Overview

A groundbreaking look at how the interrogation rooms of the Korean War set the stage for a new kind of battle-not over land but over human subjectsTraditional histories of the Korean War have long focused on violations of the thirty-eighth parallel, the line drawn by American and Soviet officials in 1945 dividing the Korean peninsula. But The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War presents an entirely new narrative, shifting the perspective from the boundaries of the battlefield to inside the interrogation room. Upending conventional notions of what we think of as geographies of military conflict, Monica Kim demonstrates how the Korean War evolved from a fight over territory to one over human interiority and the individual human subject, forging the template for the US wars of intervention that would predominate during the latter half of the twentieth century and beyond.Kim looks at how, during the armistice negotiations, the United States and their allies proposed a new kind of interrogation room: one in which POWs could exercise their ""free will"" and choose which country they would go to after the ceasefire. The global controversy that erupted exposed how interrogation rooms had become a flashpoint for the struggles between the ambitions of empire and the demands for decolonization, as the aim of interrogation was to produce subjects who attested to a nation's right to govern. The complex web of interrogators and prisoners-Japanese-American interrogators, Indian military personnel, Korean POWs and interrogators, and American POWs-that Kim uncovers contradicts the simple story in US popular memory of ""brainwashing"" during the Korean War.Bringing together a vast range of sources that track two generations of people moving between three continents, The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War delves into an essential yet overlooked aspect of modern warfare in the twentieth century.

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Reviews

Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University

The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University

The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago

Compelling. . . . A specific, targeted, and nuanced exploration of how the Korean War and Cold War-era battlefield moved inside and became a new 'struggle of political legitimacy waged within human psyches, souls, and desires.' --Kirkus The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University

The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto

The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago

Compelling. . . . A specific, targeted, and nuanced exploration of how the Korean War and Cold War-era battlefield moved inside and became a new 'struggle of political legitimacy waged within human psyches, souls, and desires.' --Kirkus The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War is a deeply researched and insightful book. Drawing on a parade of fascinating characters, surprising scenes, and recently declassified material, Monica Kim casts a fresh, innovative light on the Korean War and shows how the ideological struggle in prisoner-of-war camps and their interrogation rooms became the final front line of a pivotal American conflict. --Charles J. Hanley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and coauthor of The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War Ingeniously focusing on POW interrogation rooms run by the North Koreans and Chinese, the United States, and the Indian-led Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, this brilliantly researched book makes a compelling argument about the ways in which postwar and postcolonial states sought to govern their nations and the larger world not only by brute force, but also through the management of interiorities. A truly rare combination of conceptual sophistication and gripping storytelling. --Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto This is a stunning book about POWs in the Korean War and the crisis that ensued when the United States insisted that the repatriation of prisoners be voluntary. Kim locates in POW camps and interrogation rooms a pivot in the stakes of modern war, in which the United States linked decolonization and global power to the creation of liberal subjects. The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War changes how we think about the Korean War, the Cold War, and war itself. --Mae Ngai, Columbia University It is rare to encounter an extraordinary first book like this one: imaginative, completely original, and beautifully wrought with a convincing set of capacious arguments. It will require scholars to fundamentally rethink how we write the history of the Korean War and the international history of the mid-twentieth century. --Mark Philip Bradley, University of Chicago

Author Information

Monica Kim is associate professor of history and the William Appleman Williams & David G. and Marion S. Meissner Chair in U.S. International and Diplomatic History at the University of WisconsinMadison. She is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow.

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