About the Book and the Author

During the last century, South Korea transitioned from a shadowy corner of the mysterious orient to the economic powerhouse it is today. The Winding Road tells the story of a man who lived through those times, starting out helping his father in a rice paddy in a sleepy, rural town, living through a vicious war, and finally traveling to the U.S. Ung Ho Chang's story cries out to be heard. He tells of his boyhood days and his bond with a Japanese schoolteacher. He tells of the turmoil that gripped his land after the end of World War II as the United States tried to build a peaceable country in the south while Soviet Russia systematically transformed the north into the truculent monster it is today. When North Korea invaded the south in 1950, he fled with his family, spending weeks on the road as a refugee, begging for the bare necessities. He joined the army, anxious to do his part, and wound up working as a spy, later to find himself standing at the wrong end of his own boss's gun. No sooner was he free of that situation than an abusive employer put him into a POW camp, a prisoner of his own side. Many books have been written about the various wars, and refugees are sadly visible in all of them, but few tell a refugee's story: how he came to be there, where he went, or what ultimately became of him. The Winding Road tells all this and more. This is one of the most compelling projects the author has taken on in some four decades of writing. He could never have done it without Mr. Chang's enthusiastic cooperation, which has earned him the well-deserved recognition as co-author.