Life in Korea- Anyunsoon

Anyunsoon is 77 years old and lives in L.A. California. She is still full of energy and is a pastor at a preschool in Youngnak Presbyterian Church. She lived in Huamdong and Chamchildong in Korea and experienced the Korean War first hand at the age of only 11. However she shares some happy times in your old hometown.

My name is Anyunsoon, actually it was kimyunsun but my father, who knew a lot about Korean Language decided to change it to Anyunsoon. I was born in 1940 and lived in Chamchildong. I lived at Chamchildong for 8 years, then we moved because of my father’s job as a doctor, since he had a new office to Huamdong.

My father was a doctor, just you know for the small, and doctors office, he was not really famous, just my town, you know just my area so you know people come and in and out and you know things like that so it’s not really famous. He didn’t work in a hospital. He just owned a small office. I did not help much with my Dad’s work as he was a doctor but I learned one thing from him. I learned how do inject a shot into the hip from my dad. I still remember how to do it today. I used to sometimes help by giving shots to some children.

I lived at Huamdong doing the same daily routine every day for nearly three years. Uh, since we had a lot of brothers and older sisters, the older siblings did most of the chores and played with us often. When we were in middle school we did not go out and play as often because we had so many siblings. I remember us always playing in the house with all our siblings and we had a great time. We didn’t go out often to play. The things I remember with my friends were that I sometimes brought them over to study and to teach. I think that God gave me that talent of loving to learn and teach other children. So usually we played indoors after school most of the times or I was teaching other classmates. I always enjoyed, oddly, teaching kids and helping with their homework. I actually liked this far better then playing outside.

Always after school I went to Solice music school where I learned music lessons. I always hated going to music school and the music teacher. I did not like playing the piano or learning about music but instead I only enjoyed school and homework. However now I regret not continuing my piano lessons for choir because I would have been an excellent piano player today. I also played the violin as well. Another thing I remember is, when I was in fifth grade or sixth grade, no wait probably sixth grade I was a very good singer so our music teacher decided to do an opera and our choir practiced very hard so we could play well in the opera. On opening night I remember all our parents coming to the opera and us singing very well.

I just remember only a couple of my friend um because we were kinda like a opera, opera so singing together so her name is Boo-ja so we were always playing together and studied together, she still lives in Korea, Seoul Korea

One thing I do remember in my childhood is that I was very sick. When I was young I caught malaria in the winter and was sick for nearly a year. I could not go to school either because I was very sick, nor was I able to play with my friends. This occurred when I was eight. Of course before I was sick I always played with the kids in my neighborhood. We had much fun and sometimes it became “wild”. I remember leading some games. Yeah, this was one of my childhood memories.

There was the marathon runner, the cross country runner, um Sonkiyoung, Ham Ki Young, Che Yun Chil 3 people was the world the I think the world marathon, they were just the first, second and third so we just you know for the cheer for them and just welcome them and just sing for them you know when I um was in nam de moon elementary school. I never attended the Olympics but I have seen the famous runners. This marathon took place in Berlin, Germany, um where in Berlin Korea won 1, 2, and 3 place in the marathon. I only welcomed them into Seoul, I only congratulated them, but I never was able to attend the marathon.

I did I really liked art, drawing I remember I think um the elementary 3, third grade and uh they have like a post you know a fire, fire, you know like a fire poster the big poster I drawing, I got the big trophy. And I got a win, yeah I remember that, I was so proud of myself. (Laughs) At the contest I drew a picture in a non-fire contest at a fire department. I drew a picture of a stove in a kitchen accidentally lighting the entire house on fire. I won the contest with this drawing.

We always celebration for the News Years day and the Thanksgiving day the Korean thanksgiving. We loved New Years day because we have new brand and new Korean dress and we just bow and mom and dad, and big brother, and aunts, you know for the uncles, then they give us money so we just shared everybody so proud you know really happy and “how much I get it?” you know we are so happy. I remember what another thing um you know like on May 5, that’s lunar calendar, May 5 we usually do like a swing, but swing its not a fake swing it’s a real swing it’s a real like a big big tree like big tree and we had like a big rope and a swing it worked really, really good I remember that one time I just swing that I go so high and I was so scared down looking. So its was really then we just like nuldigi like a big board at the bottom and nuldigi we say nuldigi yeah its really fun playing to that thing you know. It was called Danogol.

From the my family I remember my brother because actually we cant, we cant find him we don’t know if he’s dying or just he just or we just missing him because afterwards um after January 1, we say ilsahhooteh the Korean army they call my mom and your son um someplace is in the hospital. So my mom and my dad went to the hospital they looking for my the brother, my older brother and uh its name is the same even I remember you know his army number but number is the same the name is the same but it’s a wrong person. So whenever you know when armies dying in the war and they put a tag or kind of a name tag I think that was the wrong one he got it. So after that so we never heard from his life or so we just missing him, so until now I still maybe, maybe he’s still in North Korea he’s the stay there you know what I mean?

One thing I remember, during the war, me and one of my brothers went to the mountain to collect firewood. (This was after winter)  I remember cutting down a branch when I saw this shiny object on the ground. I was a object that had circles going around each other. Curious, as I did not know what it was, I got a branch and began to poke it. But it was a snake! My brother then grabbed my hand and began to run down the mountain. I think we were so fast that we could have flown. My brother ran in zigzags and I had to follow suit because the snake moved straight and that helped us get away. I remember running in fear and still to this day I am afraid of snakes and mountains. (Laughs)

There are many differences from here and Korea because we living different. We sleep different way because Korea it like has no bed, bathrooms are old, old style. So if some people ask me are you wanna come back to Korea? Then I say no, I’m going to stay here. (Laughs)