Korean+War+Interview+Project+Cindy+Choi+B+Block

=  = =* T he Korean War Interview * =



__Interviewing Kim Sang Hyuk (grandfather)__
By Cindy Choi

Interview Podcast:
media type="file" key="part 1 interview.m4a" media type="file" key="part 2 interview.m4a" media type="file" key="part 3 interview.m4a"  

Summary:
media type="file" key="Summary asian studies.m4a" 

Interview Questions:
<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">1. What is your name and age currently, and please name your family members. During the time of the Korean War, how old were you and what were you doing at the time? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">2. How did you know that the Korean War was starting? What were some of the reactions in your community? <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">3. What was your perspective towards the North Koreans at the time of the war? Did it change from your perspective before? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">4. Were there any changes that happened to your family and home because of the war? How was your life affected? <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">5. What was education like during the war? What were you taught? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">6. What were your primary fears of the war? Were they alike with the fear of your other family members? <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">7. What was the condition of your neighbors during the war? <span style="color: rgb(0, 11, 255);">8. Was there ever a time where you were confronted by a communist? What happened? <span style="color: rgb(255, 10, 10);">9. What was one of the key events that gave you the biggest impact during the war? <span style="color: rgb(0, 11, 255);">10. Do you think that the Koreans had lost or gained anything through the Korean war? <span style="color: rgb(255, 10, 10);">11. How did your relationship with your family change after the war? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">12. How do you think your life would be if there hadn't been a Korean War? <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">13. Do you think that Korea should be united or should we just leave our country as it is? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">14. Is there anything else you would like to share about the Korean war? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: center; display: block;">Analysis Questions:

 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 10, 10);">1 ) How does your interviewee's testimony fit in with what you have learned about the experience of civilians?**

Through out the many readings we have studied in class, I've learned the many horrific events that took place during the war. The reading 'Still Life with Rice,' had many similarities to my grandfather's description of the environmental state of South Korea. My grandfather describes Korea's surroundings during the war as dirty, chaotic, and that there was a lack of food. These were some factors that the Korean civilians faced during the war. Life was described as extremely difficult through out my grandfather's responses. In one part of the conversation, he mentions that people tried everything they could to survive. My grandfather was extremely lucky since he and his family found each other on the way of running away from the Communists. During our discussion about the relationship of families, he shared that he was one of the few people who had lost not one family member. His friends and some of his neighbors ended up being separated with the rest of their family members, or even worse, they were found dead. My grandfather also mentioned that there were many families living in one small tent, which once again is similar to the reading we did in class. The comment my grandfather had made that the desperation of people's survival made them do unforgettable things was exceedingly interesting. Some South Korean civilians acted as 'spies' and helped the communists in order to secure their lives. These 'spies' however, after the war, were punished by the South Koreans due to the betrayal. You can see how desperate people were in this state since they turned their backs against their own country. Since I was notified about the war in a close family member's perspective, it was interesting how the events were similar to the readings I've completed during class. Many of the hardships cognate with one another.


 * <span style="color: rgb(240, 0, 0);">2 ) Using your background knowledge try to contextualize their testimony. How do you think major events of the war affected their life at the time?**

My grandfather had to go Pi-nan, which in other words means running away. As soon as he heard the news on the radio about the start of the war, he ran back home scared and helpless. The house owner told him that they were leaving the house to Pi-nan (run away) before the North Koreans could reach them. My grandfather and his little brother ran with the house owner right away and walked for many days. When he reached the Han river, the South Korean government bombed it since they didn't want the communists to cross the river and hurt more innocent civilians. At this state, my grandfather begged a pilot to give him a ride on a boat which he somehow managed to do so. As soon as he reached the other side, he begin to walk once again with his little brother, later reaching a train station. The train ride was described as extremely violent since there were dead corpses of Korean civilians on the side of the train rail. Since my grandfather was only 16 years old during the time of war, he was frightened to see things he had never even thought of. Through these events of hardships, my grandfather remarked that many people didn't make it since they were too weak or too scared to continue the journey. The major events of the war definitely scared the many civilians and it made people desperate to live. At this point, everyone had to step up their own game and find a way for survival. Individually, people found out some characteristics of themselves that they never knew of such as, betrayal and more.


 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">3 ) Hypothesize or explain how you interviewee was able to stay out of danger.**

The fact that my grandfather ran away as soon as possible, was his first luck of the war. However, soon the Han river bridge was bombed right as he reached it, which was highly unfortunate. By begging the pilot, my grandfather was able to get a ride across with his family and began to walk for many days. Since he had always been physically healthy, he was able to get through many of the hardships such as lack of food. My grandfather was the oldest son of 8 siblings. This made him highly responsible for his little sister and brothers' health, which made him need to sacrifice his needs in certain situations. Since his family were always headed towards the right places, he was surely able to stay out of danger. The people who went to Pi-Nan were extremely safe since they were all in a group and always avoided contact with the North Koreans. I believe that timing is the key and since my grandfather was able to leave Seoul as soon as possible to Pi-Nan, he was lucky to get away, far from the Communists. The people who lost the timing of running away ended up being captured by the North Koreans or even worse, they were killed.

<span style="display: block; text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Essay:
The Korean War interview project had opened my eyes to a fascinating perspective of the Korean War. I was engaged in the discussion since it was a firsthand source and every description my grandfather gave was so vivid and realistic. During the interview, I noticed how there were many similarities between my grandfathers stories, and the stories we read during class. His description of the war time was similar to the one of 'Still Lie with Rice,' explaining the dirty, poor like mood of the setting. I also became aware of things that I have never known before such as the bombing of the Han bridge. Due to the South Korean government wanting no interference with the North Korean troops, the Han bridge was bombed right before my grandfather was about to cross, which was one of the most interesting topics he discussed about during my interview. I also was informed about the many separation of families during the Korean War. Luckily, my grandfather had his family by his side the whole time since they moved very carefully and effectively. His story was so real that it was dragging me in by each sentence he spoke. Through the examples of the previous paragraph, you can tell how much information you can get out of a real source. Interviewing my grandfather was definitely different from any other reading I've done during class time. The packets we read may be descriptive, yet it does not fully bring you into the story. Not once was I bored during the interview, and I was enjoying each sentence my grandfather was sharing with me. There's definitely a feeling you get from the whole interview, a feeling that you've never gotten by reading before. Overall I believe that the interview was extremely successful and pulled me in towards my grandfathers shoes as he was speaking his wild adventure. There is most definitely a huge difference between reading a packet, and interviewing someone for specific details of a tragic event.