Necrology
Richard Folsom Underwood '51
Jun. 9, 1927-Jun. 25, 2023
Richard Folsom Underwood ’51 died in Urbana, Ill., on June 25, 2023. Born on June 9, 1927, in Seoul, Korea, as the son and grandson of Presbyterian missionaries, he first attended the Seoul Foreign School established by his mother in 1912. Living in a nearby village enabled Richard to become fluent in Korean and in the culture of that nation, skills that would prove immensely valuable to him at the United Nations in the early 1950s.
His family returned to the U.S. in 1942, and Richard completed his secondary education at the Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1945. Inducted into the U.S. Army in June of that year, he was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services, undoubtedly because his knowledge of Korean was of great use.
Honorably discharged in March 1947 with the rank of technician 3rd grade, Richard matriculated at Hamilton that September. A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he majored in education and mathematics, was on the swim team in his first year, and a member of the Student Christian Association for both his freshman and sophomore years.
Richard’s time on the Hill was interrupted after his junior year when he volunteered to rejoin the Army in July 1950 for the express purpose of returning to Korea during the Korean War. He was inducted with the rank of second lieutenant but, unaccountably, was stationed in the U.S. Only after being granted a leave to go to Washington to argue that his fluency in Korean and knowledge of its culture would be best used in the country of his birth did Richard team up with his older brother Horace, a reactivated member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, to spend 11 months in Panmunjom translating for the United Nations during the armistice talks.
The work was highly demanding, not only because of the nature of the peace negotiations with the North Koreans, who did everything possible to delay an agreement, but also because of the profound differences in grammar and syntax of Korean and English. Horace described some of the differences in an article on the two brothers’ work published in the Feb. 16, 1952, issue of Collier’s magazine: “… there is only one tense in the Korean tongue. There are no singular and plural forms, as there are in English.” Another challenge was finding appropriate images and metaphors within both the language and culture of Korea to convey the meaning of English figures of speech.
The brothers not only had to accurately translate verbal exchanges between the two parties to the negotiations but also carefully review and translate all related documents, including transcripts of discussions between the principals as well as various subordinate delegations. There were many occasions when one or both worked around the clock to discharge these responsibilities. For this important service, Richard was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak-Leaf Cluster on two occasions, one in 1951 and the other before his discharge in August 1952.
When Richard returned to the Hill for his senior year the following month, he was accompanied by his bride, Carol M. Lutz. Like Richard, Carol was the child of missionaries to Korea and lived in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. They had met during summers spent at Sorai beach, now also in North Korea, and met again in the summer of 1949 when both were on vacation from college. After corresponding during Richard’s service as interpreter, they were married in Tokyo on Aug. 9, 1952. As was the case with other married veterans, they made their home in the North Village, and, as he would later recall, enjoyed “the breathtaking view over the valley behind the DU house. It was primitive but made each home since then seem better.” They would have two daughters and two sons.
Graduating in June 1953, but always retaining his affiliation with the class with which he entered, Richard moved with Carol to New York City, where he pursued a master's degree in teaching English at Columbia University’s Teachers College. After completing the degree in 1954, he was hired by the Army to conduct historical research for work that ended in 1957. Carol and he then returned to Seoul where, from 1957 to 1961, he was director of the American Korean Foundation, an organization created to help the nation recover from the destruction of the war. Richard’s leadership was no doubt invaluable during the period of rebuilding given his knowledge of the country’s language, culture, and recent history.
In 1961, he began his career as an educational administrator that lasted until his retirement 31 years later in 1992. He became head of the Seoul Foreign School and simultaneously took up work as a Presbyterian missionary, like his father and grandfather before him. In 1971, he returned to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in education at Rutgers University, which he completed the following year before returning to his leadership position in Korea. Richard’s community activities in this period included his membership in the Rotary Club. He and his brother dealt with administrative matters and arranged for speakers and tours in the South Korean branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. He was also active in the Seoul Union Church.
Richard and Carol retired to Urbana, Ill., their home for the rest of his life. They were drawn there by their daughter Elizabeth who was enrolled in doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. He continued his community engagement as a member of the Exchange Club of Urbana and of the Empty Tomb, which collected funds to help people in need. He also served as an advisor to the Korean Church of Champaign-Urbana. In his later years, he wrote and published a memoir titled What a Fun Life.
With unusual candor, Richard shared his perspective on his time at Hamilton in his 40th reunion yearbook: “It forced me to a broader education than I wanted, which saved my hide numerous times in the years since I left in 1953 as the last (?) member of the Class of 1951.”
Richard F. Underwood is survived by his wife, four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
