 This is South Korea today, the capital city, Seoul, in some ways as modern as with it, as anything in the western world. Even its nightclubs are just as swinging, crowded, carefree, and overpriced as their counterparts in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, a long way from the war. These are the men who make it safe to live and dance in Seoul, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. They are U.S. and Korean soldiers starting a patrol along the DMZ, just 30 miles north of Seoul. Most every week some of them are killed by North Korean ambushes, border raids, hidden land mines, by any of the 100 ways the communists test the line and violate the 1953 armistice. In spite of everything, the Republic of Korea struggles to come of age. This is the story of what has happened to her since the armistice, and of those who have helped it happen. Since land of morning calm, if if, 1950, the morning calm is shattered, Russia-equipped North Korean troops pour across the 38th parallel into South Korea onslaught. The small, ill-equipped army of South Korea is driven back, denouncing the invasion. And within five days, President Truman has ordered American fighting men into the field. Troops of 15 other U.N. members come in to help. The tide of battle slowly turns. These soldiers come to the aid of the North Koreans, and a pattern is established with first one side advancing and then the other, communist invader. Twice it is recaptured, as is finally signed on July 27, 1953. Dead include 30,000 Americans, 5,000 troops from the other 15 assisting U.N. countries, and more than 400,000 South Koreans, both military and civilian. Of the South Korean survivors, countless thousands are starving, homeless refugees. Sixth largest city lies in ruins. Block after block of rubble testifies to the grim fact that more than 80% of it has been destroyed. Military and despair seem neighbors along these ravaged streets. But that was 1953. Korea today seems like a very distant relative to that once war-ravaged land. It is from the people that a nation derives its character, and nowhere is the revitalization of Korea more evident than in its people. From a struggling band of demoralized refugees, the people have grown into a cohesive, energetic nation. U.S. Army Sergeant, who was here during the fighting, observed, the first thing you'll notice is the children. They're not starving anymore, running around with their little belly swollen. The children you'll notice right away still exists to some degree. Even the threat of famine caused by monsoon or drought. But the grinding hopelessness of a war-ruined country is far behind. The people have a chance and they know it. It shows in their pride, in their energy, in their seemingly endless capacity for work. It has been said that Korea has a shortage of everything but people, and it's not far from the truth. This becomes especially apparent where transportation is concerned. Every possible method of moving people and products is in effect in Korea, few that are impossible except that nobody has bothered to tell the Koreans. The arches of triumph in the Korean economy must surely belong to the feet, for they seem to bear most of the load. On the back, on the head, are on the ever-present jiggers, nicknamed a-frames by the Americans. Tons of freight move every day by foot. The jigger is a unique Korean invention and the men who carry them were indispensable during the Korean War when they carried ammunition and supplies. But alongside the jiggers, electrified streetcars and buses, Russian trucks abandoned in a communist retreat to the north, still miraculously hauling the freight, even though the home office seems reluctant to send replacement parts. And if the man who invented the bicycle could see to what use his toy has been put in the commerce of Korea, he might conclude with justification that his place in history is assured alongside the man who invented the wheel. Here the bicycle is not only a means of transportation, but also an important vehicle for business. Its use allows personal earnings to go for the more required necessity. Even the bicycles which survive the impossible have to contend with the ever-present Korean taxicab. Korean taxicab drivers may not build up the speed of their American counterparts, but they duplicate the daring encountered in most of the world's great cities. Do the drivers can make their vehicles fit in the spaces that seem that no vehicle was meant to go? Well, almost. The newest transportation miracle, though, is the Kimpo International Airport toll road, the first toll road in the nation. It's only one example, though, of the vast program of road construction scheduled by the government. The new road will make it easier and faster to get from Seoul to Kimpo International Airport, the home of the fledgling Korean Airlines. Its modest fleet of aircraft is composed of modern propeller-driven airliners, who does little, however, to touch the life of the average Korean in the field. The fatched roof, mud-brick house he lives in is much the same as that of his father and his father before him. His slightly more affluent cousin may have one with a tile roof. For most Koreans, it's still shoes outside, which leaves a floor inside clean enough to sit on. And in the winter, Andol floor is heated by flues, another Korean invention going back 1500 years. But this is not surprising in a land where the very old blends with the very new. Perhaps the most striking change to come over the face of Korea has been the influence of Western architecture. In many places, the graceful, traditional curve of the oriental roof line has given way to the clean, efficient, straight line look of the West, which permits more rapid and economical construction. Major rebuilding began almost immediately after the armistice, when $15 million worth of excess U.S. armed forces equipment was put to work reconstructing war-shattered buildings. Reclaiming the land in the first 10 years alone, the armed forces invested $23 million in more than 5,000 projects. Even though this is less than $1 per Korean, it has helped in their reconstruction program and the Koreans are indeed grateful. Industrial development, too, has received massive American aim. Since most Korean industry was located in the Communist North, the division of the country was an especially hard blow to South Korea. Development of new industrial capabilities has been made possible by American financial and technical assistance. The Koreans enjoy TV, refrigerators, new cars, his first oil refinery, financed partly by American private capital, processes 55,000 barrels a day. The Hong Kong fertilizer plant produces 330,000 tons of chemical fertilizer a year. Development of this vital industry can mean the difference between famine or food enough to feed the nation. The problem of food production is the main concern at the government's experimental farm at Suwon, south of Seoul. The major research of all sorts is carried out, and extension workers are trained in the latest farming techniques, which in his hope will make the country self-sufficient in food production by the early 1970s. During the worldwide competition to attract tourists, the government has constructed the impressive complex of 26 buildings, including five hotels and 12 villas, that make up the Walker Hill Resort, named for General Walton Walker of Korean War fame. It is just 12 miles from Seoul, overlooking the Han River. It spreads over 150 acres and provides a complete variety of entertainment and sports facilities. Since Walker Hill is not subject to the curfew, which puts the rest of the concrete to bed at midnight, it's a good place for night people. Bright golden moon restaurants features kimchi, the spicy Korean dish, and a host of gourmet delights to be consumed to the gentle strains of ancient oriental string music. Seoul, another popular spot, features Western cuisine and a whole line of Korean rockets. Unfortunately, the standards of sanitation that apply at Walker Hill and at the luxury hotels do not extend throughout Korean society. Unfortunately, at least for the American, whose system is accustomed to more antiseptic conditions. It is suggested that on the local economy, the tourist exercises a certain amount of caution, stick to well-cooked foods, avoid unpeeled fresh fruits and vegetables, tap water and drink served with ice, drink only bottled beer or hot tea or coffee. With any spirit of adventure, an American can travel the length and breadth of the Republic of Korea and get fat in the process, providing he masters the art of using chopsticks. But many other sections of the country, especially attractive to tourists, such as Jeju Island, are about 60 miles southwest of the mainland. Many people regard the Mount Sorak area in the eastern part of the country as the most picturesque in Korea. In many of the remote communities, all customs and colorful holiday rituals are to be seen. Without the security provided by a strong army, however, Korea wouldn't be safe for anyone, tourist and native alike. With the assistance of United States military advisors, the Republic of Korea Army has been built into one of the most efficient, highly trained forces in the world. With 600,000 men, it is also the third largest in the non-communist world. So armed with the latest equipment available, the ancient and traditional Korean battle skills aren't forgotten. These soldiers are practicing Taekwondo, the Korean version of karate and justice deadly. It has been used in battle before and most commanders agree that it builds tough, self-assured troops. Perhaps the most impressive sign of a nation coming of age was reached on September 25, 1965, when for the first time in the history of the nation, it voluntarily sent thousands of its soldiers abroad to fight in a foreign war, the war in Vietnam. The Tiger and White Horse divisions have by their bravery and skill earned the respect of free men everywhere. About 10,000 rock soldiers serve in a special capacity with the U.S. Army. They are Catoosa, or Korean augmentation to the U.S. Army soldiers. They work, train and live alongside U.S. soldiers, dates back to the dark early days of the Korean War. When to strengthen our underman forces, rock recruits were channeled into U.S. units. Perhaps one reason the rock troopers have fought communism with distinction abroad is because many of them have had bitter personal experience with communist aggression at home. Even like this along their own DMZ. This truck was not blown up in Vietnam. It was ambushed on April 1968 by North Korean communists in a flagrant, daylight raid across the Korean DMZ. The three soldiers of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division and one Catoosa soldier who were murdered in this truce violation were on their way to lunch, some time later on in August, as the men of the 76th Engineer Battalion began to line up for their supper, their M.S. tent was suddenly hit by heavy machine gun fire from communist raiders. Their soldiers, one Catoosa killed, 26 other people wounded, including two Korean laundry women. This is where a barracks building stood, located at Camp Wally. It was demolished by a planted time bomb. Two soldiers were killed in their sleep. These are only a few variations on the communist theme, and Panmunjom, 30 miles north of Seoul, where the Joint Military Armistice Commission meets to discuss violations. The North Korean side invariably flunts the communist line even in the face of evidence, blandly ignoring all charges and throwing up a smoke screen of fabrication and counter charge. In the first nine months of 1967 alone, there were seven times as many communist violations as in the entire year of 1966. Then ignored or denied? Not only does Panmunjom provide the spectacle of communist fantasy, but in the United Nations Honor Guard, an impressive reminder that the free world is indeed a reality and very much committed to staying that way. United Nations soldiers remain constantly on the alert to meet the continuing border incidents, subversion, and infiltration of enemy agents along the DMZ. Scattered along the line, a system of guard posts are manned around the clock. A barrier fence is being constructed along the entire 150-mile length of the DMZ from coast to coast. Watchtowers spotted every few hundred feet provide additional vantage points for observation. The lush green foliage along the DMZ is one of the most beautiful features in this no-man's land. It is also one of the most deadly. Its natural screen provides a perfect cover for North Korean hit-and-run operations. To frustrate the communist infiltration pattern of ambush and attack, a narrow strip of land will be cleared south of the line. The agent who tries to make it across this high visibility zone may find that the odds have been sharply reversed. But fences and watchtowers and guard posts alone mean nothing. It's the troops who man them and the ones who actually get out and do the patrolling, who prevent the DMZ and more from being overrun. The team once defined combat patrol flying as hours of boredom interrupted only by moments of sheer terror. In a sense, DMZ duty is a bit like that. The communists conduct a daily war of nerves, of subversion, of the kind of treachery that can turn the most routine patrol into a death march. Although many communist agents are introduced across the DMZ, the Korean government feels that even more come ashore by boat along the 5,000-mile coastline. Some of these potential guerrillas hide out in the mountainous southern part of the country. For that reason, combat-ready soldiers of the Korean Army's infantry divisions continually patrol in suspect areas. Hunt and kill patrols move in force to flush out these communist infiltrators. First ability Korea has, indeed the world has, is guaranteed by these men of the United Nations Command, who make it perfectly clear where the line has been drawn and who literally put their lives on that line every day. And what is it that troops are guarding? Well, among other things, the right to develop men maintain a democratic government which is stable without being oppressive. Under President Park Jong-ki, reform and development have been considerable, and Korea stands today as a proud example of self-determination to maintain freedom, as a nation which truly has a choice between tyranny and liberty.