The First Amerasians: Mixed Race Koreans from Camptowns to America

In the years surrounding the Korean War, thousands of mixed race children were born to American servicemen and local women in US-occupied South Korea. Assumed to be the children of camptown women—or military prostitutes—their presence posed a serious problem for the image of US democracy at a time when the nation was vying for Cold War allegiances abroad. As these children became increasingly visible around US bases, communists pointed to those left behind by their GI fathers as evidence of...