Jenny+Hwang's+interview


 * On your wikipage for the class you're attending (on the left margin), you will **publish your interviews as a podcast, video, or as a written transcript.**
 * If your podcast or video is in Korean, I will need you to **summarize** your interview in a podcast or video of your own on the same page. I also need you to post your interview questions and the release form on your page.
 * **Analyze** the historical significance of your interview and how you think it will help us better understand the Korean War in a **reflection post** on your wikipage. (this must be at least 250 words)

(It said that the files were too big... so I divided them up into three parts) P1: media type="file" key="6.25_JH_P1_1.m4a" width="300" height="50" P2: media type="file" key="6.25_JH_P1_2.m4a" width="300" height="50" P3: media type="file" key="6.25_JH_P2.m4a" width="300" height="50"

Questions Can you please tell us more about yourself? Your name: Your age: Your hometown: your family (back at 6.12 war and current) marriage: Work/occupation:

How old were you when 6.12 war occurred?

Where were you when 6.12 war occurred?

Did you get any injuries? How?

Where and how did you evacuate?

Can you tell us few stories of your own experience about the war?

Can you please tell us things you can remember from back then?

What impact did this war have on you?

What did you lose due to this war?

What did you gain due to this war?

How did the country change after the war? What impact did this war have on the country?

Do you have anything else to say about 6.12 war or yourself? (Is there anything I have missed that you think I should know?)

grandfather: evacuated with 20 members of his family grandmother: Before the war, had both parents, three brothers and one sister. now: they have three children and five grandsons
 * summary/script**
 * Can you please tell us more about yourself?**
 * Name**: Hee Kyung Hwang, Sook young Kim
 * Age:** both 80
 * Hometown:** Pyeongyang
 * Family:**
 * Marriage:** Married with classmate who lives right next door.
 * Work:** they were both students back then

Grandfather: I was about 20. Grandmother: I was 17.
 * How old were you when the war occurred?**

Grandfather: All 20 family members were in Pyeongyang before the war and until the war occurred. Grandmother: We were in Pyeongyang
 * Where were you when 6.12 war occurred?**

Grandfather: Not really, I did kind of get involved by becoming a police, however, I didn’t really go on the war and fight. We just retrieved to Daegu.
 * Did you participate in the war?**

Grandfather: No, none at all, I was quite safe. Grandmother: no, but my brother, who was the only one I evacuated with, hurt his leg and I could not leave him, so it was kind of hard.
 * Did you get any injuries? How?**

Gradfather:from Pyeongyang to Seoul and passing Daejeon to Busan. Grandmother: I went to Seoul by boat, crossing the Dae-dong River to Shinmak. And walked all the way to Hwang-he-do. And took a very unstable train to Seoul and to Daegu.
 * Where and how did you evacuate?**

Grandfather: Many of our relatives and friends died as well as soldiers. I realized that the Korean war was very cruel and ruthless.
 * Can you tell us few stories of your own experience about the war?**

Grandfather: I don’t remember much, but some American soldier were in our town, in Hasuguri, and there was an elementary school, used as a American soldier’s jail. And few of the American soldiers were caught trying to escape and they were executed, shot. I saw that with my own eyes. It was very sad. And, I saw one of them take a picture out of their pocket before the execution and looked at it, I suppose it’s his family, and then he was shot. I saw very barbaric things that a man shouldn’t see. Kim-il-Sung is such a black-hearted and violent man, who killed so many people, especially in display.
 * Can you please tell us things you can remember from back then?**

Grandmother: Everyone was getting ready to evacuate and my mother told me, I must cross the Dae-dong River in order to live. She said if I don’t Japanese will come and use sexual violence on us. And when I was leaving, I held my mother’s hand and held four of her fingers out and told her that I will return to her after four days. And then One of my brothers and I left to the boat with our backpacks on. When we just about left and we weren’t so far away from the land, I saw my mother who just arrived with a pink blanket for us, just in case we get cold. But we had already departed so we just waved and watched her get smaller and the colour of the blanket get lighter. I started to cry when it started to fade out. That was the last time I saw my mother. When war occurs, nothing matters except yourself. Everyone becomes selfish. And we came to a town and asked houses for a place to sleep, however no one easily gave in, because they were suspicious that we were Bbal-gan-i (communist). We spent many night like that and just about spared our lives. At daytime, we walked along the railroad nonstop and night we slept like we were dead. We saw many people die and many corpses on the floor. It was very normal for us back then, though.

Grandfather: I crossed the Dae-dong river on December 7th and December 26th, I arrived in Seoul. During that twenty days, North Korean army chased after us and when South Korean army retrieved, we went into the country more. I also saw many disgusting and heartbreaking lives of people, such as babies crawling around looking for his mum, while she’s dead.

Yes it was quite hard, but no major ones.
 * Didn’t you come with your whole family, Grandfather? Did you face any difficulties?**

Grandfather: 6.25 war... China was in power of Mao Zedong and... Chiang Kaisaek. Some say that Stalin of Russia and Kim il-sung triggered the 6.25 war. Grandmother: mlosing my family was the biggest impact they had,
 * What impact did this war have on you?**

Grandfather: I lost my hometown, my house and my money. GradmotherL my family.
 * What did you lose due to this war?**

Grandfather & Grandmother: they were both given the opportunity of living in Korea, and I’m glad I found God. Also, we have such lovely children and grandchildren.
 * What did you gain due to this war?**

Grandmother: It really made us think negatively about communism and North Korea. Grandfather: Our country made a boarder line, South and North.
 * How did the country change after the war? What impact did this war have on the country?**

Grandfather&Grandmother: It should never happen in this world ever again. Any form of war should not happen.
 * Do you have anything else to say about 6.12 war or yourself? (Is there anything I have missed that you think I should know?)**

We have to be advanced over communism.
 * How can we do that?**

Thank you (:

In view of the historical value of this oral history interview, I __**Hee Kyung Hwang**__ knowingly and voluntarily permit __**Jenny Hwang, D block Asian studies in KIS**__ the full use of this information for educational purposes. Signature **__Hee Kyung Hwang__** Date __1st June 2010__

__Reflection__ This project was an eye opener for me. As I was doing this project, Countless numbers of images of the war went through my head that made me make faces. I couldn’t believe these seriously had happened in Korea, only about 50 years ago. 50 years isn’t an enormous time in the history, rather it passes by in a wheeze. However, during that 50 years, Korea steeply, and I mean extremely rapidly, recovered from this ruins and industrialized. This fact I had gotten conscious of somewhat interested me.

When my grandmother cried in the middle of her interview, I felt like crying too, somehow. I’ve never been through anything like she has, but just the thought of it made me feel dreadful, I wondered how anyone could survive from those kind of sufferings. I realized this project really helped me to understand the Korean war, in Korean citizen’s point of view.

All the stories that my grandparents told me seemed so unreal to me; about my grandmother’s story, about her last time seeing her mother, about her having to beg for a place to live at the age of 17, about not being able to go to school for such a long time made my heart rend. Also about my grandfather; how he had to step on the injured and dead people and climb in order to live, how he saw the little baby, seeking earnestly for his mother, who was already six-feet under, how he saw a man die, holding his families picture in hand. I tried to think as if I were in their shoes back then, however I cannot imagine how it will be like for me if a war occurred. All I could think is that I wouldn’t have any hopes left and my life would be lifeless. This also made me think about the recent news, “chyun-an-ham” and conflict between the North and the South. War shouldn’t be the choice of method for countries to try to get their own ways. This project made me comprehend that war is not a laughing matter.

I agree with my grandparent, going against wars and the innocent people shouldn’t be killed. As I heard about what was left in the war afterwards from them, I became aware that war just leave the country a destructed place; a wreckage. So what if you win the battle? What do you get? Victory, power, money... Does these matter so much? As much as people’s lives and their families’ broken hearts? Can this replace the loved ones that died in the war? Can this heal my grandmother’s heart from a scar on her heart, made when she saw her mother and the blanket she was carrying fading slowly?

Overall, this project was very helpful in so many ways. I found out many interesting facts and the cruelty of the war. This also helped me understand my grandparents’ generation a bit more, as well as the war itself.