Go News reports on the “controversy” surrounding the statue of General Douglas MacArthur in Incheon and an even more controversial proposal by a popular Korean Internet site to rename Incheon International Airport “MacArthur International Airport.”
First, we have some interesting quotes from the leftist civic group Incheon Solidarity for Peace and Participation (ISPP), which has been calling for Dougie to be pulled down, noting the “globally unparalleled” nature of a statue of a general of a foreign army standing in a public park. Anyway, the group pointed out:
Using the logic of why the MacArthur statue was erected, we should also erect statues to Tang Dynasty general Su Dingfang, who participated in the unification wars of the Three Kingdom period, and Ming Dynasty general Li Ju-sung from the Seven Years War… MacArthur fought only for U.S. interests. He may be a hero for U.S. interests, but he cannot be our hero.
Just to note — the Koreans may not have erected a monument to Su Dingfang (one of my favorite figures from Korean history), but from what I understand, the confident commander took it upon himself to make one himself by defacing the stone pagoda at Jeongnim Temple in the conquered Baekje capital of Buyeo (great town, BTW) with a record of his campaign.
They also said:
The placement of the MacArthur statue in Incheon’s most representative park symbolically speaks of the unequal relationship between Korea and the United States… Our people have much to erect statues for, and much to commemorate.
Not everyone agrees, of course. Said Incheon Jaineung College professor No Yeong-jun:
It’s narrow-minded to call for the removal of the MacArthur statue, which has stood its ground for 47 years. I don’t know how long these people have been connected to Incheon that they are saying such things, but MacArthur, as the guardian of liberal democracy who protected the Republic of Korea when it faced being communized by the North Korean invasion, is proudly etched in the hearts of Incheon residents.
One journalist said:
The MacArthur statue is not a symbol of the Cold War or a war memorial, as anti-American civic groups claim. It’s a peace memorial commemorating how MacArthur and the UN force he represented saved this nation, which almost fell into the hands of North Korea’s Kim Il-sung.
Even President Roh weighed in with his take on the statue mess. Said the president:
Doing something like removing the statue would be very harmful diplomatically. It could wound the pride and worsen the view of Korea of not just the U.S. government, but the American people.
He added:
I don’t know why the statue must be removed. It’s best to acknowledge history as it is and move on, and I don’t understand why now some are trying to obliterate the entire past.
That brings us to digital camera fan site DC Inside and its citizen ombudsman, who came up with a plan to reorganize the Seoul area, including the rather bold idea of renaming Incheon International Airport after former President Park Chung-hee or — that’s right — Gen. MacArthur. Actually, the plan they came up with essentially entails bringing everything from Incheon in the west and Gapyeong in the east, and Dongducheon in the north to Suwon in the south into Seoul to create a megacity, complete with a 12 -lane, no-speed limit beltway — see this map and article. Anyway, said DC Inside:
“It would be best to historically commemorate how the Incheon Landing saved the freedom of the Republic of Korea and call Incheon ‘Free Seoul.’ Like Kennedy Airport in New York, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Chiang Kai-shek Airport in Taiwan, we should name the airport after a leader who led Korea’s economic development or someone foreigners would easily recognize.”
Someone needs to tell’em MacArthur Airport is already taken, as any good Long Islander knows.
22 Comments
If that name’s taken, they could call it Gen. Douglous
McArthur Airport. I think it’s a wonderful ideal. An airport that represent freedom from tyranny - a complete slap to those nutjobs in pink arm bands wrapped around their arms.
Replace the MacArthur statue with a giant stone carving of the middle finger extended and call it the South Korea Juche Tower or the Monument to Leftist Historical Amnesia.
“Globally unparalleled” huh? I’m no great fan of MacArthur in general or the Incheon invasion plan in particular, but someone should tell the lefties about the statue of Jean de Rochambeau in D.C.’s Lafayette Park.
hahahaa. Islip is too far from where i was. But I am an evil long islander.
“Using the logic of why the MacArthur statue was erected, we should also erect statues to Tang Dynasty general Su Dingfang, who participated in the unification wars of the Three Kingdom period, and Ming Dynasty general Li Ju-sung from the Seven Years War?? MacArthur fought only for U.S. interests. He may be a hero for U.S. interests, but he cannot be our hero.”
I think the unification (that was not unification for me, since it was by the help of China) under Silla was a failure in Korean history but most people think it was an achievement. If one of other kingdoms had won, I think we would have a more advanced culture (because they were more advanced), we wouldn’t have lost the region of Manchuria that belonged to Koguryo, we would have longer names (not Chinese like), would have more power and respect. So I consider it was a “dishonest” unification.
And what they are talking about changing the airport’s name, it doesn’t make sense, and I totally disagree.
Besides MacArthur, Koreans have also erected a monument to the Qing Emperor Taizong ( ???). I think the monument reads something as follows:
Qing Emperor Taizong attacked Chosun as punishment for her breaking the peace. At the time, the Chosun king was so afraid of the Qing troops that it was as if he were walking on thin ice on a spring day. The Chosun king was just thankful that Emperor Taizong did not kill him. Thanks to Qing’s invasion of Chosun, her people and their lives are richer. Thanks to Qing Emperor Taizong, the Chosun people, who scattered like a flock of birds during the war, have returned, and their lean rice is fatter, and spring has come to their cold roots.
I say, if Emperor Taizong can have a monument erected in his honor, why not MacArthur?
By the way, if anyone would like to see the Taizong monument, known as “???????????,” they can find it on the southeast side of Chamsil’s Seokchon Lake.
“Qing Emperor Taizong attacked Chosun as punishment for her breaking the peace. At the time, the Chosun king was so afraid of the Qing troops that it was as if he were walking on thin ice on a spring day. The Chosun king was just thankful that Emperor Taizong did not kill him. Thanks to Qing??s invasion of Chosun, her people and their lives are richer. Thanks to Qing Emperor Taizong, the Chosun people, who scattered like a flock of birds during the war, have returned, and their lean rice is fatter, and spring has come to their cold roots.”
Stupid Koreans without sense.
Gerry, thanks for the info on the statue in Chamshil. I’ll go take a look the next time I’m there.
So, what other foreign generals have statues in America? Would there be a statue of Lafayette himself somewhere in the United States?
Personally, I think it would be a great gesture to rename the airport MacArthur International Airport (isn’t the landing near where the huge bridge crosses the mudflats?). But that would be a good way to engender bad relations for many Inchon residents who now have no hard feelings, or even positive feelings, about the General. That is simply because of the pride of having Korea’s major airport named after their city, much of which is otherwise an industrial mess (there are some nice areas, of course).
I never liked the idea of renaming our airport where I grew up as “John Wayne Airport,” and I still call it Orange County Airport. In fact, the renaming actually engendered in me animosity toward the guy, which I became aware of whenever his movies came on. (If we’re going to name the airport after someone in Orange County, then Nixon or Junipero Serra or Disney or Gene Autry would be far better choices).
I think John Wayne Airport is the perfect name for an airport in Orange County, as the homeland of the great rebirth of right wing activism.
The inside of John Wayne Airport looks like a shopping mall.
Though I can appreciate the legacy of General MacArthur and his brilliance, I can understand how revisionism can go too far. One major example is the US Congress renaming “Washington National Airport” to the “Ronald Regan National Airport” . . . all done while the great buffoon was still alive even. Considering the current control big business has over America, I’m only glad I do not have to fly into the “Ronald MacDonald National Airport” though it is now just about as surreal.
MacArthur Airport will be great. If some children ask who MacArthur was, then grown-ups will explain “he is the general who saved Korea. He gave freedom to us. Without him, we would be under KJI and starving to death.” This will be memorized by every Korean citizen to recite when required.
This is the truth.
As if he did for our country.
To me Houston’s airport is the most charming example of hyper enthused, frequently delusional Sunbelt boosterism, in its first life as the “Intercontinental Airport” (because of course, simply saying “International” wouldn’t befit Houston’s belief in its global importance) and in its second life as George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Yeah, and Seoul is the “Hub of Northeast Asia.”
“no speed-limit beltway”???!!!!
I know it wasnt the main point of the article…still…Just the idea of such a thing in Korea makes me shudder at the number of needless deaths..it would never work in this car culture..it would last less than a year before they made a speed limit hundreds or thousands of people would die
Kushibo:
Try an internet search with “Lafayette statue” and you’ll get several hits.
At least one appears to be up in Connecticut or Rhode Island (whereever “Haverhill” is). Looks like there’s some local controversy about moving the statue — my old computer locked up before I could finish reading so I didn’t get a link.
Not surprising at least one statue of Lafayette would be located in this area, as I think I recall that he was given command of some independent operations opposing British domination of the Long Island sound area. These campaigns are obscure now because the situation in the North remained basically a stalemate after 1779-80.
The focus had shifted to Greene’s operations against Cornwallis in the soutern colonies (Cowpens-Guilford Court House campaign in the Carolinas); the immediate precursor to the Yorktown campaign of 1781.
Another entry appeared to be about a statue of Washington and Lafayette together; I think it’s somewhere in DC. Appropriate because Washington developed a great affection for Lafayette and indeed came to consider him as the son he never had.
Haven’t tried a search but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are statues somewhere in the “original 13 colonies” of “Baron” von Steuben and Kosciusko (sp?); both were foreign military officers who came to assist the Americans during the revolution.
Neither were generals but I think statues of them would meet your criteria. I have a vague idea that there may be a statue of von Steuben at USMA(?) That would be appropriate because he made his mark as a trainer of American troops.
Not a statue, but there is an obelisk monument in Southwest/Central Pennsylvania (along US 40 just south of Uniontown close to MD border). It’s to British General Braddock, who lost his life during his attempt to march his army through raw wilderness from Fort Cumberland (present-day Cumberland MD) to seize Fort Duquesne (now downtown Pittsburgh) in the French and Indian war (1755?).
You recall the famous story, the French and Indians ambushed the British columns of redcoats from the woods, a famous painting of it exists.
The detailed story is more interesting than the conventional myth around it, as Braddock actually came within a whisker of winning this campaign.
Braddock was a member of a famous British regiment (Coldstream Guards). Around 1913 or 14 (just prior to WWI) the CG regimental officers got together and funded the placement of the obelisk. The plaque on the monument lists the names of these officers, all the way down to the most junior members of the regimental mess (if I remember it correctly).
When I visited it I wondered how many of them survived WWI and if the British War monument/ memorial service had been able to mark their graves; I hope so.
The pillar was placed there because it was near the site where Braddock’s body had been found in an unmarked grave, during road construction many years later (sometime in mid-19th century? can’t remember exactly).
However this wasn’t the site of the battle (now a suburb of Pittsburgh, named “Braddock” naturally).
Braddock had been severely wounded and died while being carried in a wagon during the retreat (organized by the young Colonel Washington).
The column buried his body and then ran over it with wagons to prevent any pursuing Indians from digging it up and desecrating it.
There’s an old, old nautical superstition (from sailing days) about how it’s bad luck to rename a ship. I agree that once something is named it ought to keep its original name.
“Reagan National” is an example; it ought to remain just “National”.
You may consider him a “buffoon” but at least he did manage to keep his pants on while in the White House. So perhaps you will in turn join me in calling for JFK Airport in New York to revert to its original name? (”Idlewild”, for those of you under age 50).
We’ve made some progress in this area already, you know (ie getting “Cape Canaveral” back).
JYC wrote:I think John Wayne Airport is the perfect name for an airport in Orange County, as the homeland of the great rebirth of right wing activism.Blech! You go name your airport John Wayne and see how it sounds.
If connecting OC with its roll as a hotbed of conservatism, I’d rather name it Ronald Reagan Airport. Or Bob Hope Airport.
Nixon at least is an OC native. And how many other things are named after the guy? If I were county supervisor, I would name it Nixon Airport just out of sympathy for the guy.
Junipero Serra, though, would be the best name. Without that guy, California might not have ended up being what it was.
I forgot to mention how this all ties in: Orange County Airport is on MacArthur Boulevard.
OTT, but a historian named Lisa Mcgirr wrote a pretty interesting book about Orange County and its leading role in conservative politics. The book is not really partisan.
One of the great ironies I’ve found about right wing tax revolt activists who despise “big government” is the fact that the communities they live in are so deeply dependent on defense contracting, and Orange County was a great example of this phenomenon. This is in contrast to NYC, which famously provides much more in taxes than it gets in federal subsidies.
First ROK, now OC. Why do people on this list always bash places I live?
Oh, wait. What’s this “Kick me!” sign taped to my back?
About the otehr note in the aricle, I wouldn’t mind seeing Seoul made officially into a massive city. A study into the long term benifits would need to be done but anything that help the government coordinate better is a plus in my book.
PLus, I could brag that I live in a city of about 25 million.