Documents on British Policy Overseas, ser. 2, vol. 4: Korea, 1950-1951 (review)

BOOK REVIEWS245 seem to outweigh the costs in Vogel's account of the little dragons, all of whom—unlike Japan—shared the experience of being colonized. With reference to Hong Kong and Singapore, Vogel notes that "both had a British colonial heritage and a familiarity with the English language and Western culture that gave them a great advantage over other East Asian locations in international commerce" (p. 66). He further observes that the per capita income of Hong Kong is nearing that of its colonial motherland, and that more investment has lately been flowing from colony to motherland than vice versa. Elsewhere, he acknowledges the beginnings ofindustrialization in South Korea and Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, and the resulting unusually high degree of access to Japan those two countries achieved during the postcolonial era. Only a fool would conclude from this that being colonized by an industrial power is an effective, desirable , or even tolerable means to achieve industrialization. Nevertheless, the experience of the little dragons shows that some of the pain of colonial subjugation can be turned to gain in the postcolonial era. Joel Bradshaw University of Hawai'i at Mänoa Documents on British Policy Overseas, ser. 2, vol. 4: Korea, 1950-1951, edited by H.J.Yasamee and R.A.Hamilton. London: HMSO Publications Centre, 1991. liii + 460 pp., maps, notes, index, microfiches. Scholars conducting research in international relations have long benefited from using Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS). This multivolume series makes easily available large amounts of government documents related to the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy. Britain's equivalent is Documents on British Policy Overseas. Like FRUS, it contains reprints of cables, memoranda of conversations, and summaries of conference and cabinet meetings. Korea, 1950-1951 reprints a total of 145 documents in chronological order. Calendar entries follow a good number of the documents, and summaries of numerous additional cables appear in often lengthy footnotes. Nearly all the documents in this volume, H. Y.Yasamee and K.A.Hamilton report, come from "the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, especially the Foreign Office political files classed in FO 371" with "extensive use... made of papers from the files of Far Eastern Department" (p. xxxiv). The editors successfully gained "access to special categories of 246BOOK REVIEWS material," but "followed the customary practice in not consulting personnel files or specifically intelligence material" (p. xxxv). This volume covers the period from 25 June 1950 to 14 April 1951. Yasamee and Hamilton begin with a 35-page narrative briefly summarizing the information contained in the documents they have selected for inclusion in the volume. A useful table then lists in order each reprinted entry, with author, date, and subject matter. A good map of Korea appears opposite the title page, indicating general battle lines for the Pusan Perimeter , the U.N. advance to the YaIu, and the Chinese penetration south of the 38th parallel, as well as the cease-fire line. Another map displaying all of Asia is located inside the back cover. An appendix contains one Ministry of Defence assessment of global conditions dated 7 June 1950, and another dated exactly a year later. Finally, there is an index listing primarily people and nations rather than issues and events. Yasamee and Hamilton artificially divide this collection of documents into three sections. Chapter 1 contains 157 pages of entries covering the period from the outbreak of hostilities to preparations for the U.N. military advance into North Korea. Chapter 2 consumes 119 pages, starting with Britain's response to mounting evidence of Chinese military involvement in Korea. This section concludes with British efforts to prevent the Korean War from escalating into a global conflagration. In chapter 3, the editors assign 132 pages to tracing developments from early January 1951 until U.N. forces regained control over South Korea after three months of fighting. Documents in this last section cover the unsuccessful British and Commonwealth efforts to secure a cease-fire, resulting in unenthusiastic endorsement of the U.N. resolution condemning the PRC as an aggressor in Korea. Korea, 1950-1951 ends with coverage of British reactions to the military stalemate and President Harry...