Korean+War+Interview+Project+Eungi+Choi+C+Block

=The Korean War Interview = Told from the point of view of Park Kum Ja (interviewed by Eungi Choi)

=Interview Video = = media type="youtube" key="nmIdhAb87pM" height="344" width="425"=  media type="youtube" key="2N1BlJ7pim0" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="WLQlPvOf_-k" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="s3J7PJA-bs0" height="344" width="425" When I tried to upload on Wikispace using Quicktime, there was an error message that kept saying it was too big and wouldn't accept it so I decided to upload it on to YouTube instead. = =

=**Summary Video/Podcast** =  media type="file" key="Korean Interview Summary (EC).mp3"

=**Release Form** = 

=**Interview Questions** =

= = =**Analysis Questions** =
 * 1) During the Korean War, how old were you and what were you doing at the time?
 * 2) How were you aware that the Korean War was happening?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What were some reactions in your community?
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What are some changes that happened due to the constant battles? How was your life affected by the war?
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What were your opinions towards the North Koreans at the time?
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In your opinion, what do you think was the primary fear during this time?
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">How were the beggars on the street like? Did normal citizens offer them help?
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Have the Communist entered your house before?
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What was one major event that was influential and memorable?
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What do you think the Koreans had lost and gained through the Korean War?
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What was the health condition like?
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Do you think you would be living a different life if there had been no Korean War?
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What is your opinion on the topic of whether Korea should be united?

My grandmother, Park Kum Ja was at the age of 19 and straight out of school during the time of the Korean War. Her story had numerous consistencies with the common events that happened to civilians during the war yet some accounts had slight contrasts. Similarities between the two stories were based on the taking of young men and women, state of poverty and hunger of the civilians, and the mass majority of empty houses which refugees commonly used. According to Baek Hong Young in Still Life with Rice, many people at the time, especially young men and women, were taken by force for the army. Similar events also happened to my grandmother for the soldiers came for her but due to her connection with somebody of class, she was able to escape without being captured. In addition, the event that my grandmother saw of a baby trying to drink milk from his dead mother seemed eerily similar to the photography that was provided in the documents. But along with similarities came differences for there were some slight contradictions that rose up. For example, she stated how not all North Koreans were pure evil to the South Koreans. My grandmother told me that at some times, some families would live in the same room together with the North Koreans and they didn’t end up killing each other. She stated that the American and Chinese soldiers posed more of a threat than the North Koreans themselves. Her contradictions to what the document spoke of depicted how one of the stories may have been exaggerated. The war impacted every single Korean and permanently severed the brotherhood that North and South Koreans shared. A normal life style of one in their early adulthood was completely ruined for my grandmother. Dreams of having a normal job, marrying a decent person, and having a family were put off for the duration of the war. Every day passed in fear of air bombings and the two armies of North Korea and South Korea frequently drove the border up and down, causing all possible balance to be disrupted. Nobody knew of any sanctuary for all houses belonged to whoever came first. Food was scarce, people were homeless, and disease spread causing an enormous number of normal civilians to die without being directly affected by the military. My grandmother’s family did their best in order to scavenge food especially by using her younger siblings to go begging to the American soldiers. Every single Korean has their roots embedded in the Korean War, directly or indirectly, and the future without the war cannot be visualized. My grandmother told me that none of my family members, except one of her younger brother, were killed in the Korean War. At the time, my grandmother was the eldest of the family, meaning that all her younger siblings were too young to participate in the war. As a result, her family stuck together and managed to stay out of danger due to many connections and pure luck. My grandmother was not forcefully taken for the war, my family hid inside the basement of a fishing boat rather than fight over the crossing of the bridge, and one of her younger brother was favored by an American soldier who gave enormous gifts for the family. Their luck lasted throughout the war even to the point that they barely missed a bomb dropping on their house. =<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> = =<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1.5 Page Essay =
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">How does your interviewee's testimony fit in with what you have learned about the experience of civilians? **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Using your background knowledge try to contextualize their testimony. How do you think major events of the war affected their life at the time?**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Hypothesize or explain how you interviewee was able to stay out of danger.****

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">People can learn history through reading, but there’s always a limit: whether or not the story written is biased or not. The Korean War was the most crucial life-changing war there has ever and there will ever be upon the Korean peninsula for the different points of views managed to tear apart the people of the same lineage, flaring up hatred for one another. But different points of views caused by the passion of people are often misleading and most of the time, over exaggerating. Primary sources, as a result, are a crucial part into understanding the real truth of history for it provides somebody who actually lived through the event and serves as the evidence to where bias does not function well. Actually seeing what happened is a whole different level than from the assumptions that most people make. As a result, the interview of my grandmother helped open up a new eye of seeing the Korean War. Listening to my own blood relative talk made me feel the significance of the war; a bigger impact than what I got by simply reading anecdotes of a stranger.

The countless numbers of documents and editorials all provided interesting points but were usually repetitive in their basic information of the war: poverty, famine, bombs, and death. However, the interview with my grandmother helped me understand how normal people like me were going through during the time. A major point that created a huge controversy against the documents I had read was the views toward the North Koreans.

In most papers that supported South Koreans, the Red Army served as the evil, antagonist, cold-hearted murderers. In films, these people would kill normal civilians wherever they stepped foot. But my grandmother contradicted this generalization by saying how her own mother lived in the same room with Communist soldiers and did not suffer any type of abuse. These ruthless barbarians simply sat there wrapping a simple cloth on their blistered foot because they couldn’t even afford socks at the time. She stated how the American bombings were more of a threat than the North Koreans charging in! Though they did kill normal civilians during the time of retreat, the North Koreans were not necessarily the monsters as many documents stated.

It was true that everyone suffered and a majority of people died. This interview helped me realize the magnitude and how greatly I was connected to the Korean War than I possibly imagined. Each interview opens up new point of views because everyone sees the world differently. Maybe the North Koreans weren’t completely evil. The plagues that spread had significant impact on the number of deaths along with the fighting going on. Many civilians during the time were ambivalent towards Communism and Capitalism. The Korean War has so many aspects to it and cannot possibly be summarized into a simple story. So rather than reading out of textbooks, it may be a much more accurate and pleasant way of learning by simply asking a relative what happened during the Korean War.