JaeHyun+An+grandparents+interview


 * Grandmother’s story**

Before the war I lived in Seoul, Jang Chung Dong. In1950, June 25th The Korean War began. The North Korean Soldiers crossed the 38th parallel, coming in while everyone was still asleep. They moved in through the path in Gyeseong (West Part of Korea, South Koreans have built industries there). At the time I was still in Elementary school 4th grade and was 11 years old. The South Korean soldiers retreated past the Hangkang river to Busan, Masan and Jinhae but my parents and I couldn’t evacuate, and were stuck in Seoul in the right in the middle of the war. Eventually we decided to run away towards Dongdaemun and hid there. At the time my older brother was in the Navy and my uncle was a Navy Senior Commander. These facts made a our family a military family, hence the North Korean soldiers were trying to kill us on sight. Due to these threats we couldn’t come out of our shelters and since we originally came from the North, Jeongju, (Next to Duman River and China’s border) we were were in greater threat. We later escaped to a stony mountain in Changshindong outside of Dongdaemun. At this time we couldn’t eat properly and lived off the food growing on the soil such as boiled cabbages. Soon Chinese and Russian soldiers moved in heavily equipped with tanks, helping the North Koreans kill the South Korean military and police families by shooting and burning the bodies. While we were trying to further escape from the soldiers I lost my parents during the hazard. I was left in Yongsan train station so I ran back to where I used to live (not the mountains) while the dead bodies were lying, spread throughout the city and to great fortune my parents also came back to the house in search for me. From there we evacuated to shinsoldong and in September, the UN military force joined the war (Incheon landing operation) through Incheon and from there regained lost land and began moving further North. Due to this we could move back to our houses. Lead by McArthur, they bombarded using naval guns and shelled from the ships on the Yellow sea. From there they moved further North. Over there was where your grandfather was and that’s where he will continue on from here.


 * Grandfather’s story**

Before the war began I was a student of an College of Education (교육대학) in Suncheon (located to the North of Pyongyang). When the war began I was forced into the North Korean Student Soldier (학도병), and moved to Wonsan (West of North Korea near Haegum river) and placed in the navy. However, when the Wosan bombing occurred the Student soldiers was scattered and I escaped back home by walking for long distances over the mountains. Until the UN soldiers and South Korean military pushed their way North, I by myself was hiding in a hidden room in our house (Probably the attic, I don’t have an accurate description of the hiding place). When South reached up to the Duman River, a large Chinese force acted upon this and the South Korean and UN soldiers were forced back South, this was called the Ilsa Hootwoei (called this because it translates to January 4th, the date when this occured). At this time fifteen people from the village including myself, escaped along with the UN soldiers. I remember constantly walking from Suncheon to Seoul. From there I took a train to Changwon and then walked to Jinhae to meet my older sister, who got there before the war because of her marriage (further south from Busan). I stayed at my sisters house and by 1952 I took an entrance exam and joined the Korean Air-force. However, when I was trying to become a pilot, due to my broken tooth from cutting wood I could not pass. Instead I became an engineer in the Air-force. While serving there I taught the engineers how to handle the planes and I guess in some ways I still fulfilled my dreams. If I did graduate from college I would be a primary school teacher in North Korea but because of the war my fate has changed and I have become a soldier of the South Korean Military until I became Master Sergeant in 1970. In 1961 I finally met you grand mother, got married in Jinhae in April 14th (This kind of became a family tradition) and lived happily ever after.

- Used to have own land but was eventually taken by the government and was forced to do labor on what used to be his own land. - During Japan’s colonization in Korea Grandpa lost his older brother and became the oldest son.
 * Grandfather background**

- Born youngest among 8 brothers and sisters. - Her 1st brother originally studied in Japan, later studied in America and eventually joined the UN military. He fought along side South Korea but unfortunately during the war he went missing and - we have no reports since then. - 2nd brother already joined the South Korean navy long before the war even began. - Her 3rd brothers was also forced into North Korean Army as a Student soldier, but was captured during the war and transfered to Geoje Island where they kept imprisoned the North Korean soldiers. After the war he stayed in South Korea. - 4th brother was captured on his way South by the Russians and transferred to Russia to work in the canaries. He later escaped and tried to move south by boat but went missing and lost contact. - 2 oldest sisters got married in North Korea before the war started and weren’t able to move South along with the rest. They are currently still believed to be in North Korea but we have lost contact. - 3rd sister shared a similar experience to grandma. She is, on record the only other living member among the brothers and sisters.
 * Grandmothers background**

Although it shames me to say this, I was originally quite unwilling to do this interview. However, as my discussion with my grandparents grew deeper I began to learn a lot more about what happened during the Korean War. Through them I have learned about the various different events that have happened during the war, and to further appreciate it, the story came from people with first hand experience. When I was younger, the war was just another thing in the past. In the discussion, I realized how important this war was to my family and how my life would be extremely different without the war. Although I don't have any intent to brag, I feel that my grandparents experience are quite unique, for they are the viewpoints from someone in North Korea. Most people seemed to have done the logical action and moved as far South as they could, away from the War. However, my Grandmother stayed right in the middle of it and saw much of the treachery that has happened. I could not possible imagine the thought of searching for your own parents while walking through a field of dead bodies. My grandfathers travel from the North of Pyongyang all the way down South to Jihae after the Ilsa Hootwai was also fascinating with how he was forced into the North Korean Army. Unfortunately, my grandparents didn't posses too much knowledge on how the war began, but judging from their experiences and what they saw, it was obvious that there were many people, much like my grandparents, who may have been born and raised in the North but still wished for a democracy and wished to escape from the North. If I was to judge from their experience, they do make it seem like the North is the antagonist in this War. However, it was a fight fro what people thought was right and that makes the blames not go to one or the other but instead shared. Anyhow, the interview has given me access to information that otherwise would never have been told. There was information that even my parents didn't know about and I feel honored to have been able to listen to my families experience.
 * Reflection**