When examined more closely, history is alive and has left its marks in people who lived through the time. One of the examples is my grandfather who lived through the Korean War. Separated from their family in the chaos of the war, he never had a day that went by without thinking about or missing them. Although more than 20,000 people met their long-lost loved ones in reunions between the North and South, a lot of people have fallen short of their expectations and are still on the waiting list. According to the New York Times, “Since 1988, more than 75,200 South Koreans who applied to attend the reunion have died without seeing their parents, siblings or children again. More than 56,000 South Koreans, the vast majority in their 80s and 90s, are waiting to be selected by lottery for the next round of reunions, which has yet to be scheduled.” As fate would have it, my grandfather is one of those people who gave up all hope to see his lost family members. Writing his story in the form of a feature article, I would like to retrace his memories, recount the history of psychological trauma, and see how Korean reunification can come about and at what cost. Second, I would like to give an account of how Japanese colonial rule has still been affecting Korea. My grandparents, who lived through the time, still use a lot of Japanese words, and those words have been passed down through generations. This is more distinctly realized when my family — including myself — uses Japanese words even without noticing. According to Japan Time, “This anti-Japanese nationalism, now spread through school history textbooks as well as the mass media, is currently upheld by President Moon Jae-In’s Democratic Party government.” But the question still stands: Is this merely a hatred or a psychological scar from trauma left by Japan with no apology? In this particular piece, I would like to focus on the comfort women issue whose facts have been distorted but still live among us. Lastly, I would like to write an immigrant story. Although it might sound cliche, I’ll try to find an angle and frame it in a broader context or national/social issue.
In regards to the interview, I will reach out to my grandparents, experts (professors who have expert knowledge on each subject), and Korean community in the New York area.