Sometimes known as the "forgotten war" in the US and Europe, the Korean conflict also involved a forgotten group of "Chinese People's Volunteers" whose lives and fates became subject to heartless political whims. Jin's novel examines the infighting and conflicts within a group of these volunteers in a POW camp and was named a New York Times Notable Book in 2004.
在歐美國家眼中，韓戰是一場「被遺忘的戰爭」，被遺忘的戰爭中有一群被遺忘的「中國人民志願軍」，他們的人生和命運被政治無情地拋擲與耍弄，哈金以此為背景寫出韓戰戰俘營的《戰廢品》，獲選為 2004 年「紐約時報」年度 10 大好書。