Phillip+Song+KRW+Interview

Korean War Oral History Project
media type="custom" key="2859561" **
 * Interview

**In view of the historical value of this oral history interview, I Lee Gang Sub knowingly and voluntarily permit Phillip Song Asian Studies KIS the full use of this information for educational purposes. Signature Lee Gang Sub Date 12/5/2008
 * Release Form


 * Interview Questions **

1.  Please tell me your name, age, job and marriage status. 당신의 이름, 나이, 직업, 결혼여부를 말씀해주세요. 2.  Tell me about your story in Chooncheon. How were you raised in that town and what was your job and how was your family? 춘천에 있었던 얘기를 해주세요. 어떻게 자랐으며 직업은 뭐였으며 가족은 어땠습니까? 3.  Why did you choose the path that other Korean would not approve for any reason? 왜 한국사람들이 절대로 동의하지 않을만한 길을 선택하셨습니까? 4.  How were you able to know that the war was declared in Korea? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">전쟁이 일어났다는 사실을 어떻게 알았습니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">5. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">As you know, the Korean War broke out in July 25 1950. Where and what were you doing? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">알다시피 한국전쟁은 6월 25일에 시작됐습니다. 그때 당시 어디에서 무엇을 하고 있었습니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">6. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">Within 3 days of this war, North Korea overtook Seoul, the capital of South Korea. As you know that, the beginning of Korean Wars was disasters for South Korea. What were you doing in your town during the war? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">남한의 수도 서울은 북한으로부터 3일만에 빼앗겼습니다. 한국전쟁의 시작은 남한에겐 큰 대참사였습니다. 당신은 그 당시 무엇을 했습니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">7. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">When did you face off North Korean Army during the Korean War? What was your response to that North Korean Army? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">당신은 언제 북한군과 첫 대면을 했습니까? 북한군과의 첫 반응이 어땠습니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">8. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">Did you have any critical moment or major event during occupation of North Korean Army in your town? If you have, please give me some details about it <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">북한이 당신의 마을을 점령했을 때 어떤 중요한 일들이 있었나요? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">9. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">After North Korean’s retreat and beginning of Chinese invasion, what was your life during Korean Wars? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">북한이 후퇴하였을 때, 그 당시 당신의 삶은 어땠습니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">10. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">So after Korean wars, what was your life and tell me about what did you do? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">한국전쟁이 끝난 다음, 당신의 삶과 무엇을 했는지 말씀해주세요. <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">11. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">Right now, you are living in Seoul. Therefore, what do you think about North Korea? Do you think that we are going to have other wars in this Korean Peninsula? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">지금 당신께서는 서울에 살고 계십니다. 북한에 대해 어떻해 생각하십니까? 남한과 북한간에 또 다른 전쟁이 일어날 거라고 생각하십니까? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">12. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">How can you summarize the Korean War for the future generations? <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">Before completing this interview, is there anything I have not asked about that you think I should know. <span style="font-family: 맑은 고딕;">후손들을 위해 한국전쟁을 어떻해 요약할수있나요?

media type="file" key="phil.mp3"
 * Summary**


 * Analysis Questions **

1) How does your interviewee's testimony fit in with what you have learned about the experience of civilians? I interviewed my friend’s grandfather, Lee Gang Sub. He told me unique experiences and information about the Korean War. I was informed that the Korean War was a complete disaster from his experience. I was aware of majority of the events that he have experience from our readings and lessons. One of the events that I knew before was that North Korean soldiers accused South Koreans as a communists and killed them. They took numerous South Korean males and sent out to the war as a North Korean soldiers. In Still Life with Rice, it is said that South Koreans continuously tried to hide their identity and escape from North Korea’s occupation. He mentioned that he was hiding at his house and stayed cautious as possible. The experiences that he mentioned showed that his testimony well fits with the things I’ve learned about the experience of civilians.

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 major events of the war affected the grandfather’s life time a lot. He was the leader for the minor group of South Korean soldiers. He was enjoying his vacation with his family, but he had to join the war when the war was declared. Moreover, majority of his friends were soldiers. However, all of them died and it was hard for him to outcome his friends death. Since the war officially didn’t end, he had to remain in a state of soldier and prepare for the next was at anytime.

3) Hypothesize or explain how you interviewee was able to stay out of danger. Lee Gang Sub was able to stay out of danger because he escaped to safe place. He said that he escaped to Daegu when the war was declared. Daegu was never attacked by North Korea and located at the bottom of South Korea. Therefore, He was able to stay out of North Korea’s attack. In addition, Lee Gang Sub seems to be lucky. As mentioned above, he went to the war with his friend Lee Dong Su. However, his friend got shot who was right next to him and he survived.

**Essay** I interviewed my friend’s grandfather, Lee Gang Sub for my Korean War Oral History Project. Even though he wasn’t my grandfather, he kindly answered my questions with details and accurate information. He faced many hardships during the war and shared his experiences through my interview. He explained what happened and his personal experiences and opinons to me without hesitations. Lee Gang Sub was was 31 years old during the Korean War. He had to deal with many hardships and avoided North Koreans. When the war was first declared in South Korea, he immediately moved to Daegu and settled there. He knew Daegu was a safe place because of its geographical location. Escaping to Daegu was a brilliant choice during that time. His family was starving to death and Lee Gang Sub couldn’t do anything about it. However, he decided to work for Japanese government and became a police officer in his town at age of 19. Therefore, his family didn’t have hard time during Japanese Imperialism. Unfortunately, Lee Gang Sub lost his hand during the war against China. As the Chinese army intervened in the war, the Korean army were forced to retreat. While retreating, a plane dropped a bomb and the splinters of the shell hit his left hand. However, despite enormous pain, he could not stop moving as the Chinese were running towards him. So, Dong soo, his comrade, came over to support him. While running about a kilometer, the Chinese plane struck again with guns and he heard a bullet go through someone's body. As he looked next to him, Dong soo, who was still supporting him, was shot in the stomach. Mr.Lee says this was the most devastating scene as despite seeing his friend in pain, he could not do anything as he had to force himself to continue running as the Chinese were approaching. The interview helped me understand better about the Korean War. In order to survive, we must do anything to maintain our lives. Lee Gang Sub tried his best to support his family risking his life working as a Japanese police officer. He also said that he got lucky when his friend got shot, not him. In addition, he said if he didn’t go to Daegu when the war was declared, he could’ve been dead by North Koreans. He shared his real life experiences during the war with factual information. I was able to learn what actually happened by interviewing a person who experienced the war. In the end, Korean War was a complete disaster and failure and should not happen again in the future. Lee Gang Sub said that before he die, the last thing that he wants to see is the reunification of South and North.