Sung's Faith Story
E-Book, Englisch, 326 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-0983-1256-5
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Autoren/Hrsg.
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My Father, Love Giver Soon after I arrived in America, I heard the sad news about my father’s passing. My dear father went to be with the Lord on December 4th early in the morning of the year 1966. I could not accept the news when I first received it, for the thought of his passing alone broke my heart. Years later when I went to visit my dad’s graveyard for the first time, I was unable to look at it, so without a single look, I sat down there and turned my head in the opposite direction, looking at the far away mountains, and wept bitterly. After returning home, I saw Dad’s tomb clearly for the first time through the pictures Tom took. Oh, how much I loved him! My mom was afraid to let me know the news of my dad’s passing, and eventually two months later, when I received a letter from my mom notifying me of his death, I fainted on the spot. The reason my heart was so deeply tormented was because my dad had sent me a letter and Korean foods the day before his passing. Today, in America, if I go out to a Korea town, I can see so many Korean restaurants and Korean markets, but no such things existed in 1960th. Hence, Dad sent me Korean delicacies, such as hot paste sauce, seasoned kimchi, roasted seaweeds and others, by airmail. Later when I found out his letter was dated December 3rd, I could not stop crying, because he sent the food package to me on that day and he passed away the next day early in the morning. For the 24 years since I was born, Dad, who spared no pains in taking care of me and gave me his love, had been a model of Jesus Christ to me. Father’s Golden Teeth All of my dad’s front teeth were capped with gold, but I did not know the reason why for a long time, because no one ever told me about it. I heard the story for the first time from my sister when I was grown up, that an accident had occurred in Suwon, a remote countryside, when I was a toddler. One very cold winter night, the house maid brought a fire pot with burning charcoals into the room, and the fire pot accidently touched my left cheek. I screamed at the top of my lungs as the side of the fire pot touched the skin on my cheek. There was nowhere they could get medicine in such a remote countryside! My mom and dad did not know what to do, and they almost lost their minds. My dad knew about a medicine called “Ajjingko” that was known to be best for burns, but there was no pharmacy or hospital in Suwon in those days. At that time, our family was hiding in this countryside to avoid the Japanese people’s tyranny at the end of the World War II. My dad had to go to Seoul to find a pharmacy, but it was already dark and there was no transportation from there to Seoul, so he decided to use his bicycle to go there. Dad found a pharmacy at sunrise and knocked at the door, and he was able to obtain the precious medicine. He was so anxious for me and in a hurry to return that his bicycle’s tire got stuck in a gap of the city tram’s railroad track. He fell, and his face hit the concrete ground so hard that all his front teeth were broken out, and blood was gushing out from his mouth, but he saw only the ugly scar on my face if I was unable to be treated in time. Dad forgot all his pain. Enduring the pain with a clenched mouth, swallowing the blood in his throat for so many hours, he returned to Suwon, and upon arriving, he handed over the medicine to mom and went to a clinic for himself. When I first heard about this story, my heart ached so much that I was speechless and just wept silently. My dad! How happy to be a child who had such a dad! I was really a child blessed by God. Genius Dad My dad was a genius whose formal education ended by middle school graduation. However, he was able to play the organ, violin and trumpet, and at one time, he dreamed of becoming a writer. Yet he had to give up all his dreams, because he needed to take care of the family and help his mom as the family’s eldest son. His father was always away from home, engaged in working for Korea’s independence from Japanese control. His family was always badly off, and my dad had to earn his living, so from a young age he had a hard life taking care of daily living with his mom. He eventually thought that there was no other way but to take the higher civil service examination, so he went to a Buddhist temple to prepare for the exam. A few months later, he took the exam and, amazingly, not only did he pass the exam but he was also in first place, including all the Japanese candidates taking the exam. The newspaper reported it as a top article with Dad’s huge picture, and they wrote that it was the first time a Korean passed at the top for this exam when competing with Japanese candidates. Soon he opened a law firm in Hamhung city, but it wasn’t easy for him to continue successfully under Japanese control. Fortunately, he received a scholarship from Chosun Daily News and went to Japan for further study in journalism. He returned to the Daily News and became the newspaper company’s manager for a while. During the difficulty at the end of World War II, Dad took his family and fled to Suwon, a remote place from which our family received the news of Korea’s liberation from Japan. The newly established Korean government announced over a nationwide radio broadcast that it needed to locate my father to join them and pleaded with him to appear at the court. The new country needed someone who knew the laws, so Dad responded to the call. Soon, he was appointed as the prosecutor of the Seoul District Prosecutors Office and, at the same time, as the chief of the Seoul Prison for Seung Man Lee’s newly established regime. The Meaning of Korea’s Liberation Korea’s liberation from Japanese control was an extreme joy and an unforgettable event for all Korean people, but it was a real blessing from God, especially for our family. My grandfather was wandering from China to Russia to fight for Korea’s independence, and he was repeatedly imprisoned and sent into exile on remote Korean islands. The following clips are from the book, “Hold this Rope (Sul Woo Sa, 1982, p. 19),” written by my uncle, Choong Yon Won. One of my brother’s nickname was “island boy” because my dad was banished to a solitary far away island, Uchung Do, Okgugun in Junra Province when my brother was born, and my nickname was “prison boy” because my dad was in prison when I was born. The police were keeping an eye on my father and he was always detained at the police station near March 1, so that he was unable to participate in the independent marching of March 1. The Japanese police always kept a close watch over the movements of my dad. When the Japanese police took my dad to put him in jail, my mom gathered my older brothers and neighbors, and they secretly made Korean flags all night long. They brought out the flags to the street in the morning of March 1 and distributed them to the people and they shouted together “Hurray, long live Korea!” Eventually my mom and brothers were taken into police station, the neighbors took youngsters to their home and took care of them until my mom was released. We saw all the bruises and scars on his whole body at the dead bed of my father. They were too awful to look at, that was a silent prosecution on the brutal tortures of Japanese secret police. I never received a single pencil from my dad, but I was always proud of him because I believed that he was a “patriot for our country.” One of my brothers, a high school student was arrested in charge of involving in “Kwangjoo Student movement,” and they put him in a prison for 7 years without any trial, until he was very sick due to tuberculosis, so he died soon after out of the prison. Since I was grown up in such a family, I had to walk on the thorny path of life in both emotionally as well as materially. However, I was always proud of myself that I am a member of such a family because I believed that our family devoted to our country’s independence. My mom was the person I was most proud of and respected, who had a hard life, as a devoted Christian, she had responsible for raising her many children as well as taking care of the financial matters of the family. However, she seemed not lost joy and peace in her mind, and she always encouraged us and taught her children with a Chinese old saying, “The person who works for saving the country, does not concern family affairs.” Our family was now recognized as one of the patriotic families responsible for Korea’s independence, so that our family received the special award, “Aejokjang” and a pension from the Korean government. I am proud of my grandparents whenever I visit their graveyard; they are buried at the Daejun National Cemetery. My Father as a Model My father was an elder in a Presbyterian church and an honest man. Dad seemed to support the Democratic Party because of the injustice of Seung Man Lee’s Liberal Party regime. Consequently, Dad was demoted to the Chief Prosecutor of Jeju District Prosecutors office for his hatred of the Lee government. Dad resigned the position right away and opened a law firm, but he understood the importance of the work of a prosecutor to protect and help poor and unfavorably treated people. So, he decided to go to Jeju Island. At the same time, I had to go to Jeju due to my sickness. Dad seemed to have more spare time than when he used to work at the Supreme Prosecutors Office, so he became a model to many young people around him. He gave messages frequently at churches and was invited as a guest speaker to youth at their retreats and influenced many people. He was in Jeju...
