My uncle by marriage came from Korea and stayed with us for three weeks. Last spring, my aunt passed away and went to heaven due to COVID, and my uncle came to Seattle to visit his nephew’s home in search of memories of his life with her. My uncle, now in his mid-80s, retired after 30 years of military service. Thinking that this might be my last time seeing him, his visit felt more precious than ever.
As I took him around to various places, I would ask him, whenever I had a chance, about his experiences in the Vietnam War. In 1965, when the South Korean government first dispatched combat troops to Vietnam, my uncle was a company commander in the Tiger Division. He boarded a U.S. Navy transport ship and was sent to Vietnam, where he fought until the end of the war.
My uncle explained why South Korea decided to send combat troops to Vietnam. At the time, two U.S. Army divisions were stationed in Korea. One was a mechanized division—something unimaginable for the Korean military in those days—and the other was an infantry division. As the Vietnam War dragged on, the U.S. government redeployed the mechanized division from Korea to Vietnam, leaving only one infantry division behind. The United States formally requested that South Korea send troops to Vietnam, but with North Korea constantly poised to invade the South, dispatching Korean forces overseas was unthinkable for the Korean government. Moreover, for President Park Chung-hee, who had come to power through a coup, sending young Koreans to a battlefield where many would surely die was an enormous political risk.
However, the U.S. demand was severe. If South Korea, a blood ally, refused to send troops to Vietnam, the United States would have no choice but to withdraw the remaining infantry division stationed in Korea and send it to Vietnam. The president of South Korea had to decide. Whether Korea sent troops or not, if U.S. forces withdrew, a massive gap in national defense would result. Either choice would provoke opposition and inevitably damage the president’s leadership. At that moment, President Park Chung-hee made a difficult and lonely decision: to dispatch South Korean combat troops to Vietnam.
In Joshua 24, Joshua urges the leaders of Israel to choose which god they would serve (v. 15). Moses, Nehemiah, Paul, Joseph, and Elijah each had to decide when faced with God’s calling. They acted according to those decisions regardless of the sacrifices required. The entire Bible calls us to decide. Every human being must personally choose whether to gain eternal life through Jesus Christ or to live according to one’s own will without God and end up in hell.
Personal decisions affect not only oneself but also others. A leader’s decisions can determine the life or death of an organization. That is why decision-making is not easy—especially when the decision is significant. When studying leadership, learning to establish a framework for decision-making is essential. Unfortunately, many leaders suffer from severe decision paralysis. If you cannot decide until you see a perfect picture, you are not a leader. Bold decisiveness is an undeniable mark of leadership. An organization led by someone who cannot decide will never progress. The saying, “An army of lions led by a rabbit is weaker than an army of rabbits led by a lion,” means that a leader’s capability determines the organization’s capability. Among the many abilities a leader must possess, one of the most important is the ability to make decisions.
After consulting advisers and completing brainstorming sessions, the leader must ultimately make the final decision. That decision may align with the brainstorming results, or it may be the exact opposite. At the moment of decision, the leader stands alone. That is why leadership is lonely. Once the decision is made, the responsibility rests entirely on the leader. A faint-hearted person can never make bold decisions. Decisions also cannot be postponed indefinitely. The right decision is always connected to timing.
At the moment of decision, a leader must be tough. No matter what decision is made, there will be opposition. No matter the decision, leadership will take a hit. But what truly destroys an organization and turns everyone into an opponent is not a wrong decision, but decision paralysis. If a leader cannot make important decisions, he will lose not only his opponents but also his supporters. If you think that leaving things undecided will keep the status quo, you are mistaken. When a leader fails to decide, circumstances or other people will decide for him—and leadership will be severely damaged as a result.
Whether President Park Chung-hee’s decision to send troops to Vietnam was right or wrong is something historians will ultimately judge (in fact, South Korea’s national strength today has already rendered its verdict on that decision made 47 years ago). What I want to emphasize here is the mental fortitude of a leader who can make such a harsh decision. Without developing this strength, one can never become an outstanding leader.
After three weeks, my uncle returned to Korea. On the morning of his departure, my nephew’s wife—who does not speak Korean—hugged my uncle and said, in the few words of fluent Korean she knew, “Uncle, I love you.” My uncle, who had gained confidence in English while fighting alongside U.S. forces, replied to her in fluent broken English, “Come to Korea once” (come to visit us in Korea).