Shattered by the Wars

Hi-Dong Chai

Description

I hate war. War kills. War maims. War orphans. And it leaves a deep scar not only on the land, that will take years to heal, but also in the hearts of those who are affected by the war. I am one of those who carry a deep emotional wound to this day, more than sixty years later. During World War II, under Japan, my father was imprisoned because he was a Christian minister who refused to bow down to the picture of the Japanese emperor. My elder brother volunteered to join the Japanese military in the hope of having his father released from the prison. He left home as a vibrant, fifteen-year-old boy and returned home as a worn-out, injured, eighteen-year-old man after the war; he died a year later. During the Korean War, two North Korean officers came to my house and took my father away because he was a Christian minister. He never returned. Shattered by the Wars is a story of love, sacrifice, faith, and suffering, all wrapped in one package. The heroine in the story is my mother, as seen by her youngest son. Mother prayed without ceasing. Through her unceasing prayers, she was able to walk through the dark tunnel of trials and tribulations and lead us onward with love and grace and absolute faith in God.

Sujets

• Korean War
• Korea
• History of Asia
• Corée

Informations

• Publié par: Inspiring Voices
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781462407972
• Langue: English

Extrait

Shattered by the Wars
But Sustained by Love
Hi-Dong Chai


 
Copyright © 2013 Hi-Dong Chai.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
 
Inspiring Voices
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www.inspiringvoices.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0796-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0797-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918880
 
 
 
Inspiring Voices rev. date: 10/28/2013

Table of Contents
1. My birth
2. My mother and father—their early years
3. My childhood
4. My two brothers
5. Pearl Harbor—Japan tightens its vise
6. World War II—Hi-Seung volunteers
7. World War II—my house taken away
8. The war is over
9. Hi-Seung comes home and dies
10. Hi-Bum becomes a communist
11. The Korean War breaks out
12. The communists take away my father
13. Good by, Kwidong
14. South Korean army returns to Seoul
15. Seoul is free again but not for us
16. Back home from the police station
17. Getting ready to go south
18. On a train to Busan
19. Refugee life begins
20. I become a fish cleaner
21. I go to Masan to find Mother
22. Good news—Mother is alive
23. On a boat to Cheju Island
24. Finally, I am with Mother
25. I find a job
26. I am the breadwinner
27. I teach Korean to an American boy
28. Farewell—February 3, 1953
Other family members
Acknowledgements

 
This is a compelling story of a young boy coming of age during a very troubled time in Korea. It is the story of a family of faith, courage, and determination. The overriding theme is of a mother’s love for her husband and children, and her unswerving faith in God’s goodness. The events are told from the point of view of Hi-Dong, the youngest child in a family of ten. The struggles of keeping the family intact and facing the hazards and despair of a country at work with itself are faced with strength and a steadfast devotion to God. A good read and certain to be on the best-seller’s list soon! —Betsy Shoup, Santa Cla ra, CA
 
Life experienced and seen through the eyes of a Korean boy under Japan during WWII and during the Korean War. A compelling story. Must read book for every American to appreciate how fortunate he is to live in America. —Pat Doran, Los Gat os, CA
 
Shattered by the Wars is certainly a moving and involving story. It is also an eye-opening picture of what it must have been like to be displaced by war and intolerance. I find that I am continually amazed and fortunate that I am now a friend with a person who survived all of that upheaval and mind-blowing trauma. What a story he has to tell … and surely there is much that we can learn from it. —John Hawes, San Jo se, CA
 
An easy reading and fascinating true story of life in Korea during the Japanese occupation and the North Korean invasion. The author, a bright and curious young boy, is raised by his courageous mother, who endures heartache and sorrow, but scrimps and saves in order to send her son off to America, the land of opportunity. How the family copes with the difficulties encountered held my interest to the end.—Bill Slocum, San Jo se, CA

Note from the author
I hate war. War kills. War maims. War widows. War orphans. According to Wikipedia, In WWII, 62 to 78 million lost their lives. Over 2.5 percent of the world population. In the Korean War, 2.5 million North and South Koreans were killed/wounded. In the Vietnam War, more than 4 million North and South Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians lost their lives. And war leaves a deep scar not only on the land, that will take years to heal, but also in the hearts of those who are affected by the war. I am one of those who carry a deep emotional wound to this day, more than sixty years later.
During my earlier years in Korea, I lost three loved ones through WWII and the Korean War. During WWII under Japan, my father was imprisoned by the Japanese police because he was a Christian minister who refused to bow down to the picture of the Japanese emperor. My elder brother, my best friend, volunteered to join the Japanese military in the hope of having his father released from the prison. He left home as a vibrant 15 year-old boy, and returned home as a worn-out injured 18 year-old man when the war ended in 1945. He died from his injury a year later. In 1950, the Korean War broke out. North Korean communists occupied Seoul for 90 days, where we lived. One day two North Korean officers came to my house and took my father away. He never returned. Also, the day before the South Korean army returned to Seoul, my eldest brother, who had turned communist, disappeared. He also never ret urned.
Not only did I lose my father and two brothers, I also lost my beloved dog. One day during the Korean War, Mother said, “We don’t have enough food, even for the family. We have to let Kwidong go.” How could I say,“No”, to Mother when there was not enough food even for the family? I had to let my best friend go. The picture of Kwidong turning her head toward me as if to say, “Good bye”, as she was led down the street by a dog warden, still numbs my heart with pain and guilt.
I wrote Shattered by the Wars with my heart that had yearned for peace and brotherhood through my growing years, in the hope that the readers would seek harmony at home and peace in the world. I picture a scene where people from diverse cultures hold hands across the vast continents and over the deep oceans, form a huge circle, look at each other with broad smiles, and sing a mighty song of brotherhood. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that day would come in our lif etime?

Excerpt from Shattered by the Wars
Time: October , 1950
Place: Police station, Seoul, Korea
 
The captain said sitting down and lighting a cigarette. “You are all communists and liars. Your husband is a communist in a preacher’s garb. He is not kidnapped, but escaped to the north. You know where your communist son is, and you don’t tel l us.”
“OK, you brat,” Captain said. “Where’s your bro ther?”
“I don’t know, Sir.”
“I am getting sick of listening to your lies,” he said. “Where is your worthless communist bro ther?”
“He really doesn’t know, Captain,” Mother spoke behi nd me.
“Shut up. I didn’t ask you,” Captain screamed. “That doe s it.”
“Officer Kim.” Captain made eye contact with Office r Kim.
I saw Officer Kim pulling out his revolver from the holster. I heard him cock the revolver. Then he placed the barrel against my temple. It felt cold and hard.
“Where’s your brother?” Captain asked.
“I don’t know, Sir.” That’s only answer I knew.
“Where’s your brother?” Captain asked me again.
Is there something that I can say that will make the captain stop asking the same question? I asked m yself.
“The night before the U.N. soldiers entered Seoul,” I said, “Brother came home and took a few of his belongings and left us. He didn’t tell us where he was g oing.”
“I didn’t ask you to explain,” Captain yelled. “Now, the last time … Where’s your bro ther?”
I closed my eyes ignoring his question. What’s the use of answering? He’s not going to believe me a nyway .
“That does it.” Captain sounded final. “Detective Kim … Go a head.”
I heard the pulling of the trigger and the barrel of the revolver jerking on my temple. I imagined the bullet speeding through my head, making holes through my skull and flying out the other side, covered with blood and brain matter. But I felt nothing. I heard no blasting sound of the bullet. Instead, a dead si lence.
Then I heard a voice, Oh my God … Mother’s voice. I heard someone falling. I turned. Mother was on the floor. Slouched. Staring at me with her sunken round eyes. The same eyes I saw when I had walked out of Father’s office with Detective Lee a week ago. Her bent arms reaching out toward me. Trembling. I rushed to her, knelt down, and put my arm around her shoulder. She stared at me with round eyes as if she was seeing a ghost.

 
This book is dedicated to my m other,
the greatest human being that I have known.
 

Mother in prayer (Photo by Davi d Rim)
 
And to all mothers in the world whose love and sac rifice
have been permanently etched in the hearts of men and women
who were nurtured by them.

1. My birth
I was born in Seoul, Korea, as the last member in a family of ten children, three of whom died before my birth. Mother was forty-two years old when she had me. In those days, because of the lack of proper nutrition and medical care, people aged early, and delivering a baby at the age of forty was a miracle, like a seventy-year-old woman of today having a baby. So when Mother delivered beautiful twin daughters at the age of thirty-seven, she thought that her baby-delivering mission was finally over. She felt relieved and grateful. She thought that Nature would free her from this painful task. The remaining years would be spent raising her children, watching them grow, marry and raise their own families. S