To my children
There were three kids, his wife’s family, and now his brother. They needed a bigger house. My father bought a two story house in an up-scale neighborhood, Ga Hei Dong. One side of the house was the dean of E Wha University, and the other side was a Navy general. The Navy general had a son, my age. I don’t remember ever meeting him in person. But over the wall, we taught each other our fathers' military songs. I taught him Marines song, and he taught me Navy song.
We had a pretty good time living in that house. There were a housemaid, and my father’s military driver and assistant used to come and go. Military officer had a prestige. The government imported appliances from Japan and offered higher rank government officials and military officers first option to purchase them. We had refrigerators and TV when common people could not even dream of getting them. My father invited American military advisors and entertained them. He gave them nice Korean paintings on scrolls or framed as gifts.
Every morning, my mother fixed father’s uniform tie. I and my brother saluted to him as he was leaving. Kim Kwang Suk’s song, “A story of 60 years old couple,” reminds of those mornings. “I remember your white and soft hands which made a knot on my tie. Do you remember it, too?” I put this song on the photo slide show for her funeral.
Up until then, my father was a very successful officer with the bright future. He used to take trips to Okinawa, Philippines, and the United States for trainings. He brought home a doll that closes her eyes laying down and wide opened them standing up, or a car that ran with the lights blinking and the siren wailing.
My sister went to Jae Dong Elementary School. I and my brother were too young for the school yet. I remember the whole family got dressed and went to her school play. We went to see cherry blossom in spring and went to play in the water in summer. I could not get into the water. So, they tied a small rubber boat to a tree near the water and put me in it. On the days of my sister’s school picnic, my mother fixed box lunches for us. My father came home early and took us to the local park. We had a picnic there and ate our food.
They took me to the movies. In “Viking,” they put the dead leader in a small boat, sent it to the ocean, and hit it with the burning arrow to sink it. In “The Old Man and the Sea,” the old man finally caught a huge fish after a long battle. But by the time he reached the port, the fish was all eaten by the sharks, and only the head and large bones left. In “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” he was swallowed by a big whale and enter its stomach. After all those years, I still remember these scenes.
My parents loved the movies. My mother had large collections of movie pamphlets and posters from 50-60’s. I think she threw them away when she left Korea. They would have decent amount of value now.
Our family outing ended as we left the house in Ga Hei Dong. Unlike the military officer who had the week-end off, my parents were busy with their business. Also, I became too big to be carried. They did not want to leave me alone at home, therefore, they stopped the family outings. I know it was not my fault. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for my siblings.
So many things happened while we were living in that house.