Jai Boong Kim

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67 Years of My Relations with Canada

Jai Boong Kim

It’s been 67 years since my relationship began with Canada. In 1950, crowds of refugees gathered in Busan when the Korean War began. I was amongst them and exhausted from hunger and fatigue.

When I arrived at Busan Station, I had nowhere to go, and was hungry from days without food. At the time, there was work of loading and unloading army supplies at the Busan wharf. I was able to eat if I worked there.

However, my weak body trembled in the bitter cold wind by the sea despite my young age. After days of labour in the wharf, I was on my way to work when I saw a large truck by the roadside. A solider in an unfamiliar military uniform, Korean translators, and labourers were gathered around. I heard that the Canadian military, which recently participated in the war as U.N. soldiers, were recruiting labourers. People who wanted to go there were told to get in the truck, so I got on.

After a while, the truck left and headed away from the city. The truck stopped at a wheat field. The work that had to be done there was setting up tents for the soldiers, who would later arrive in Korea. We worked alongside the Canadian soldiers, and they were gentlemanlike.

We worked for days, and one day, a truck arrived. There was a wireless antenna inside.