The Forgotten Home Front with Sean Kim

As the Korean war (1950–1953) drew to a close and South Korea began to rebuild, American GI Roger Marshutz (1929–2007) was stationed in Pusan to photograph U.S. reconstruction efforts. In his spare time, Marshutz also wandered the streets, documenting the daily life of Korean civilians. The Forgotten Home Front: Roger Marshutz’s Photographs of Pusan, South Korea, 1952–1954 offers both an official and unofficial look at U.S.-South Korean relations, as well as a portrait of a country in the midst of enormous political, economic, and cultural transformation.

Based on the new book, historian Sean Kim will discuss the crucial role of Pusan during the war and the major political, socioeconomic, and cultural transformations that followed in South Korea.