Description
The Don Pfeifer collection on Korean military, politics, and culture contains Korean military albums, planners, newsletters,
memorabilia, art, and other material collected by Donald M. Pfeifer (1949-). The majority of the material in the collection
relates to Korean military and law enforcement entities, including the National Police in the Republic of Korea. The collection
holds at least eight photograph albums identifying Korean military and law enforcement leadership and achievements, ranging
from 1961 to 1988, along with handbooks relating to military policies and rules. The collection also holds material relating
to Korean arts and culture, including exhibition programs, tourism pamphlets, a photographic print of jangseungs in a forest,
rolled woodcut prints, travel magazines, and a 1904 issue of the
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections quarterly titled "Korean Headdresses in the National Museum." Lastly, the collection includes reports, periodicals, and papers
relating to Korean politics and U.S. involvement in Korea -- including issues of the
Foreign Policy Bulletin and reports from the American Consulate General Hong Kong from the early 1950s. The earliest items in the collection include
an 1894 issue of
The Illustrated American and an 1898 issue of
Harper's Weekly -- both containing articles relating to "The United States in Korea" (the title of one of the articles). Don Pfeifer served
in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1972, spending two 13-month tours at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea during his
service. Beginning in 1993, Pfeifer became a collector and scholar of Korean military orders, medals, and decorations from
1900 to the present.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of the East
Asian Library at eal@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the East Asian Library as the owner of the
physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.