Sangwoo-Interview

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Note. I talked to her on PHONE. She went to BUSAN for Vacation. I wasn't able to get the sign. Thanks to my uncle... he sent me some pictures :) //

// INTERVIEW // media type="custom" key="6290079" width="10" height="10" __**PICTURES**__ The first picture is my grandmother's writing. She expressed her feelings through writing. The second picture is the pot which my grandmother frequently used. The last picture is the book (modified version) which my grandmother enjoyed. (The older version was gone)

__**INTERVIEW**__

**1. Please tell me about yourself. What is your name? When were you born? How many siblings do you have? When did you get married? What were you doing during the Korean War?** My name is Shin Hyung Ghil(신형길). I was born in July 1st, 1925 at Seoul. I am 86 years old. I have two sisters and one brother. The elder sister passed away and my younger sister and my younger brother are still alive. During the Korean War, I voluntarily worked as a nurse and just all the support. I also made food for hundreds of soldiers. I was married in 20. In the old days most people married when they are young.

I was shocked because I never knew there would an official war. First, it started as a minor fight in some regions; however, as time passed Korea was divided in to two forces. My husband did not like the Reds’ idea; therefore, I followed my husband’s idea, which was the democracy. I wasn’t really interested in government and whether our country was a communist country or a democratic country. I just wanted to live a normal life. Unlike me, my husband; however was very patriotic therefore, he participated in the war.
 * 2. How did you feel when the Korean War started?**

My parents were patriotic unlike me. My father preferred communism. However, due to my husband’s influence. He changed his party. My mother followed my father’s party. My parents pretty much expected a war.
 * 3. How did your parents react to the war?**

Yes, you grandpa did join the military. He was one of the few who survived in the front line of the war. I was worried because he got injured in the day he applied to the military. He wasn’t able to shoot anyone. Your Grandpa was actually quite frightened to kill others.
 * 4. Did grandpa join the military? How did you feel about this?**

The Korea was in chaos after the war was declared. I was surprised and hand many thoughts going on. I even thought of leaving Korea for our family’s safety.
 * 5. How did you react to the war?**

Most people knew there would be a war. However, I never knew that war would actually begin. Before the war, my life was just normal. I did most of the housework. I had your father and your uncles. Life before war was also quite undeveloped. Most lands were rural and urban areas were extremely rare. Song-pa, where you live was just a farming area and a plain. I guess because our land got divided, Korea was able to develop faster.
 * 6. How was your life before the war?**

Your grandpa worked at the train station. He blew the whistles in order to stop and move the train. He enjoyed his job; however, he was never satisfied with his job.
 * 7. What was grandpa's occupation before the war?**

Your grandpa was injured several times. He had scar all over his body. He was cut, he was shot; however, he remedied quickly.
 * 8. What happened to grandpa after the war? Was he injured?**

Of course I did not favor communism. My husband often explained about democracy. However, I was not really interested.
 * 9. Do you like the North Korean ideas?**

No, I wasn’t able to go to any college. I just had the basic knowledge. However, I educated my children so they are not anachronistic. Your dad never liked studying until he noticed education is necessary.
 * 10. Did you finish you education?**

I really enjoyed reading the 동의보감 (famous novel) and expressing my thoughts through writing. I read the novel, 동의보감, again and again. I aided many soldiers by becoming a nurse, and this book gave me some basic knowledge of how to become a nurse. Even now I still like to read this novel. This novel was a great help when I was bored and to relieve my stress. Maybe continuously reading also helped me prevent dementia.
 * 11. What did you do during free time? (What was the book about?)**

Stress accumulated daily, since I was scared that your grandpa might die.
 * 12. Did you get any stress? What was your source of stress?**

I relieved my stress through writing and reading. I almost became bald due to stress, I had to cook for hundreds of soldiers.
 * 13. What activities did you do in order to relieve your stress?**

The Korean War was certainly a unique experience; however, I would not like to experience war again. Almost everyone starved, and I was worried that my husband would die during the war. Indeed, your grandpa was quite old too. After War, I was able to learn the more detail reasons why the war was sparked and the two conflicting ideas of North and South. Luckily, we did not have any family members moving to the North.
 * 14. How did war impact your life?**

He still found a job in the railroad station. He continuously blew the whistle.
 * 15. What was grandpa's occupation after the war?**

I don’t really like wars and the Korean War was the first and the last major war, I ever experienced. There were many casualties, and the United States gained too much control over Korea. I was not really interested in the Red’s or our ideas, but I did not like the foreigners.
 * 16. Overall how do you think about the war?**

**17. There is a huge tension between North Korea and the South Korea, due to the North Korea’s torpedo. How do you think about this?** Sigh… I wish we could avoid the war. However, it is quite raging that they attacked us. I cannot tolerate their action, but if we have a war, there would be even more casualties, and I am pretty confident that those who died from the Chun-an Ship won’t like Korea to declare war for them. Sigh… By the way, it is not our generation who is fighting. We should not coerce war, unless the new generation wants to face it. Instead of war, Korea should find a alternative way to attack North Korea.


 * // Thank you Grandma. It was a great interview. I was able to learn the Korean War from a new perspective. //**

__**REFLECTION**__ The interview basically gave me an opportunity to learn the Korean War from a close family. This interview was probably the longest interview I ever did. Although my grandmother was on her vacation to Busan, she still answered my phone. The Korean War was probably the worst nightmare for any older generations. The Korean War had the most casualties in Korea. The Korean War has accumulated stress on many women. Most women were stressed, since their husband was in danger. My grandmother also mentioned how Koreans do not want any casualties, but they want to be aggressive. For the Chun-an Ship, my grandmother mentioned the greediness of the old generation. Since the old generation is not involved in the war, they promote war. However most of the new generation wants to avoid war. My grandmother wanted peace. She was not the most patriotic woman; however, she really worried about her husband’s safety. The role of most women was to worry about their husband and aid the soldiers by becoming a nurse or cooking. I also learned that the division of Korea is not only because of the North Koreans, but also, every Korean. It was our responsibility to restore the relationship. The North and the South Korea are like brothers who fought. The South and the North should’ve understood each other in order to bring peace. As such, I learned the Korean War in the general women’s view. Since this information was more of a primary source, the story was more reliable. My grandmother still expects the reunification of Korea. However, I guess it won’t happen soon.