Kristie+Lee+KRW+Interview

=Korean War Interview =

=Interview=

media type="file" key="korean war interview rrrr.mov"

Release Form
will be handed in!

Interview Questions
1) What is your name? When were you born? 2) How old were you when the war first started? 3) How did you first react when war started? 4) What did you lose from the war? 5) What were other people's reactions towards the war? 6) What was your life like during the war? 7) Were there any memorable events that occurred during the war? 8) Why do you think the war occurred? 9) What do you think Korea lost from the war? 10) Do you think it is better for Korea to separate? 11) Do you still have any bad memories about the war? 12) Do you feel that the war was necessary?

Summary of interview
I have included captions on the video! :)

1) How does your interviewee's testimony fit in with what you have learned about the experience of civilians?
My interviewee stated that he did not have any feelings towards the war, because he was not harmed from the war at all. He has went on a refuge with his family, to his grandmother’s house, and his life at his grandmother’s house was not as harsh because his grandfather worked, earning money for all the necessities. Also, all he has lost after war were several households. Before I interviewed him, I thought that every single innocent civilians were harmed greatly from the war, however, listening to how he did not lose anything at all, I felt that there was a possibility that not all people were harmed so badly.

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?
Though my interviewee states that his family was not harmed much from the war, it seems that several people around him were. he stated that several people were quite worried about the war. I think that civilians must have been living under great fear towards the war, and things they would lose from the war. Also, it would not have been easy for them to walk all the way to find a new safe home, in such freezing weather. Also, they must have been restricted from many things, since they were in the middle of the war.

3) Hypothesize or explain how you interviewee was able to stay out of danger.
I feel that my interviewee was able to stay out of danger, because he went down to Choong-Chung from Seoul. Because Choong-Chung was located in south far more than Seoul was, it must have been safer for his family to stay further away from North. (Back then, most people went to South, because the North Koreans were launching attacks starting at North, and gradually moving towards South.)

Essay
In this interview, I have interviewed the security of our apartment. Though he was 7 years old back then, he still seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the korean war. However, his replies to my questions were quite different from what I expected. I expected to hear a lot of tragedies about the things he lost from the war, however, unlike my expectation, it seemed that he did not have many hurtful memories. During the war, his family moved to his grandmother’s house at Choong-Chung. His life at Choong-Chung was completely different from what I thought it would have been like. According to him, his family was able to eat everyday, and was not directly harmed from the war, except losing a few households. I have always believed that people living under warfares were all miserable. However, the information given by my interviewee provided a different view of the war. As I was talking to him, I felt that there was a possibility that living under a war was not as bad for all people. Hypothesizing from what I have learned in textbooks, war was always full of blood and tragedy. However, I felt that my hypothesis was wrong in a way. I think that this interview would peovide people with another perspective towards the war, by showing another side of the war, other than the tragic and horrifying side. As the interview proceeded, my interviewee explained further more of why the war has occurred. According to him, Korean war occurred due to the power struggle between U.S. and Soviet Union. Korea was stuck in the middle, not knowing how to get away from this power struggle. This provided me with an idea that this war actually did not happen just because of internal conflicts in Korea, but also because of conflicts between outside countries (U.S. and Soviet Union). His idea that Korean war was actually started due to power struggle between U.S. and Soviet Union gave me a wider view of why the war has occurred. Because my interviewee had a slightly different view towards Korean war than others; that the Korean war was not harmful nor benefitial for Korea, I feel that this interview would provide different views and ideas towards the war for those who are completely pessimistic about it. Also, his realistic view towards the unification of North Korea and South Korea; that it will take a long time since we are not economically developed enough to support North Korea as well, would have given different ideas. It also showed how he was not affected by the war at all, because some people who lost many things from the war, including their families, strongly desire for the unification of North and South Korea. Overall, this interview was quite interesting to me because I have always seen those who lost everything from the war, but not those who lost nearly nothing from the war.

=Podcast=

media type="file" key="asian st translation podcast.mp3"