I Come From Alabama
With A Banjo on My Knee
The Following Article Was Published in November, 2004 in The Opp News after Wes Laird’s return from an industry seeking trip in Korea with the Mayor of Opp:
As we landed in Incheon, just as General Douglas MacArthur did, it was hard to imagine that this land was destroyed by a brutal war only fifty years ago. As we were driving to the hotel, crossing the Han River, our host, Mr. Kim, explained that there are now 22 bridges in Seoul across the river. So many were built, he said, because when the North Koreans and the Chinese overran Seoul, many people were killed trying to escape to the south because they could not get across the three bridges at the time, having been destroyed.
It was hard to imagine that a little more than fifty years ago, those who were fortunate enough to make it across the river had to flee all the way to Busan on the south end of the peninsula, several hours away. It was there that the South Koreans were making their last stand when General MacArthur arrived in Incheon, just outside Seoul, an area of land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea separates Korea only a short distance from China.
General MacArthur, along with thousands of American soldiers saved the day. But it was hard to imagine what our GI’s must have felt, fighting in such a foreign land where few spoke English; a land that was ruled for 500 years by the Joseon Dynasty, not ending until 1910; a land steeped in a different culture and tradition. .

But as Mr. Kim explained what it was like as a child during the war, I began to visualize the bridge that was built between two nations, ours and theirs. He told us that for many children, especially those orphaned by the war, our GI’s offered hope. Children would often follow them in the streets because our GI’s would give them candy. Many orphans were shoeless, but our soldiers had the compassion to buy them shoes and clothes, and to give them combat rations, which was many times their only source of nutrition.

Our armed forces did more than restore a country to its people and establish a democracy, they brought to this nation a will to fight for prosperity in a land ravaged by the war. More than forty thousand Americans lost their lives, but not in vain. I know that now. And it is easy to see how our soldiers could fall in love with a people so different, for we could learn much from them about respect, manners, and hospitality these days.

Yes, it is hard to imagine the war being so recent in history as we traveled from Incheon to Seoul, seeing the economic prosperity of a nation that has emerged as a world leader in trade, producing everything from steel, tires and automobiles to designer clothes and accessories. Skyscrapers abound in this city of 12 million people. In a land barely the size of Alabama, 48 million people live and work. They are paid decent wages in the South, a stark contrast to the $38 per month paid to North Korean workers.

It is a land where old meets new, where the palace grounds of the Joseon Dynasty are surrounded by buildings 30 stories high. It is a land where the people work hard, drive large modern cars, and wear westernized clothes, but have not forgotten how to respect others. It is a land on the cutting edge of technology and innovation, that still holds onto the best part of its history.

A scant fifty years ago, South Koreans were mostly Buddhist or followed Confucianism or other eastern religions and knew very little about Christianity, but today 38% of the people consider themselves Christians. They were taught Christian values by the Americans. And they were taught English in grade school following the war.

And South Korea is a land of irony, where the criminal actions of some Americans living there has the younger generation calling for our troops to be removed from Seoul and re-located farther south. How ironic it is that while we have been suffering economically from the loss of textile jobs in south Alabama, it is the economic expansion of South Korea that could be our salvation due to the location of their automotive plants in our little part of the world.

It is the Korean belief in loyalty and quality assurance that will bring thousands of jobs to Alabama as Hyundai cranks out cars in Montgomery. But I couldn’t help but believe it started fifty years ago with a partnership between our nation and theirs.

As I left Opp a little over a week ago, along with Mayor H.D. Edgar and Jim Brown, who is contracted to do economic development for Southeast Alabama Gas, I was thinking we would be flying thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. After boarding the Korean Air 777 in Atlanta for our nonstop flight, I saw our flight path on a monitor above the aisle. Our path would take us north and then northwest across Canada and Alaska, and the Bering Strait, where it is only a few miles across the ocean to Russia. We would then head south just off the eastern coast of Asia to Korea. I suddenly realized the gap between our worlds is not as wide as I thought.

I found the gap even smaller as we dined with some of South Korea’s best and brightest CEO’s, and found ourselves singing Oh Susanna and other Stephen Foster tunes they learned in school. Music truly is the universal language.

Like a phoenix, South Korea has risen from the ashes, emerging as an economic giant. Just as its neighboring countries of China and Japan were unable to conquer it but for short times out of its ancient history, the destruction of war would be unable to break the will of its proud yet gracious people. And the destruction of the American textile industry will be unable to break the will of our people.

As I glance out the window of our 777 leaving Seoul, I can appreciate what our country did in saving South Korea. And I can appreciate the irony that it is now the booming economy and partnership of South Korea that could save our own area from economic devastation. It is a partnership that could have us all singing together, “Oh Susanna, don’t you cry for me, I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee.”

Wes Laird is the senior partner in Laird, Baker & Blackstock, Attorneys at Law in Opp, Alabama.