Being Oneself in the Era of Deficiency
South Korea has changed economically and politically in a short period. Just about 30 years ago, Korea was ruled by a military dictatorship and there was not enough food for the majority of people to eat. I wondered how people in this era continued their living and how they felt about their lives as I, who live in a much better social economic situations feel unsatisfied about the life in Korea. How could they accept the condition of loss and cope with the situation? The one who could answer this question was my mom who is my nearest and dearest person to me but has lived through a totally different social condition.
Moreover, I wanted to know about my mom more by the interview. My mother is a person who I admire the most. But it doesn't mean that I admired her since I was young. I always saw her working hard at home since I was a little baby. She always typed something on the computer and searched via Internet. So I thought she was a person who only works and works and works. I had a prejudice that a person who always work would be strict and don't have many friends. That's why it was not easy for me to tell her honestly about my faults. However, my mom was not that strict and isolated person as I thought. She was really good at making friends. She had many friends all over the world who could help her whenever she needed help. I knew this when I became 20 years old. I travelled many countries with my mom and wherever we go, there were her friends who greeted her. They all praised her. She was a person who not only worked well but also took care of people around her. She was also an innocent and childlike woman compared to what I thought of her. She is about 50 years old but she still likes dolls. She cries while watching sad movies or dramas. She is a sensitive and caring lady. I wondered why she seemed so strict to me.
I began my interview eating a dessert with her. I asked "How was your childhood? Are there any special experience you would like to share with me?" to her. As the interview went, lots of questions popped up in my mind. "I grew up in a poor family as most of people living in Korea were. I studied wearing gloves at home in the winter. My older sister worked to pay my tuition. That was why I tried so hard, worked my best to enter a good university. I didn't want to see my sister get disappointed," my mother said. In fact, she got formal education and now she is a professor. She rebuilt her family fortune and now her family members are all living in a good condition. She continued speaking, "I also resisted dictatorial government." She told me a lot about the life under dictatorship and how schools that day were different from these days. It was really interesting. Through her, I could imagine how life in Korea was different in the past compared to today's society. I think Korean adults who went through this hard condition should deserve respect.
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