Japanese colonial period to Korea today

 

Standing on the ship from Busan to Kyushu, Japan, I thought about my grandfather. About 90 years ago, my grandfather crossed the sea with the dream of making money. Then, he was 20 years old and married.

As a farmer, he could not even provide food. He did not go to school, and he could not speak Japanese. He worked in a coal mine.

Anyway, he was lucky to go to Japan by himself before World War II. He was paid a good salary. One of our relatives was forced to work during the war and wasn't paid.

He worked for three years, and he shared his money with his elder brother and parents. The whole family was able to live better. At least they could be free from food shortage and they could buy land. He did his best for the family.

There was a group photo of young adults in work uniforms in front of a wooden building named "Chungcheong Province Society." I had seen the picture, and I knew that my grandfather worked there. He would not talk about his life in Japan. When I was 20, I asked him why he went to Japan. He said, "There were not enough jobs in Korea." With his one month's worth of salary in Japan, he could buy 200 pyeong (660 square meters) of land in Korea.

Japan was not an easy tourist destination. Everything in Japan was futuristic. It irritated Koreans, who often asked, "When will Korea catch up with Japan?"

I visited Japan for the first time, and it is not a popular destination for Koreans. Japan is close, and the prices are reasonable. Their customs are very similar. The food is palatable and familiar. In some areas, Korea is more dynamic than Japan; young people in Korea do not seem to care about the past.

Most of the dark memories Koreans have about Japan happened during the Pacific War, such as forced labor, conscription, requisition and changing Korean names to Japanese names. These have not been fully resolved.

At first, we denied the past, but Korea began accepting the period as its history. Old Japanese buildings are remodeled as modern history museums. Old Japanese houses are changed into cafes. Many of these buildings had been abandoned for a long time, and they are a reminder of invasion and exploitation. Koreans wanted to forget them for a long time.

It is well-known that some Japanese teachers were intelligent and dedicated. A Korean student confessed to a Japanese teacher, "It may be worthless to study without a Korean nation." The teacher advised, "The world is changing. You can use your study in the future. It is time to study."

Some even visited their Japanese teachers after liberation.

Now, Koreans can look back on the period objectively. Koreans then worked and studied hard for us. They built this nation. Colonial memory is a part of Korean history linked to modern Korea.

The writer is an engineer. Contact him at atom@kepco-enc.com.