To my children
A large mansion across the street from my grandparents’ belonged to a gentleman named Ki Byung Yoon who used to be a police commander. A cop on foot patrol always stopped at his house, took out a piece of paper from a box hung on the gate, and wrote something. I assume he was recording his patrol time.
The family living in that mansion did not socialize with the neighbors. My grandfather met him once, be acquainted, and every once in a while, went to his mansion to have tea with him. One year, he invited grandpa for his birthday brunch. While he was having his brunch there, the housemaid brought a tray full of food for me and grandma. Everything they served, including marinated beef, that morning was sent over.
Next year on grandfather’s birthday, grandmother fixed up a brunch tray and took it over to that mansion. Only difference was that she took it herself instead of sending a housemaid.
There was a small attic build on top of the kitchen. Whenever the season changed, grandmother climbed up to the attic, took out the clothes for the coming season, packed and stored past season clothes. I liked the day she opened and packed the boxes. It was a day of the treasure hunt for me. She had all kind of old stuff in those boxes. There were things she brought when she was married, baby clothes my mother and aunt wore, old albums, etc…
I was passing the time reading comic books and listening to the radio. There was a comic book rental store across the street. Grandmother made an agreement with the owner, an old man, and borroweded 4 comics for a nickel. Every day she took the ones from the day before back and brought home new ones. Sometimes, she picked the ones I had already read, and she had to go back for new ones.
On week-end, my brother got some money from our father, borrowed a bunch of comics, and came to see me. He was still too young to read them well. I read the captions and he followed the story sitting next to me.
We had no TV at grandmother’s. Instead, I could listen to the radio all day long. They used to have popular sitcoms and dramas on radio. Daily 15-20 minutes drama lasted for a month or so. They broadcasted the first run of the drama in the evening hours and repeated it the next day.
Depending on the stations and the time of the day, there were history, political, and melo dramas. The theme songs of these dramas became popular songs. You could easily learn the song after listening to it for 30 days. I knew all of the popular songs then.
I heard the radio dramas were very popular until 1940s in the United States. In radio dramas, you need to describe every situation in sounds. You need to pay attention when you listen to the radio dramas. When you hear the sound of door opening, you know someone is coming in or going out. When the foot step is slow and dragging, either the person is tired or does not want to go. When the foot step is brisk and fast, the person is hurrying.
My aunt who studied English liked to listen to English pop songs. There was a popular DJ, Dong Wok Choi, and he hosted a show, ‘A dial at 3 o’clock.’ I listened to it with her. I heard the followings songs and more then; “Sad movies,” “Diana,” “The sound of silence,” Tell Laura I love her,” “Evergreen tree,” “Young ones,” “Bridges over troubled water,” “The house of the rising sun,” “Don’t forget to remember me,” “The Tennessee Waltz,” “Love me tender,” “Blowing in the wind,” “ Put your head on my shoulder,” “Those were the days,” “Papa,” etc.