Jee+Min+H+-+Korean+War+Oral+History

Recording:

This is 60 minutes long! When I asked her my questions, she kind of ignored me and just started talking about her experience. So I just listened. Many times, she repeats her self and the order she says things in may be sort of confusing. Also, I kept asking her the same questions again and again too because I didn’t understand what she was saying. So instead of listening to this podcast, I advise you to just read the script! I fixed things! I just have the podcast as an evidence of my interview.

Interview Questions:

What's your name?

How old were you, what year were you born?

Did you have any jobs at the time?

How many people were in your family?

How old were you when the war occurred?

Where were you born? What was your environment like?

What did you feel like when the NK first invaded the south. How did you first get to know this?

Did you meet north koreans in person? What was the experience like? Did they torture you in any way?

How did you choose to stay in the south? What shaped your decisions?

Have you lost any members? What was it like?

Were you directly related to war? How did it influence you after life? What would've been different if there wasn't a war?

Did you mature mentally after the war?

What were your perspectives towards US soldiers when they came to help? Did they do something good to you? or bad to you?

Did you keep a personal diary? Or do you still have any photographs?

Where did you stay? Did you have to move around?How did you do it?

How war your life during the war?

How was school/ education? Are you unsatisfied because you got less education because of the war?

How did you buy food?

Is there anything I haven't asked about that you think I should know?

Later when her story was done, most of my questions were already answered. Questions that were unanswered, I asked her at the end. You can see those questions below, in the script.
 * I had some questions like these prepared prior to the interview but like I said, my grand mother just kept on saying her story.

Script:

This is Jeemin Han and I am interviewing my grandmother on 1950 at Korea. We are going to talk about the Korean War and her experiences.

My name is Lim Shinang. I was born in 1935 so that makes me 76 years old. I was 15 or 16 when the war broke out. The Korean War happened in 1950. I lived in ChungCheongBukDo (충청 북도). It was Sunday morning when I first heard that the North Koreans invaded the south. At the time, I had many siblings. 5 girls (including me), and 3 boys. 8 in total. My oldest brother was in Seoul, studying. The road was blocked so he couldn't come all the way down to his home when the war broke off. The rest of us just had to go somewhere safe. So we went to ChungCheongNamDo ( 충청남도) because our cousins were there. It was hard for many people to go all at once, so all of us left except for our parents and my 2nd oldest brother. The 2nd brother stayed because it was too heart breaking for my parents to leave all their children away.

However, the north koreans came to ChungCheongBukDo 충청북도 first. Faster than we all expected. So my father, mother, and my 2nd brother had to go to Busan 부산 right away. So our family got separated like that. When they were at Busan 부산, my second brother had to go to the army. He was at the right age and he was extremely fit and athletic. He had won 7 sports awards. It was difficult to avoid joining the army when you were a known athletic person like him. At the right time, he met his PE teacher in the street. They promised each other that they will both sign up for the army (헌병) and meet each other there. But my parents disapproved greatly. They held on to his ankle and didn't let him go. He eventually pushed them away and left the house for the army. However, he was too late because his parents has delayed him. The doors for joining the army (헌병) was already closed. Instead of going back home, he went to another army (학도병), but it was not a proper army. It had far less weapons and the soldiers were poorly trained and equipped. It was an amateur army, mostly consisting of young students. It was almost guaranteed that you would die if you joined that army (학도병).

Our country had no preparation what so ever. It was only 5 years after a war that Korea previously had. Only after a few years that we gained independence from Japan, there was another war. Thus, we were not ready. Something that was new to me was the North's airforces. Our nation's planes could only one bullet at a time. Boom. Boom. Boom. But the airplanes of the North's could shoot hundreds of bullets without any intervals. Dadadadada. Dadadadada. Dadadadadadddada. If it wasn't for the UN (America), South Korea wouldn't exist right now. Around that time, Seungman Rhee, our president was in Hawaii for 5 years, continuously asking America to help South Korea. So, America, Australia, Turkey, etc. and all the powerful countries came to the south to help us. China had North Korea's back.

The war was horrible. Like I said before, South was not prepared for the war. That made so many people die. Every family had at least one dead member. Every household had to send away their loved ones. There wasn't much to eat either. Koreans were no different than the starving children of Africa and India. We were miserable. If anything such as the Korea War ever happen again, it is a crisis to all of us. Not only physically, but even mentally, people of the south aren't ready for anything like this again. We practice democracy. Everyone has different ideas and opinions. Individualism exist where we live. However, in a communist country that cannot happen. They are united and strongly bonded. Every thinks the same, eats the same, wears the same. You cannot possibly separate them. This is advantageous when it comes to fighting wars. I'm afraid because people of these generation don't know the reality of having a war. They have no idea how horrible it is. people who have experienced Korean war long time ago are all old like me. They can't let another war like this happen ever again.

I'll talk about my oldest brother. He was in Seoul studying. He was homestaying at our father's friend's house. When they heard the Korean War broke out, the family that he stayed in stopped him from going anywhere. The family had a lot of children so they needed my brother's help to move them to a safe place. My brother piggy backed the young ones and moved them all to a safe place and down all the way to CheongJu 청주. No one was there and he realized that everyone has escaped. There, we sent one of the cousins to get us. After getting the message, we came to Cheong Ju 청주 and we reunited with our oldest brother. On our way, it was so scary. Dadadadada. Dadadadadadada. I would hear the bullets and the missiles coming from above. When the planes shot, we had to duck down. You couldn't move forward or backword, or even sideways. You had to stop and lie down. The youngest out of our family would lie down first, then I would lie down on top of her, then my older sister would lie down on top of me. From youngest to oldest so even we get shot, the youngest would be able to survive. We would walk during nights and hide in the woods during day time. Yes, we had to move during the winter too. It was horrible. When we got to 청주, our oldest brother had a house. Kind of like a hideout place. It had a large sturdy basement. We collected as much blankets as we possibly could. Thick cotton ones. We lay them all down, covering the whole first floor. We put layers on top of layers on top of layers. This protected us from the bullets. If the bullets started to penetrate the blankets, it will spin fast and as it spins, it will tangle with the cotton inside the blanket.Then we went down and stayed hidden in the basement for the whole time. My brother is still alive and that house in 청주.

My oldest brother survived, but my 2nd brother that joined the (학도부) army had not. This made my mother live for over a hundred years. She didn't close her eyes before she could see her son. She didn't admit that her son was dead. She said, "he'll come, he'll come. He's not dead. I now his not dead. Let's wait." However, after the war, the PE teacher that joined the proper army survived and came to visit us. He said that he waited in front of the doors, until it was completely closed for her son to come. Because they promised each other that they would meet there and fight together. Then the soldier's silver necklace was sent to our family. Ever soldier had their own necklace with an engraved number. This was because when the soldiers die, it's hard to distinguish who they are. They look at the necklace instead and the number on it to find out their identity. When the necklace is sent back to the soldier's family, it meant that he died. The necklace came to us and it mean the death of my 2nd brother. Everyone that experienced Korean War experienced these sad moments as well. Everybody who experienced Korean War would have this wound in there heart. Everybody went through it. This is why I'm so against wars. War should never ever happen. It is so inhumane. It's not right for humans to fight each other and kill each other like that. It's miserable.

The hardships that the south korean families had to go though was not only lamenting over their dead family members. Food was another problem. The country was poor and some people barely had anything to eat. I was very fortunate. My father was very rich. Our family had a lot of money and we didn't have to worry about the economy. We also had owned a large field with agriculture. We collected rice before hand and stored it. But still, many other people starved to death. Other poor people went out in the dangerous streets to sell little chocolate bars, gum packs, and even sold little school supplies. As I said, Korean war should never happen again. It is a miserable thing. Another thing that the younger generation of today must remember are the people of other nations that helped us. We must always be grateful and stay that way. Therefore, we should help other countries too like we got help from other countries long time ago. We should help each other out at times of troubles. It is a responsibility. South Korea wouldn't have existed if it weren't for the help that we received from others.

(Jeemin: When the North Koreans first came, how were you able to react so fast and decided to runaway? How did you know that they invaded Korea right away?)

Right before the North Koreans came, the president Seungman Rhee reassured everyone. "It's okay, it's okay the civilians of Seoul. Nothing big is going to happen. It is not necessary to evacuate." This made many people to stay in the places that they were. Those people trusted the President. But later, when the real war broke out and they were placed in a situation where they "had" to runaway, it was already too late. Although today, there are many many numerous bridges, but back then, there was only a few. Han River Bridge 한강 was one of the few. But afraid that the North koreans will invade towards south even farther, the Americans bombed the bridge. So some people stayed and just died. Some people tried swimming to the other end of the water and died. Many people in Seould, even though they really wanted to runaway, had lost their opportunities and had to suffer. This may be one of the reason why Kangnam 강남 is favored by people. People of Kangnam 강남 were the survivors and people of Kangbook 강북 were the trapped ones. Although now, both places are popular because Kangbook강북 has stabilized much more than before, at that time, it wasn't. This Kangbook강북 and Kangbook강남 issue didn't matter me much because I was at CheongJu청주 but for the people who were in Seoul, they were all panicking and anxious. Gosh. Many many people died. Some people, not out of their free will, were forced to support the North Koreans. Those people died too. I can't believe this happened in one nation. People of the same country killing each other. Blood shed. It cannot happen again. It must not happen again.

(Jeemin: Did you meet any of the North Koreans during the war and got hurt directly by them? Did they torture you in any way?)

No, I didn't. It didn't happen to me but I know that it happened to many people around me. I saw the North Korean soldiers pulling on some of our people. Forcing them. Then the people would be dragged, their feet sliding on the floor, pulled away. They were executed. Sometimes, they gathered all the people and killed them at once. They especially took our people away to the North's side when they were slowly getting a disadvantage. Normal citizens would not know which side is winning or loosing. However, the North Korean soldiers knew everything that was happening, so the more they thought they were in danger, to make as many people to come to the North's side, they forced the people to come with them. Many were killed were on their way back to the North.

During winter, it's also another disadvantage for those who lived in the North because it's even colder. So what the Chinese did was, they were thick cotton clothes that were white. From far behind, they would blend in well with the snow. A new thing I learned then was a war tactic called Human Strategy (인의전술). It's when you line many people and just march forward. Like a human shield. There were so many chinese people so this was possible. The Koreans lost. Many people died. People today don't know this. How horrible war is. Back then, at least they were all guns and bullets. However, these days, we've got more dangerous weapons such as the nuclear bomb that will end everything in an instant so we have to be careful even more than before.

The South know what's bad and good. They have morality and are able to judge for themselves. However the North don't have that. From 1945 to 1965, we were separated. No matter how smart we are, we wouldn't be ably to understand the different ways of the North's thinking. We have elections, have our own idea, have individual success. We vote every time for a new president but the North have Kim Jung il, Kim il Seung, and then their sons. The Norths are like robots. They move according to what they were told to do.

(Jeemin: Do you have any other family members that were lost during the war besides your 2nd brother?)

No, there's more. Many cousins all died and my youngest sister died. She was chocked while eating some kind of a nut. If it wasn't for the war, my sister could have been saved. We could have went to the hospital fast enough. But there was no transportation during the war and the hospital was full of injured soldiers. There so no room for a little girl.

A scary thing is that, some of the South Koreans cooperated with the North Korean soldiers in order to kill someone they hated. If the South Koreans had enemies, that South Korean could toll on the person they hate to the Soldiers to get them killed. Luckily, nobody in peculiar hated us. We killed each other. A person I knew who lived in my neighborhood also owned a big rice storage. But inside their rice storage, the couples were roped to each other and shot in the public in front of a whole crowd. I heard this news because I lived in the same area. I was so scared I couldn't get out. There was no trial. You killed when you were heard of something guilty. There was no second thought or a reconsideration if this person really is guilty.

(Jeemin: You probably weren't able to attend school. Are you dissatisfied because of the alck of education you got during your childhood?)

Of course I wasn't able to attend school. But it was okay because it was not only me but everyone else too who didn't get education. When Korea was imperialized by Japan, she was taught everything in Japan. If she used Korean, our cards were taken away. (You were punished if we didn't have our cards). Once we gained independence, when we were caught speaking Japanese, we got punished again. However, everything worked out well in the end. When I was old enough to go to college, America got Seoul back to us and the capital was Seoul again. All good schools were made there. So my oldest brother and i went to Seoul. Brother had a job there and I had to go to college there. I was able to go to a medical school.

(Jeemin: Did you write any journal entries or took pictures during the Korean war? If you did, do you still have them?)

No, I didn't have any cameras back then to take pictures with. If we did have a camera, it would have been my brothers. They played around with it and I didn't get a chance to touch it. But I remember my dead 2nd brother was very talented in taking pictures. My oldest brother was very smart and went to a good college, however, my 2nd brother was talented in many other things. He had a hobby of taking pictures, collecting many LPG records, and playing sports. It would have been nice if he was alive. War must not happen again. No matter what happens, we have to stop any future wars.

(Jeemin: Did the war change you some in any way? If the war didn't happen, what kind of person would you be?)

If there wasn't a war, Korea would have developed faster. However, because of the war, people learned to thankful. Sometimes, hardships are needed to make you realize how fortunate you are. I am so happy now. If you didn't experience any hardships, you will take many things in advantage. Such as, being able to learn, living with your family members - all alive, stability in the society, health. I'm always thankful now.

(Jeemin: Do you have anything more that you want to tell me?)

I just want you to remember something. War should not happen again. It cannot happen again. The younger generation should know that and think straight. They should be cautious. The North Koreans are so different from us. They kill people like they kill bugs. They are cruel and violent. South Korea has never invaded other countries in history. But the North invaded us. The North Koreans are now saying that it was us who invaded first but that is nonsense. How can they something so ridiculous. Blasphemy. So many has witnessed it. Nowadays, the people of North Koreans are portrayed as much nicer people. Some people even imitate the way they talk. I can't understand that. People who tries to defend the North koreans should just go to North Korea. If they don't want to you then why are they doing that. It's all because they don't know the real truth about them. This is because their life is too comfortable. But I absolutely can't think that they are good people. I can't forget the things that they did to us. I don't think unification of Korea is possible. We have been living on different side for over 60 years. Our country would be way worse than the time German unified. The southerners will not be able to adapt to the new environment. The northerners are way too strong, mentally, for us to handle.

(Jeemin: How's your life after the war? Did it damage anything about you permanently)

Ah, I get frightened alot. When I'm alone at night and hear big noises, such as the door shutting or something falling, I'm terrified. I think that has to do a lot with the war and the bombing sound that. I can't even walk home at night. Also, I couldn't sleep the night your father was born because I was so scared. When I realized I gave birth to a son, I was frightened that there would be another war in the future. Then, when the soldiers are needed, I would have to send away my baby. Anyone who experienced the war like I did, they'll be just as afraid as I am.

THANKS! That was the end of the interview.

Reflection:

I learned so much by doing this assignment. It gave me a chance to really ask my grandma to find out what happened during the Korean War. It’s not the dates and simple facts of what the UN did and what happened to the Koreans and what was declared to each other that I learned. I learned how life was like for people of that era to live through the war. By hearing the long life story of my grandmother when she was in the war, I was able to really feel how it must have been like for her. She lost 3 family members which greatly shows what life was like for the people. She told me that not only her but all the family had at least 1 dead person. The separation of her family moved me very much. I notice that my grandmother repeated herself again and again about how war like this must not happen again. It showed how much she hated it and her fear of it happening again. She said she was afraid the people of today’s generation don’t know how horrible war is. They underestimate everything just because the life that they’re living in right now is so comfortable. She says that we have to be cautious and important to avoid any war. She showed strong disapproval in fighting battles and called it “miserable.” The interview tremendously helped me understand the life during Korea War. I was also surprised in the power of love that existed in her family, going back and forth Korea to see each other, risking ones life. The part where the youngest sibling lying down first then the second oldest then the oldest on the very top when there was shooting form the sky, was very touching. I was also surprised in the way she talked bad about the North Koreans. I’ve known her since I was born! and I’ve never seen her talking anything bad about anyone. She is a very calm, soft and a generous woman that I respect. However, she said that North Koreans were horribly cruel and violent. She is angry at the fact that nowadays, we portray North Koreans as much nicer people than they actually are. For the people who try to defend North Korea, my grandma said that they should go to North Korea. Although the war was very painful and petrifying experience, she said that it taught her how to be thankful in life and not take advantage of things around us. I really loved doing this project!