Mega blockbuster: The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16) and the Korean War

By Chin Foo Chun

THIS MOVIE is now the second-highest grossing movie (over 5 billion yuan or about US$800 million) of all time in China — after Wolf Warrior 2. In comparison, James Bond’s No Time to Die has grossed over US$700 million so far.

The film boasts three celebrated directors — Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam — a run time of almost three hours as well as the most intense and bloody battle scenes one can watch that do not involve Mel Gibson, according to John Lui, in his movie review in the Straits Times.

There are three acts to this story, as summarised by John Lui:

The first act is the prelude to the war, showing humble People’s Liberation Army commander Wu Qianli (Wu Jing) returning to his village after the Chinese Civil War with dreams of giving a plot of land to his peasant parents. His break is short-lived, as trouble brews in North Korea.

Actors portray historical figures such as Chairman Mao Zedong and revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai, giving voice to worries about the foreign forces acting with impunity on Chinese soil. Lookalikes also portray the opposing side — for example, General Douglas MacArthur, the American heading the United Nations forces.

The middle portion deals with the infiltration by Chinese troops into North Korea, with the final third chapter showing the battle, known in the West as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

John Lui expresses this view:

This expressly patriotic work puts a heavy shine on Chinese military success, while either ignoring or excusing its blunders. In other words, it is no different from most Hollywood war movies celebrating American military triumphs.

Rushing troops to the front without enough food and warm clothing — the cold, reaching 40 deg C below zero, would prove to be as deadly for the Chinese side as enemy weapons — is referenced. It is not shown as an example of poor decision-making, but an act of heroic self-sacrifice.

The patriotic sloganeering will likely leave many viewers cold, but this Chinese movie can be enjoyed as a work of bonkers battle action. It does serve as a welcome antidote to Hollywood war films that have demonised the opposing side as mindless, freedom-hating hordes.

Having watched Wolf Warrior 2 (also starring Wu Jing as the hero) a few years ago, I can appreciate the kind of Chinese patriotic nationalism on display.

In another news commentary, Danson Cheong of the Straits Times has this to say:

The Battle of Lake Changjin — a nationalist shot across the bow.

The Korean War epic is whipping up nationalist sentiments while serving as a warning to the US and its allies that China is not to be trifled with.

This is an example of how China’s propaganda twists history to nurture nationalism and enhance credibility of Mao and CPC [Communist Party of China] — so that people will not question the supremacy of the CPC leadership which has reunified the country and led them to glory.

In reality and fact, the Korean War was a dubious bit of history which led to unnecessary loss of Chinese lives, and undoubtedly was of dubious benefit to China.

Kim Il Sung poster: Signature depiction
during that era. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Let’s examine Danson Cheong’s comment about this dubious bit of history. I will try to distill the history of the Korean War as a sequence of events:

1. In 1945, at the end of WWII, Russia/Soviet Union and the US came to a standoff at the 38th Parallel in Korea, following the defeat of Japan (similar to the standoff in Germany with East and West Germany and division of Berlin; here Seoul was firmly in South Korea but vulnerable as it is near the 38th Parallel).
2. In 1948, both sides agreed to withdraw leaving behind a North Korea heavily armed by the Soviet Union, and a South Korea — ROK (Republic of Korea) — supported by the US. 
3. By 1950, Kim Il Sung had approached Stalin for support to attack South Korea and reunite Korea.
4. Stalin agreed to arm, fund and support Kim Il Sung, provided he could convince Mao to support him in this war. Stalin would not contribute Russian/Soviet forces to a war.
5. At that time, China led and governed by the CPC, was absolutely poor and short of resources to support a war adventure. But in the end, Mao agreed (and overrode dissension and doubts within the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] about engaging in a war, even if China was not funding it), perhaps fearing that if Kim did not win, China would be vulnerable to a US invasion (bear in mind that at that time, McCarthyism and the vendetta against communism/socialism was on the rise in the US — earlier days of Cold War).
6. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung launched his attack on South Korea — crossing the 38th Parallel, and overwhelmed the forces there (who were caught by surprise) quickly. The South Korean and US forces were pushed to the south-eastern corner at Busan — where they made their stand.

7. 

   MacArthur, in dark jacket, observing the invasion
   of Incheon. Source: Wikimedia Commons

   Bruised by this surprise attack and with his reputation in tatters, MacArthur was desperate to counterattack and regain the initiative. Against the concerns expressed by his generals, McArthur took the bold decision to launch a dangerous high risk invasion at Incheon (location of the current international airport) — a craggy rocky coastline (and not smooth sands like Normandy). This surprise counterattack succeeded and Kim Il Sung’s forces were encircled. They quickly retreated back above the 38th Parallel. MacArthur turned from being a disgraced general to a war hero (i.e. from WWII hero to zero and back to hero).
8. Emboldened by this victory, MacArthur’s forces pushed northwards. MacArthur wanted to get rid of Kim Il Sung and push all the way to the Yalu, and create a buffer zone in China for a reunited Korea. He even entertained and promoted the idea of using nuclear bombs to create a “dead zone” in China above the Yalu.
9. On Oct 15, 1950, Truman flew to Wake Island (nearer Guam, west of Hawaii), to meet MacArthur. This was a major concession from a president to fly out to meet his general — a subordinate, who had not been exactly compliant with Truman’s instructions. Yet MacArthur’s stature as war hero and support in Congress, was an obstacle to Truman gaining absolute control over the strategy to contain and keep the war short. MacArthur assured Truman that the war would be over by Christmas, in order to assuage Truman who was worried that China would enter the war, and that it would become a protracted extended conflict — potentially a World War III.

10. 

    PLA troops before the Changjin battle.
    Source: Wikimedia Commons

    On Oct 19, 1950, China entered the war, and on Nov 27, 1950, launched the surprise attack at Chosin Reservoir (or Lake Jangjin in Korean). 120,000 Chinese troops attacked the 30,000 UN troops led by the US (contributing majority of the troops). The Battle of Lake Changjin was a key battle — the turning point, which halted the momentum of the US and UN forces. Both sides lost a lot of men, but the PLA suffered hell of a lot more loss of lives, since they were poorly equipped and practically all they had, was the advantage of numbers and the courage of the PLA soldiers.
11. The US and UN forces retreated to the 38th Parallel. By Dec 1950, Truman had decided to try to end the war, and stop his recalcitrant general from taunting the Chinese and continuing the war. In Apr 1951, Truman finally sacked and recalled him back to the US. McArthur returned home a war hero and there was even a “Thanksgiving Macy-style” parade in New York to welcome him back. MacArthur waved to a cheering and adoring crowd lined along the Manhattan streets. This sacking of MacArthur cost Truman dearly — politically. MacArthur subsequently tried to run for the presidency, but Eisenhower beat him to it and became president, succeeding Truman.
12. In the meantime, the Korean War continued as a war of attrition for two years until July 27, 1953, when Eisenhower finally managed to end the war as Truman had intended earlier. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed — keeping the 38th Parallel as the dividing line, thus halting the war but there was no peace treaty.

Kim Il Sung did not achieve his objective to become top Korean honcho with his war adventure, but the cruel collateral damage was extensive loss of lives — Korean, Chinese, American and those of UN forces, and economic debilitation. Stalin gave him arms and funding to fight the war, but did not contribute soldiers to the adventure. Instead, Stalin found a sucker — Mao to do the dirty heavy lifting — sacrificing his impoverished PLA forces who had already suffered so much in their civil war against the Kuomintang. To me, it is a sad and tragic part of PLA history — something to commemorate and reflect on the mistakes and loss of lives. It is not some event to be celebrated or glorified.

Imagine this parallel universe scenario. Let’s say Kim Il Sung had lost the war after the Incheon offensive, Mao had not entered the war, the recalcitrant MacArthur was restrained by Truman and the US/UN forces had stopped before or at the Yalu. The 38th Parallel dividing line would have shifted to the Yalu. Today, we may have a united democratic Korea with a thriving free market capitalist society, trading freely with a Deng-reformed China, living in peace. Would that not be a better outcome than the current situation of an impoverished North Korea ruled by the Kim family dictators, with people malnourished, suffering and living out of fear?

M*A*S*H season premiere, 1974: Different cultural
approach to the Korean War. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As a film/TV buff and a M*A*S*H fan, I find it interesting to note that the Americans (or rather Hollywood) fictionalised a book by Richard Hornberger (portrayed as Hawkeye Pierce by Alan Alda in the series) about his Korean War experience as a medical surgeon, to make a comedy series with the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of war. In comparison, the Chinese (through three top notch directors guided by Beijing’s wishes) chose to use a Korean war film to inspire and arouse Chinese nationalism and patriotism. It says something too about the different cultural approaches of these two superpower countries with different socio-political systems. Danson Cheong quoted Shanghai-based military analyst Ni Lexiong in relation to the film in the context of current Taiwan tensions:    

When it comes to preparing for war, there are two things to do: first is preparing materials and hardware, the second is psychological and mental preparation... These movies tell people that if a conflict does happen, they don’t have to be afraid.

Let’s hope these preparations are unnecessary and this week’s Xi-Biden virtual summit has helped to tone down the rhetoric of conflict. (In Hokkien “pai kiah” angry rhetoric lingo, it is time to ease off on the “dare or not” taunts…)

• The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16), 176 minutes, opened in Singapore on Nov 11, 2021
• Chin Foo Chun is a former investment banker working for three global banks (JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and CIBC) with regional responsibilities in the Asia-Pacific. Read more about him here.

‘Give back to our children the spirit of adventure’

By Quah Seng Sun

WOULD YOU allow your son or daughter to take part in wholesome outdoor school activities like Scouting and Guiding? During our time, it would be an unqualified “Yes”! Today, it is a rhetorical question. 

Molly Ooi, who taught at Penang Free School in the 1980s and was Group Scout Leader (GSL) of 8th Georgetown (South) Sea Scouts Group and also Ranger Guider, laments that these activities have lost their shine.

“It’s such a shame that camping is now confined to the school field and not many students want to be Scouts anymore. The Scouting light doesn’t shine brightly anymore and Coronation and Jubilee Camps are both gone. Scouting and Guiding are both internationally recognised uniformed movements which prepare young people holistically for their futures.” 

Molly Ooi with the Sea Scouts of Penang Free School
in the 1980s

Together with her husband, David Hwang Hong Shi, who himself taught at Westlands Primary School in the 1950s and Penang Free School in the 1960s, she tries to burn the torch for these activities: “Parents should encourage their wards to participate. Don’t make them lose their sense of adventure.” 

Molly’s accounts highlight a few differences between then and now. One is the change in attitude, a sharp turn towards taking less risk among all the parties involved. Another is the diminished trust among students, teachers, parents and the various levels of administration. 

“Malaysian kids today have lost their sense of adventure. Many prefer to be hooked to their handphones. Parents are too worried about letting them out even for a nature walk. Teachers are afraid of taking them out in case accidents happen and parents sue them. And principals don’t want the hassle of paperwork and answering to the Education authorities in case something happens. Kids get to camp in the school field only when they can get a teacher to stay with them at nights — which is rare,” she says.

Molly Ooi with the Rangers of Penang Free School

“When I was young, we cycled everywhere and our teachers took us for all kinds of hikes and excursions. We visited factories and ate cookies, chocs and got other goodies, went to tin mines, all kinds of estates, farms and orchards (again free vegetables and fruits there), got special passes for movies like The Sound of Music and other interesting children’s literature and lots more. We had no handphones but we had fun outdoors with our wonderful, caring teachers whom our parents trusted.”

Molly’s own adventure with Scouting started in the 1970s. In a recent posting on her Facebook, she wrote that she had taken her Woodbadge Course while teaching in Malacca during those years. She became a Sea Scout Leader of the Open Sea Scouts troop there which comprised both Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. There were camping and canoeing at Tanjong Keling Beach. Today, there are no more stretches of clean white sand as the beach has been obliterated by hotels and apartments.

When she was transferred to Penang Free School, she became the warranted Group Scout Leader (GSL) of 8th Georgetown (South) Sea Scouts Group and also Ranger Guider. “Those were interesting years of camping at Camp Coronation, numerous hikes to Muka Head and Gertak Sanggul, over the Ayer Itam hill to Balik Pulau, Penang Hill and other adventurous activities and combined training camps together with 1st Georgetown (South) GSL Mr Khoo Poh Kheng and 7th Georgetown (South) Rover Scout Leaders (RSLs).

She offered two Internet links to Scouting: Importance of Scouting and Guiding in Schools and Scouting and World Development.

• Quah Seng Sun is one of three people who maintain this WPS blogsite. Recently he authored two books, Let the Aisles Proclaim: The First Two Hundred Years of Penang Free School 1816-2016 and Ten Thousand Prosperities: The Story of Ban Hin Lee Bank. Read more about him here.

ADDENDUM

A comment on facebook put the picture as taken after the PFS Scout Show in 1984. "It was one of those rare occasions that the Sea Scouts were in uniform (white shirt and navy blue pants). The whites were outstanding but the Scout Commissioner wasn't too pleased as this was against the norm. But somehow we survived," the writer* recollected as a response to this story.

He continued, "Sadly, those were the transition times from camping in the wild to camping in school, and the beginning of parental consent and the fear of the dangers of sea activities. We chose the former and at the end, our numbers were whittled down to what you see in the picture. Most of the time - practically every Saturday - that bunch of nutcase Sea Scouts were either at Pantai Keracut or Muka Head or canoeing round the island. We rowed canvas canoes. They were like bloody logs in the water!!! But with the choppy currents around Muka Head, it was a blessing.

"Those were the days... camping, backwoodsman, odd-job weeks, washing cars, cutting hedges for funds, Scout shows, Scout car racing, naval training, whacking our own paths to Pantai Acheh, licking limestones at Muka Head because we ran out of water, night hikes to Pantai Keracut, caught by the Police for sleeping in the cemetery with parangs after tiring out trying to grab the best bamboos, transporting 15-feet bamboos tied to two bicycles, and dragonboats. Camping at Youth Park was considered degrading to us. Yes, those were the days."

* The writer wished not to be named.

Globalisation, technology, Elon Musk and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

By Chin Foo Chun

WHAT HAS globalisation, technology, Elon Musk and Romance of Three Kingdoms got to do with one another?

Let’s start with Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, while Tesla’s stock price stays where it is today.

On 2 Nov 21, he tweeted a Chinese poem from the classic, Romance of Three Kingdoms, about Cao Cao’s sons, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, contesting for power. Some say it is an oblique reference to the spat between the dodgy Dogecoin and the newer, perhaps less dodgy, Shiba Inu, which has overtaken Dogecoin in market value. Apparently, some consider Shiba Inu to be a token which aspires to be an Ethereum-based alternative to Dogecoin.

Musk has often in the past been a frequent advocate for Dogecoin. So what could be his message behind the poem. Let’s take a look.

The posted tweet was titled “Humankind” by Musk, although it is commonly known as the “Quatrain of Seven Steps,” the allegorical poem attributed to Cao Zhi. Legend goes that Cao Pi, freshly crowned king, was suspicious that his more popular brother was trying to usurp his rule. Cao Pi forced Cao Zhi to produce a poem that would proclaim his innocence, within seven strides. The poem is as follows:

Beanstalks are ignited to boil beans

The beans in the pot cry out.

We are born of the self-same root

Why should we incinerate each other with such impatience?

It is kind of curious that Elon Musk would refer to this Chinese poem. Where could he have learnt of this? I have two conspiracies to offer:

1. Tesla’s largest factory is now the Shanghai Gigafactory. Perhaps over drinks or dinner, one of his Chinese executives told him the story, which caught his imagination?
2. Leo KoGuan, who is now Tesla’s third largest individual shareholder (after Elon Musk and Larry Ellison), has met Musk before. He is a former Chinese Indonesian, inspired by the Xuan Yuan’s Chinese rule of law, and now a Professor at Tsinghua. He has the KoGuan School of Law at Shanghai JiaoTong University, and the Leo KoGuan Law Building at Tsinghua University, named after him. Maybe he told Musk the story?   

Both Elon Musk and Leo KoGuan are children of globalisation.

Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. His father was a South African engineer, entrepreneur and property developer. His Canadian mother was a model and dietitian. He grew up and was schooled in Pretoria. Moving to Canada, he entered Queens University in Kingston, Ontario before transferring to UPenn. After graduating with BSc in economics and BA in physics, he was accepted to pursue a PhD in materials science at Stanford. After two days at Stanford, he dropped out and started his tech and business career – eventually becoming part of the PayPal mafia. He left PayPal and launched Tesla and Space X, and in the process became the richest man in the world.

Leo KoGuan is nowhere as rich as Elon Musk, but his stake in Tesla is worth a humbling US$7 billion or more. His story is much less known. He was born in Indonesia, studied international affairs at Columbia and then law at NYU. In 1989, KoGuan bought steeply discounted assets of a bankrupt New Jersey-based software supplier that became the basis of SHI – an IT solutions, product and services company. He ran the company with his then-wife, Thai Lee, who was the first Korean-American woman to enter Harvard Business School. By the time they divorced in 2002, it was pulling in annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. She is still currently CEO and SHI’s annual revenues are now US$11 billion. KoGuan remains as non-executive Chairman.

Leo KoGuan’s name came into the limelight when he bought the triplex penthouse apartment on top of the 65-storey Guoco Tower in Singapore from James Dyson – UK’s richest man. Guoco Tower was built and developed by Quek Leng Chan, a Chinese Malaysian tycoon.

Let’s consider the virtuous circle/cycle of globalisation here (my apologies if I stretched my imagination a bit). Chinese consumers buy Tesla cars made in the Shanghai Gigafactory by Chinese workers. This contributes to Elon Musk’s wealth which is propelled by buoyant US stock markets. This rubs off on an astute investor like Leo KoGuan who prospers with huge bets, as Tesla’s stock price catapults upwards. With a teeny weeny bit of his wealth, he purchases the Guoco Tower penthouse from James Dyson (whose wealth is generated in part through his factories in the Philippines and Malaysia). The success of the Guoco Tower development, in turn makes Quek Leng Chan richer, reinforcing his resources and ability to invest in more businesses like his semiconductor assembly & test business, packaging auto-chips going into cars – though not into Tesla cars, at least not yet. (It contributes to creating jobs and wealth for the middle class in Malaysia.)

So we have come full circle – a virtuous one, as Chinese consumers contribute to the flow of business and resources across the globe and leading to jobs which help drive consumption in Malaysia too. It is a wonderful story of the power of free market capitalism and Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” in a global context, as we connect the dots or beans as metaphorically referred to in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Unlike the beans in that famous poem, here the beans are enablers. Instead of incinerating one another, they work together seamlessly (without prior intent) across the globe – demonstrating the “shock and awe” power and synergies of globalisation.

• Chin Foo Chun is a former investment banker working for three global banks (JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and CIBC) with regional responsibilities in the Asia-Pacific. Read more about him here.