[KS] Preview of History Channel's "Korean War"

[kimrenau]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
==============================================================================

GW's Korean Language and Culture Program in cooperation with the 
Korean-American Student Association (KASA) of the University,

Presents

a Preview of History Channel's four-part WORLD PREMIERE special on the Korean 
War:
 
HISTORY ALIVE
THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE
The History Channel(r) chronicles the first battle of the Cold War with a
four-part WORLD PREMIERE special

Time:  Friday, September 17, 1999
       1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Film Preview)
       4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Discussion)

Place: Gelman Library's Media Classroom B04A
       George Washington University
       2130 H. Street, N.W.(H and 22nd Streets, N.W.)
       Washington, DC 20052

Admission: Free and open to the public

Directions to GW's Gelman Library:

Metro Station:  Foggy Bottom/George Washington University

For further information, please contact:

Young-Key Kim-Renaud
Professor of Korean Language and Culture and International Affairs
801 22nd Street, N.W. (Academic Center, Rome Hall 467)
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052

Tel (O) 202-994-7107, (H) 703-527-0115
Fax: (O) 202-994-1512, (H) 703-527-2520
E-mail: kimrenau at gwu.edu

or

Chu Sam Yi
Academic Program Cooridinator
The Korean American Student Association
The George Washington University

(O) 703-267-8846
(C) 703-216-4680
(H) 703-845-8152

========================================================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Debra Fazio
The History Channel
(212) 210-9108
debra.fazio at aetn.com

When the Cold War turned hot...

HISTORY ALIVE
THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE
The History Channel(r) chronicles the first battle of the Cold War with a
four-part WORLD PREMIERE special

MONDAY-THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20-23 AT 9 PM ET/ 10 PM PT

New York, NY, August 16, 1999 - When North Korean troops crossed the border 
into South Korea on June 25, 1950, it signaled the beginning of open communist 
military aggression against a Western world both astonished and unprepared. 
THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE details the bitter three-year skirmish and how it 
set the rules for East/West superpower conflict in the new nuclear age. The 
four-part, four-hour World Premiere miniseries airs Monday-Thursday, September 
20-23 at 9 pm ET/ 10 pm PT on HISTORY ALIVE.

THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE takes a detailed look at the war that took more 
than two million military and civilian casualties. Interviews with more than 
fifty veterans reveal the pain, glory and pathos that combat soldiers 
experienced as they recount moving, thrilling and heartbreaking stories.

Often called "the forgotten war," the Korean War was not so much a test of 
power, but more a test of wills which became the first of a series of hard 
lines drawn in the sand by the West to check communist aggression. In many 
ways, the Korean War was an extension of World War II, featuring some of the 
same players such as Harry S. Truman, General Douglas MacArthur and Josef 
Stalin. The war was also fought by many of the same countries and soldiers, 
who were armed with leftover weapons. The armies on both sides were 
battle-tested. There were no amateurs in this war.

In other ways, the Korean War set the stage for the battles of the second half 
of the 20th century. It demonstrated how a local clash between two small 
nations would be used throughout the Cold War in a greater East/West 
ideological showdown.

It was the first war in which military leaders were not allowed to unleash the 
full force of military power, as the United States, despite having a nuclear 
arsenal, found itself in a desperate fight against a sea of Asian peasants. 
The war marked Communist China's entrance as a key Cold War player. The 
resulting division of the Korean peninsula would serve as a side-by-side case 
study of Communist misery and free world prosperity.
-more-

A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS - 235 EAST 45TH STREET - NEW YORK, NY 10017

FIRE AND ICE: THE KOREAN WAR
2-2-2-2-2


THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE recounts the dramatic battles and showdowns that 
would find their way into American military lore, such as Pusan, Inchon, 
Chosin Reservoir and Pork Chop Hill. It details the bitter showdown between 
Truman and MacArthur that would lead to the General's dismissal, the nightmare 
surprise assault on Thanksgiving eve by the Chinese and the gallant retreat 
through a frozen hell, the frustrating armistice negotiations and resulting 
stalemate during which America suffered 45% of its casualties, and the tenuous 
peace that exists today along the 38th parallel. Episodes include:

* MAKING OF A BLOODBATH (September 20): North Korea stages a surprise attack 
on the south that catches United Nation forces off guard and forces them to 
fight with their backs to the sea.

* TRIUMPH TO TRAGEDY (September 21): General MacArthur's stunning 
counteroffensive at Inchon routes the North Korean invaders and pushes them to 
the brink of defeat until the Chinese intervene.

* RETREAT FROM HELL (September 22): A freezing, shattered United Nations army 
fights its way out of a Chinese trap in the longest and most brutal retreat in 
U.S. military history.

* BITTER STANDOFF (September 23): President Truman relieves General MacArthur 
from command and places the war effort in the hands of General Ridgeway. A 
stalemate ensues that results in two years of bloody fighting as both sides 
work out a peace plan.

FIRE AND ICE: THE KOREAN WAR is a production of Lou Reda Productions, Inc. for 
The History Channel(r). Executive Producer is Lou Reda. Supervising producer 
is Sammy Jackson. It is written by Norman Stahl. Executive producer for The 
History Channel(r) is Charlie Maday. Supervising Producer is Elyse Miranda.

Honored with the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television 
Arts & Sciences for its "Save Our History(tm)" campaign and winner of two 
George Foster Peabody Awards, The History Channel(r) reveals the power and 
passion of history as an inviting place where people experience history 
personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the 
past. Now enjoyed in 58.665 million homes, The History Channel(r) is the only 
place "Where the Past Comes Alive." Visit us on the World Wide Web at 
HistoryChannel.com.




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