Simple but Impossible Hope

10. 21 2009
Ju Young Baek
ESL-100
Simple but Impossible Hope

A couple of days ago, a family reunion was held at the mountain of Kum-Kang, which is located in the North Korea, and it is the only place open to South Koreans. I saw one article about the event. It talked about a mother and daughter that have not seen each other for over sixty years, and they finally met together at the event. The mother just turned one hundred years old, and the daughter is over seventy years old, but the mother still remembers her daughter’s birthday exactly. I was moved a lot, but this story reminded me of my grandfather who passed away five years ago. He was one of the persons who was longing to take part in this event. The meeting does not occur often, and everybody cannot participate. The South Korean government has to negotiate with the North Korean government first, and then they make an agreement to have the event. As there is a limited number of people per event, many people are on the waiting list. Unfortunately, my grandfather did not have the chance while he was alive. The Korean War has been in an armistice for over sixty years, and this led to many separated families. My grandfather was a victim of the war; however, even though he lived in sorrow, he taught me to understand the meaning of family and the hope of life.

I learned about the sorrow due to the missing family of my grandfather. The Korean War happened in 1950, and Korea was separated into North and South after the independence from Japan for political reasons. North Korea wanted to reunite the Korean peninsula under communism. Therefore, North Korea attacked South Korea. It was the beginning of the war, and a historical tragedy. Korea is still separated into South and North Korea, and South Korea became a democracy while North Korea became a communist country. Because of the war, many family members are separated from each other from north to south, and most people settled down in the new environment. They had to live their lives despite their sorrows. I still remember the sorrow of my grandfather. He was very sad whenever the big holidays came close. He did not know if his parents were still alive. He guessed that they were already dead, but he wanted to make sure. He had a hard time overcoming his sorrows, and sometimes it was his motive to live his life diligently and hopefully. He never gave up his hope to meet his family someday. He made a reservation for the event, and he tried to send a mail through other countries. However, every effort failed. Actually, in my generation, it might be hard to totally understand because most families live together. However, I learned about the feelings of longing and the loss from him.

My grandfather taught me about the meaning of family. He was very happy when he was in his small hometown. As he was the only child, he was close with cousins and friends. Because of that, he was so lonely when he settled down in South Korea. There was nobody to support him or know him. There were only two people, my grandmother and himself. Therefore, for him, family was the most important thing in his life. Whenever my mother told me about her childhood, I felt that he was a family man. He wanted to take part in every school event of his children, and the story I like the most about him is that he sometimes stopped by my mother’s work place surprisingly with ice cream and snacks when he got off of work. I believe that my mother’s warm heart is inherited from my grandfather, and she has passes me that love. I have learned the meaning of family that way. He always called on my mother’s birthday, so my mother was very sad on her birthday after his death. Also, as he did not have any family in the south; he made friends who were from the same hometown. They were very close like his own brothers and sisters. They took care of themselves and each other very well, and they shared their sadness and happiness. Even though many of them passed away, their children still have good relationships like relatives. I have uncles and aunts who have different last names, and I thank my grandfather for giving me a big family.

He also inspired me to live with hope. When the war occurred, he had to escape from a dangerous to a safe place. He followed the crowd and settled down in Seoul. He had nothing in his hands. My grandmother and grandfather worked very hard. As he was a teacher when he was in the North Korea, he finally became an elementary school teacher. He was diligent, and he loved his job very much. One day, he realized that he needed more education. He entered a city college, and he got a degree when he was around sixty. As I was only two years old at that time, I do not remember the graduation. However, whenever I see a picture which I took with him at his graduation, I feel proud of him. He always told me that I can do whatever I want, and I can learn as much as I can. He was optimistic and he wanted me to keep trying without hesitation. He taught me how to work with joy and passion. I want to work in my job like him. He retired as a principal of an elementary school, and his retirement ceremony was held by all the teachers and students of his last elementary school. They invited his family. I still remember his ambivalence during the ceremony.

The war changed his life a lot. His hope was quite simple. He wanted to meet his family. When I was young, it was hard to understand his sadness. Now I can understand a little how much he had to overcome the sadness because even though I can e-mail and call my family every day, I sometimes miss them so much. He might have worried a lot if he had known I would live in the US after getting married. However, I want to say to him not to worry about me because I know where my family is, and I know they love me so much. One day I expect to meet my family who is in North Korea. If I can meet them, I will tell them that my grandparents had missed them a lot.