.
As the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific and one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress, my work is informed by my experiences.
I have lived to witness South Korea’s development into a developed country, a thriving democracy, and a significant strategic ally of the United States. I have also seen the North Korean leadership, under Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and now Kim Jong Un, endanger the lives of its citizens by prioritizing the military and, more recently, increasing the country’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
