A Korean War Love Story

A ROK Drop favorite Robert Neff has a good love story published in the Korea Times about a US Marine working in the US Embassy in Seoul during the time of the Korean War:

Recently, The Korea Times had the opportunity to interview George V. Lampman who, as a young Marine, was assigned to the American Embassy from 1949 to 1951. Despite being 90, Lampman has a youthful, if not mischievous, twinkle in his eyes, and is quick to smile as he recalls his time in Korea.

He arrived in Korea on Jan. 9, 1949, as part of the security detachment of the American Embassy in Seoul. It was a relatively easy assignment ― checking identification at the entrance of the embassy (located in the Bando Hotel, now the site of downtown Seoul’s Lotte Hotel) and staying out of trouble. The first part was easy but the second part was a little more difficult.

But things changed when Lee Sook-ei, a young Korean woman working in the communication section of the embassy, caught his attention. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.In the beginning their meetings were rather controlled: “Maybe a once-a-week dinner at a close-by Chinese restaurant and an occasional conversation in the Embassy lobby while we were both on breaks. But never a date between just the two of us.”

Eventually their attraction to one another overcame the potential disapproval of her mother and they began dating. But this was cut short by the evacuation of the embassy when the Korean War started on June 25, 1950.  [Korea Times]

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link.