THE MILITARY ANDSOUTH KOREAN SOCIETYedited byYoung-Key Kim-RenaudR. Richard GrinkerKirk W. LarsenThe Sigur Center Asia PapersPrevious IssuesThe Sigur Center Asia Papers are occasional publications written by the faculty, visiting scholars, and affiliates of The Sigur Center for Asian Studies. The series provides the informed public and policy community with engaging analysis and context for issues of Asian Affairs and US-Asian relations. The views expressed herein are solely that of the authors.The Sigur Center for Asian Studies is an international research center of The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. The Center’s institutional goals include increasing the quality and scope of scholarly research and publication on Asian affairs; promoting US-Asian interaction; and preparing a new generation of Asia students, scholars, analysts, and policy makers to assume leadership positions in a world in which Asia and the Pacific Rim is of ever increasing importance.The Center, founded in 1991 out of the former Sino-Soviet Institute, is the largest such institution in the Washington, D.C., area and among the strongest in the United States thanks in large part to the world-class Asian Studies faculty of The George Washington University. The Center’s programs include research projects, study groups, conferences, and lectures concerning Asian political, economic, and security issues. In addition, The Center coordinates a Visiting Scholar/Visiting Research Associate Program, which brings eminent scholars and top policy planners to The Center from universities and government organizations around the world.About The Sigur Center Asia PapersThe Sigur Center for Asian Studies1957 E Street, N.W., Suite 503Washington, D.C. 20052Tel.: 202-994-5886 Fax: 202-994-6096http://www.gwu.edu/~sigur/26. The Military and South Korean Society Young-Key Kim-Renaud, R. Richard Grinker, and Kirk W. Larsen, eds., 200625. The 2004 Tsunami: Six Month ReportKarl F. Inderfurth, David Fabrycky, Stephen Cohen, 200624. Korean EducationYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, R. Richard Grinker, and Kirk W. Larsen, eds., 200523.The 2004 Tsunami: Six Month ReportKarl F. Inderfurth, David Fabrycky, Stephen Cohen, 200522.U.S.-India Relations: Ties That Bind?Deepa Ollapally, 200521. India-China Relations in the Context of Vajpayee’s 2003 VisitSurjit Mansingh, 200520. Korean American LiteratureYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, R. Richard Grinker, and Kirk W. Larsen, eds., 200419. Sorrows of Empire: Imperialism, Militarism, and the End of the RepublicChalmers Johnson, 200418. Europe and America in Asia: Different Beds, Same DreamsMichael Yahuda, 200417. Text and Context of Korean Cinema: Crossing BordersYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, R. Richard Grinker, and Kirk W. Larsen, eds., 200316. Korean MusicYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, R. Richard Grinker, and Kirk W. Larsen, eds., 200215. European and American Approaches Toward China: Different Beds, Same Dreams?David Shambaugh, 200214. Assessing Chen Shui-bian’s First Year: The Domestic & International AgendaConference Report, 200113. Reflections of “Misunderstanding” in China Allen S. Whiting, 200112. Christianity in KoreaYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, and R. Richard Grinker, eds., 200111. The Political Economy of the Asian Financial CrisisStephen Haggard, 200110. The US Factor in Cross-Straits RelationsConference Report, 20009. The International Relations Theoretical Discourse in China: A Preliminary AnalysisRen Xiao, 20008. Creation and Re-Creation: Modern Korean Fiction and Its TranslationYoung-Key Kim-Renaud, and R. Richard Grinker, eds., 20007. Trends in China Watching: Observing the PRC at 50Bruce Dickson, ed., 19996. US-Japan Relations in an Era of GlobalizationMike M. Mochizuki, 19995. Southeast Asian Countries’ Perceptions of China’s Military ModernizationKoong Pai Ching, 19994. Enhancing Sino-American Military RelationsDavid Shambaugh, 19983. The Redefinition of the US-Japan Security Alliance and Its Implications for ChinaXu Heming, 19982. Is China Unstable? Assessing the Factors*David Shambaugh, ed., 19981. International Relations in Asia: Culture, Nation, and StateLucian W. Pye, 1998Single issues are complimentary; additional copies are $5.00.*available through M.E. SharpeTable of ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................. vKIRK LARSENAcknowldegements.................................................................................................................... viiYOUNG-KEY KIM-RENAUD, R. RICHARD GRINKER, AND KIRK W. LARSENWar and Peace in Premodern Korea: Institutional and Ideological Dimensions....... 1 EUGENE Y. PARKGender, Conscription, and Popular Culture in Contemporary Korea........................ 15SEUNGSOOK MOONGood Brothers, Model Soldiers: South Korea’s Blockbuster War Filmsin the Post-Korean War Era..................................................................................................... 29SHEILA MIYOSHI JAGER & JIYUL KIMProfiles.......................................................................................................................................... 43The need for a common defense is one of the earliest and most universal motivations for social organization. Virtually every human society has made some arrangement to safeguard the physical security of the group and Korea is no exception. However, one legacy of the long-lived Chosôn Dy-nasty (1392-1910) has been an emphasis on Koreans as literate and literary scholar-officials rather than mighty warriors. It was left to nationalist historians such as Sin Ch’ae-ho (1880-1936) to discover—to his amazement—that Korea’s past included not only Confucian gentlemen but also mighty warriors such as the 7th-century Koguryô general Ûlchimundôk whose wily tactics led to the decimation of a massive Chinese army that threatened the kingdom with extinction. Sin Ch’ae-ho’s discoveries are now conventional wisdom; the military has played and continues to play a prominent role in not only defending Korea but also in influencing the trajectory of Korean politics and society. The 12th Hahn Moo-sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities explores the Korean military, both past and present, and the role it has played in shaping Korean society.Eugene Y. Park’s “War and Peace in Pre-modern Korea: Institutional and Ideological Dimensions” offers a sweeping