Wednesday, February 28, 2001

By Jeremy Kirk
Seoul bureau chief

YONGSAN GARRISON — During his 79 years, Gen. Lee Chi-op participated in much of Korea’s 20th century history.

He was a general during the Korean War. He was a bodyguard for Syngman Rhee, South Korea’s first leader. He taught Park Chung-hee, the country’s third leader, at a military academy.

An energetic man with a fervent love for his country, Lee’s experiences and perspectives on Korea were enough to prompt the interest of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Stephen M. Tharp. Tharp assisted Lee in writing Call Me Speedy Lee, a book that captures Lee’s storied life in his own words.

They met a couple years ago at the U.N. Mess, a club on the U.N. compound near Yongsan Garrison. Once they started talking, Lee’s life and stories impressed Tharp.

"He thought I had quite some knowledge of the Korean War," said Lee at a recent book signing.

"I said ‘Gen. Lee, you need to put this in a book,’ " Tharp said. "We started the next Saturday doing interviews."

They met for about four months, with Tharp taping interviews.

Then, Tharp transcribed the tapes and Lee reviewed and revised the text to ensure accuracy, Tharp said.

The project took about two years, Tharp said.

"It was not a full-time endeavor, but a weekend endeavor," he said.

Although the interviews were conducted in English, the book also is available in Korean.

The book follows Lee’s experiences in the Japanese military when Korea was under colonial rule, his career as an officer during the Korean War and his work in Korea since the 1950-53 war.

The book also includes insights from the wizened Lee, who continues to have strong opinions.

"Today, we Koreans lead happy lives thanks to the American soldiers who have safeguarded freedom and democracy," Lee says in the book. "I have a negative perception of people who harbor anti-American sentiments and who take part in anti-U.S. demonstrations."

Perhaps one of the more famous stories included in the book happened after the beginning of the war in June 1950. It also is recounted in T.R. Fehrenbach’s book This Kind of War.

At night, Lee ran into a group of about 50 Americans who needed to cross the Han River southward because the North Koreans were fighting in Seoul. Some of the Americans belonged to the Korean Military Advisory Group, an organization assisting South Korea’s fledging government.

The Han River bank was packed with refugees trying to cross. Lee could see some boats and fired a shot from his .45-caliber pistol to get a boatman’s attention. The boatman promptly came over, and only later did Lee find out why: he had accidentally sent a bullet through the man’s coat. Lee wasn’t used to his American-made weapon and the recoil was different.

Uninjured but furious, the boatman later yelled at Lee, asking how a dead man was supposed to ferry the group across the river.

"I assumed that it was like the Japanese pistols that I had trained with when I was a young officer," Lee writes. "I was wrong."

The group got across the river safely.

The book costs $20 and will soon be available at the Kyobo Bookstore near the U.S. Embassy in Kwangwhamun. Tharp is working with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to make the book available at its stores.

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