KK+KWI

=KOREAN WAR INTERVIEW =


 * Release Form: **

In view of the historical value of this oral history interview, I Kim Dong-Soon knowingly and voluntarily permit Kenny Kim, Korea International School, Grade 10, the full use of this information for educational purposes.

Signature

Interviewer: //Kenny Kim//

Interviewee: //Kim Dong-Soon//

Date: 5-16-09


 * Interview Questions: **

1. Background Info (Full Name, Date of Birth, Family Members)

2. Where were you during the Korean War?

3. What was your occupation at the time?

4. Was your occupation disturbed by the war? If so, how was it so?

5. What was your opinion of North Korea during the war, and what is your opinion, if changed, today?

6. Can you tell me some painful memories of the war? Such as abandoning loved ones, enduring brutal hunger, etc.

7. What do you remember about North Korea and the UN’s alternating control over South Korea?

8. How did you feel when North Korea was approaching Busan?

9. How did you think the war was going to end? Why?

10. Do you think a split between the two Korea’s could have been avoided?

11. How does Kim Il-Sung compare to Rhee Sung-man?

12. How do you think Korea developed after the armistice of the Korean War?


 * Analysis Questions: **

1) How does your interviewee's testimony fit in with what you have learned about the experience of civilians?

The testimony given to me by my interviewee fits custom-tailored to what I have learned about the experiences of civilians. Though my interviewee spoke in views of her father and herself, the experiences were breathtaking, and seemed right out of an overly dramatic war movie. The killing, the loss of lives, the hunger that lingered over everyone’s shoulders, marauding them until they had no desire or will to live… It was a living hell come true for my interviewee. She had to endure the same hardships and the same experiences. To live a life like this over again, would to much for anybody. This was war, war that Koreans went through and what my interviewee went through.

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?

The life of my interviewee was brutal. They had to continue on with their lives, despite the happenings that occurred, which seemed to tear away at their hope of surviving, their want for life. Her father was a high school teacher, teaching English to students due to his proficiency and his past education in an American university. Due to this, when the war started, he was able to take him and his family, down to the South, as refugees, due to his ability to speak English. Although the South may have seemed better, life was no different, as when the North came crashing in, making enormous land gains, life just made a turn for the worse, causing him to lose one of his daughters due to the lack of food, and the baby, unable to sustain herself, gave away. He often had to be strong for his family, and he learned to become a true provider through scavenging and making do of whatever food they found. In the end, though they all survived, minus the baby, they survived on mostly butternut squash, which they ate so much of, they cannot stand the taste of it to this day.

3) Hypothesize or explain how you interviewee was able to stay out of danger.

My interviewee herself was a child at the time, and thus she was left at the house when the others fled, looking for food and a way to safety. As soon as they left however, whatever goods were left in the house were promptly carried away, stripping down the entire house. She had to lie completely still, without tensing a single muscle; hidden under blankets her family had covered her with to protect herself against the smugglers and the possible Communist recruiters. Eventually she escaped, using nerves of soldered titanium. Her father was quick-witted, and using resources such as ability to speak to the American soldiers, and having connections to the capitalist nations due to his status as a man who went to an American university, he was able to survive throughout the war. Although he was caught, and interrogated by the Communist recruiters, he was bundled up where guns shot from all angles. His friends took the bullets in front of him, and he was untouched. He lied like a dead man, and eventually, he survived to rejoin his family. The father was a strong, smart man, who pulled through, and got him and his family through life or death situations. Though many would suffer, there would be people who succeeded. My interviewee was was of those people.


 * Korean War Survivor Interview Summary: **

media type="file" key="Korean War Interview Summary.mp3"


 * Korean War Survivor Interviews: **

Part One: media type="youtube" key="kyCiaUBPk30" height="360" width="580"

Part Two: media type="youtube" key="d7m7_9iAjDo" height="364" width="445"

Part Three: media type="youtube" key="tf0m00rMdCM" height="364" width="445"


 * Essay: **

When Ideologies Collide... The Korean War at its surface was what happened when two ideologies collided. Communism and Capitalism fighting neck and neck for supreme ruling powers over the two Koreas. Each brought allies, some proving to be more powerful than the other, and much blood was shed. But if one looks closer, war is more than plastic toy soldiers walking into a battle. War does not only get soldiers killed. War is a monster, taking away happiness, hope, and whatever else the tattered remains had of what we call war victims. Kim Dong-Soon was once one of these tattered souls, but with time, he had the strength and the courage to recount his stories in front of a camera. This interview, though simply a little over 20 minutes in length, was the first close-up experience I have had with the Korean War. Personal stories add the element of human emotions into the Korean War, and this truly made it seem much more real and horrifying.

My interviewee talked much about the hardships and the fear that plagued her life. Her own father cheated death to its face numerous times, each one closer than the last. The stories were surreal, gunfire, slaughter, mass murder were pulsing through my mind as she recounted stories of horrible deaths of family and friends, even people she did not know. I learned that war is not a fun battle where families proudly send off their sons where they return to gala events. People don’t come back. Some civilians don’t tell their stories. Most of the time because dead people don’t talk. She watched with her own eyes, new life being born and then killed by famine. Human greed ripped familial bonds to pieces. The toll of war was tremendous. And when this comes from a human being its impossible to imagine the world allowed this to happen.

The world turned its back on the civilians of Korea during the Korean War. It left many unprotected to die, and many undeserving souls perished due to the unrelenting conditions of death. My interviewee was lucky enough to not only escape out of Pyongyang, but also to escape death, to escape the roaming presence of death. Because she survived, and the stories were passed on, a legacy was born. My understanding of the Korean War has been extended to astronomical lengths. The war if happened today could not have been more real. As a small child, my interviewee took the extremely small chance of surviving. And by this, she has passed on her knowledge and wisdom.