Project Eagle

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Project Eagle

The American Christians of North Korea in World War II

Robert S. Kim

360 pages
50 photographs, 2 figures, index

Hardcover

May 2017

978-1-61234-869-8

$39.95 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

May 2017

978-1-61234-932-9

$39.95 Add to Cart
eBook (EPUB)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

May 2017

978-1-61234-930-5

$39.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

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.
            
 
 

Author Bio

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.
 

Praise

"I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know something about modern East Asian history and the relationship of religion and politics."—James H. Grayson, Reading Religion

“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
 

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     
Preface    
Note on Terminology    
Acknowledgments    
Part 1. Jerusalem of the East
1. Genesis, 1882–1919    
2. Kim Ku and the Korean Liberation Movement    
3. Americans of Korea: Clarence Weems and George McCune    
Part 2. Crusade in Asia
4. The OSS and the Korean Provisional Government    
5. Project Eagle    
6. Lost Crusade: The End of Project Eagle     
7. End of Innocence: The U.S. Military Government in Korea    
8. After the Mission    
Notes    
Bibliography    
Index

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