Jang,+SerimBlockA

=__Choosing Family Over Possessions__ : A Story Of A Person That Lost All Possessions He Had For His Family=

INTERVIEW (Primary Source)
I conducted an interview with my grandma and asked her a few questions (translated from Korean→English)

ME: Hello, grandmother! I have a few questions to ask you about what happened to your father when the Korean War started.

GRANDMOTHER: Hello, Serim! Sure, what's your question?

ME: I wanted to know, why was business better at China, not Korea?

GRANDMOTHER: It was because the Japanese didn't pressure the Koreans in China as much as Koreans in Korea. They knew that the Koreans in China wouldn't cause any trouble.

ME: I get it now! What kind of business did great-grandfather do in China?

GRANDMOTHER: He ran a small moveable store, and earned his little living.

ME: Why was it so hard for great-grandfather and his brother to make it back home?

GRANDMOTHER: You see, in the mountains, there were not only North Korean soldiers but South Koreans that prefer the North Korean government. They blocked our way as fiercely as a real North Korean would block us, but thankfully nobody see us.

ME: Well, thank you for making time for this small interview! GRANDMOTHER: No problem, Serim.

A PICTURE OF PEOPLE HAVING SIMILAR EXPERIENCES TO MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER (Primary Source)


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE: My first source is an interview between my grandmother and me, asking about what happened. My second source is a book written on the Korean War, including information about people moving to different places to create lives. My third source is a picture, not a one that was taken by our family, but a one that was taken and put into a book. It shows people that have moved to Hawaii.

SOURCE TYPE: My first source, the interview, is a primary source because my grandmother was directly involved in the event as she was the child of my great-grandfather. She felt all the emotions during the event - excitement, anxiety, nervousness - and could recount the event to me in detail. My second source, the book, is a secondary source because the event was analyzed by an expert on the topic and was written as a book. He didn't necessarily experience the events that happened in the book that he wrote. My third source, the picture, is also a primary source because it was taken at the time by somebody, though it's not a picture of my family.

SHORT EXPLANATION OF THE SOURCE'S SIGNIFICANCE TO THE EVENT: The interview I conducted with my grandmother signifies her point of view on the topic. From the interview, you can find out what happened and the important details as well. The book signifies the importance of the event because it was important enough to be in a history book. The picture signifies the vast amount of people that moved to another country during the Japanese colonial period. You can see that my great-grandfather isn't the only one that traveled to another country, and a lot of people has attempted to move to another country and try avoiding the Japanese and create a living.

WRITTEN RECOUNT: My great-grandfather lived in Man-ju, China in order to continue a business because business in Korea was much harder than business in China because of the Japanese's pressure. My great-grandfather, his brother, and all of their families moved to Man-ju, but when they heard that the Korean war started, the whole family wanted dearly to go back to their home in Busan. However, my great-grandfather and his brother decided that they had to continue the business because it was the only possession they owned. They sent the rest of the family back to Busan, and the two of them continued their business. However, after the Korean War started they decided that it was getting too dangerous for them to be separated as a family. Also, they felt like if they didn't win the war with North Korea, they wouldn't be able to see their families forever. My great-grandfather and his brother debated for a long time but they finally decided to leave all their possessions in Man-ju and flee to their home. They made it back to Busan safely, though the journey there was rough. They almost ran into North Korean soldiers and South Korean people that prefer the North Korean, but they were cunning and managed to escape. They lost all their possessions and had to start from scratch again, and they had no money left. Still, my great-grandfather, his brother, and the whole family didn't care because they were so overjoyed to see each other healthy and together.

Roles of Historian
DETECTIVE: Being a detective means that I have to find information and prove what was the importance of my event, why was it a turning point. First, I picked an event that I felt was important to me. It was an important event because not only it's important to world history, it's also important to my history because it makes me who I am right now. I can prove that it was a turning point because it affected so many of the people lives. It separated lots of families and some can't be together even to this day. To prove my point, I can use the sources I have found and a few more supplementary sources as well. The interview can be a reliable source because my grandmother actually went through this event. The book can be a reliable event because it was written by experts in the subject, and they know about the history well. The picture can be a reliable source as well because it shows what happened exactly.

INTERPRETER: Being an interpreter means that I have to decide what to prove. I wanted to clarify the reason why Koreans lived in other countries long time ago, though it wasn't common for Koreans to go to other countries at that time. Because life in Korea if you were a Korean wasn't the best and it was very difficult to start a business at that time, Koreans tried to move to other countries so that they would receive better treatment. To this day, there still are Koreans that are living in other countries that has ancestors that has lived there for a long time.

JUDGE: Being a judge means that I have to find the point of view that is most exact. To be more of an accurate judge, I wanted to look at the event in more than one perspective. I understood the perspective of South Korea, so I wanted to think about the point of view of the Japanese. The Japanese probably thought that they had the right to be cruel to the Koreans because they were in power, and that they had to be cruel to the people of the country so that they won't rebel. However, I have to agree with South Korea's point of view because being a South Korean, it sounds more logical.

PHILOSOPHER: Being a philosopher means to find out why we should care. This event is very important to me because it carries a significance to my family. Despite all the hardships my great-grandfather went through, he never stopped trying. He never gave up on his perilous journey back to Busan, and he never gave up even though he lost all his money and didn't have any possessions. This event was the reason why I am living today, and that reason enough should be enough for the event to be important to me.