Lee,+Je+Hoon+(Mika)BlockA



=//**Primary Sources and Artifacts:**//=

=//**Secondary/Written Source:**//=

=//**Interview:**//= I sat down with my grandfather, who at that period fought for Korea in the Korean War. Here are some questions I asked to my grandfather. This interview was conducted in Korean so the interview below is a translated version.


 * Me:** Hello grandfather!


 * Grandfather:** Hi Je Hoon (Mika)!

//Interview...//
 * Q1:** What was your rank?


 * A1:** Sergeant First Class


 * Q2:** What where your motives for joining the army?


 * A2:** Rather than any motives, it was a mandatory service.


 * Q3:** What is one most dangerous situation that you have been in, during the war?


 * A3:** Probably when the Korean Army, with the help of Americans and others pushed the North Korean Army all the way up to Ablok river ( which is located in the upper part of North Korea), North Korean guerrillas (Partisans) hid in the mountains during daytime and marauded villages during nighttime to steal various nourishment. I always patrolled these villages, looking out for guerrillas. I received my gunshot wound on my shoulder from Partizan guerrillas. It was really frightening, as I once thought I had died when a bullet hit a tree right beside me.


 * Q4:** Do you consider yourself lucky that you managed to survive the war?


 * A4:** Of course! Is that even a question? I was one of thirteen people out of ten thousand in my regiment to survive. To this very day, I thank God for this miracle.


 * Q5:** Were you awarded with any medals?


 * A5:** Yes, I received a medal from the President as well as being formally certified as a war veteran.


 * Me:** Thanks for sparing some time for this interview! Only from this interview, I gained a lot more understanding about being in an army during the Korean War!


 * Grandfather:** No problem!


 * Brief Description of Source**: The first two pictures depict two of my grandfather's accolades, which he was awarded for his contribution in the Korean War. The two pictures (very left and center) represent a formal certificate and a war veteran medal, which he both received from the Korean Department of Defense. The third picture (very right) is a written source and includes the Korean War in one of its chapters. The book is titled //The Story of the World//, which was written by Susan Wise Bauer.


 * Source Type**: Since the artifacts (very left and center) are firsthand testimony to my grandfather's involvement in the Korean War, they are primary sources. The written source is without a doubt, a secondary source because it was written by a professional (the author) who has already analyzed primary sources beforehand.


 * Short Explanation of the Source’s Significance to the Event:** As I mentioned, the two pictures above (very left and center) represent the accolades that my grandfather received after the war. Even though accolades are not absolute quintessential primary sources of the Korean War, it is still one of the most prestigious vestiges of the event and therefore is immensely significant. To this very day, his awards and prizes symbolize my family's honor and pride.




 * Written Recount of the Event:** On June 25 1950, an ideological conflict between the two Koreas evolved into a ruthless, brutal war. The Korean War began (the initiator of the war is disputable to this very day) and my grandfather obligatorily enrolled in the Korean military army. His regiment was situated near Jiri Mountain, as his duty was to track down Partisans (North Korean guerrillas), who hided there to shoot South Koreans and marauded the villages during nighttime. The armies from the two parties became more frustrated over time and eventually, fierce skirmishes took place more frequently. This resulted in innumerable deaths as my grandfather was only THIRTEEN out of TEN THOUSAND from his regiment to survive. Overall, the war consisted of painful memories and vigorous fighting. My grandfather, who then was a Korean sergeant first class, received gunshot wounds and scars all across his body and even on his forehead. After the battle ceased, he was not only formally recognized as a war veteran but was also presented with various accolades from the president, as the picture above verifies.




 * Detective:** As a detective, my duty was to find evidence proving that a "__shift/change__ in history has occurred." I used my judgement (which I elaborated more upon in the "judge" portion below) and selected the Korean War. Fortunately, I had prior knowledge of my grandfather's involvement in the war. I researched the background of the Korean War so that I wouldn't be perplexed at my grandfather's answers in an interview that I was planning on conducting. I took pictures of my grandfather's accolades which he received from the president and the Korean Department of Defense (Primary Sources) and a history book which had a section dedicated to the war (Secondary Sources). These sources or vestiges of the war corroborated and supported the statement that the shift/change in history (in this case, the Korean War) has occurred. Due to these reasons, I was able to gather historical proof using my detective skills.


 * Interpreter:** Even though this project was supposed to be devoted to my family's personal history, I also acquired knowledge about the fighting formation, style and all sorts of things through my grandfather's experiences in the Korean War, which he expounded upon. I was able to get more than one point of view on the subject pertinent to the initiating of the Korean War. When my grandfather told me about his skirmishes with the North Korean guerrillas (Partisans) near the Jiri Mountain, I was able to fill in the gaps using a variety of resources and found out what really happened (which did not particularly contrast with my grandfather's interpretation of the story). After he provided me with a lot of information, I analyzed them to find out the deeper meaning of it. For example, I thought about the foul food he had to consume and the strict discipline that fused into his ethics and morality. Now looking back, his participation in the war really made him who he is today: Someone who possesses great fortitude, endurance and health.


 * Judge:** While I was working on my "Family History Timeline" where I had to list five to then significant events in chronological order, I realized that I had a lot of choices of which I could concentrate on. For example, my relation with the last empress of Korea or my family's hardship during the 1997/1998 Asian IMF Crisis were just two of many events I could have focused on. Yes, the episodes I just listed are far more interesting than the typical topic of the Korean War. However, I chose the Korean War using my judgement, which was based on many evidences I garnered and thought about. One, it was impossible to find any primary sources for any of the events, except for the Korean War. Also, simplicity of conducting a tangible interview was another reason. I used my evaluation skills of a judge and looked at the evidences provided and decided which issue I should focus on.


 * Philosopher:** I regard the philosopher portion as the most critical job of a historian in the project as it is meaningless just to state the facts. I needed to know WHY the event was significant to my family. So "Why would I or should I care?". My grandfather's achievement during the Korean War carried a momentous importance to my family's pride and to this very day, a massive portion of my family's honor and dignity lies in those valuable accolades which even a million dollars cannot pay for.

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