Love in Korean War: Wartime bride's son traces mother's journey from Wonju to America
On the wooden veranda of a traditional Korean house, its lattice doors covered in paper, a young couple sits facing each other and smiling. The American husband, hair cropped short, has lather on his face and is about to shave. His younger Korean wife holds up a mirror for him. Last summer, their granddaughter shared 10 of the black-and-white photographs on Reddit, the American online forum. They…
In the early 1950s, amidst the chaos of the Korean War, an American soldier named Ralph Smith and a young Korean woman named Park Yoo-sun met and fell in love. Their photos, taken during this tumultuous time, have since captured the hearts of people from both nations. The marriage, while filled with love, came with a price. Women who married American servicemen during that era were labeled "yanggongju," meaning Western princess - a derogatory term used against women associated with U.S. troops.
Decades after the war ended, Park Yoo-sun and Ralph Smith made their way to the United States in the 1960s. Their son, Charley Smith, who is now 74, has now published a book titled "Yoo-sun and Ralph." This book traces the intertwined history of his parents, a family story woven through the complex tapestry of war and immigration.
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