• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 2004

This study was conducted to explore the impacts of involvement in the Vietnam War on the self-esteem of the veterans in their later lives. In this study, 14 Korean male Vietnam War veterans from 55 to 63 years old were asked about the impacts of their war experiences on their self-esteem. From the analysis of the in-depth interviews the following conclusions were drawn: First, the veterans perceived that their self-esteem improved with both internal and external impacts of their activities in Vietnam. The internal aspects that improved the veterans' self-esteem were recalling their positive memories of Vietnam War, such as being on duty at a war front for the sake of our country, doing volunteer work for the villagers, and becoming a masculine heroic figure in the family legend. The external aspects were positive attitudes and responses toward their war activities from their family, friends, and neighbors. Second, they also felt persistently frustrated with their recurring memories of involvement in killing human beings, experiences of negative family and social responses, and the side effects of herbicidal cyanide they suffer. In this article, the following suggestions were made. First, standardized images and good-will episodes of the Vietnam War need to be provided by the government, in order to improve public images on the veterans. Second, intensive adjustment programs for the families of older veterans in special needs should be developed in collaboration with various veterans' societies and family counseling institutions, so that the spouses and children can be relieved from tension-laden contacts with the veterans and prevent violent incidents.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.26-38
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to analyze the commemoration culture of Vietnam War Memorials (VWM) in Vietnam. Through site survey, the researcher selected 23 VWM in Vietnam and analyzed 5 categories: memorial type, design concept and narratives, location and spatial form, landscape elements, and content expressed in landscape details. The results are as follows: 1. Because of the long, drawn out Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, VWM were divided into 10 types mainly as soldier cemeteries based on a traditional memorial style, battlefields and places of tragedies considering sense of place, war museums representing victory and atrocity in war, and peace parks promoting reconciliation and peacemaking. 2. The analysis revealed that the main concepts and narratives of VWM were to value the victims of the Vietnam War, remember soldiers' contributions, highlight the victory in war and resistance to the United States, and express a sense of place. Peacemaking applied only to My Lai Peace Park and Han-Viet Hoa Binh Cong Vien, built by international cooperation. 3. Cemeteries and appreciation memorials were designed to follow a traditional memorial space form that highly regard both axis and symmetry. The design concept at battlefields and places where tragedies occurred depended mainly upon a sense of place and used symbolic landscape elements to compensate for the undefined concept. 4. Sculptures and towers were mainly used to highlight war victory and resistance as the representative style of a Socialist country, weapons and pictures exhibited in war museums and battlefield showed the reality and strain of war. Symbolic elements of Buddhism and Confucianism were often introduced as a way to venerate the memory of deceased persons. 5. The state and heroic actions in the Vietnam War were realistically depicted on sculptures and walls. Also, the symbolic phrase, 'TO-QUOC-GUI-CONG' meaning 'our country remember your achievement', were written on the memorial tower and 'Quagmiire' was used to metaphorically represent the difficulties faced by the U.S. military on battlefields during the war and the uncertainly that pervaded U.S. society in those days. 6. In VWM, ideologies like nationalism, patriotism, socialism, capitalism were mixed and traditional cultures like Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism were inherent. Differing from their Confucianism culture, war heroes, particularly including women, were often described by sculpture, monument, and pictures and the conflict in and outside the country regarding the Vietnam War was shown. Further study will be required to analyze design characteristics of VWM in the u.s. and to understand the difference in commemoration cultures between Vietnam and the U.S.