Byung-Wha Ok
Story of My Grandfather: Byung-Wha Ok
By Justin Kim
The author Justin Kim with his grandfather Byung Wha Ok
In the small city of St. Catharines, Ontario, I had the privilege of interviewing my grandfather, Byung-Wha Ok, about his life in what is now known as The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. My grandmother, Kyung-Ja Ok, had prepared a lavish dinner of traditional Korean cuisine, bulgogi (marinated beef), kimchi (fermented cabbage), along with an assortment of side dishes. My grandparents are avid gardeners and grow most of their vegetables and herbs in their backyard. My grandparents also cultivate their own tea leaves and medicinal herbs along with an impressive array of tomatoes, green onions, kale, and other leafy greens.
With the recent barrage of negative press concerning North Korea’s aggressive military stance and political situation, I was keen to learn more about what North Korea was before its separation in the 1950’s. My grandfather was born in 1940, the youngest of seven boys into a wealthy landholding family. In his own words, my grandfather wistfully says
“I had a very happy childhood. We had a huge house where we all lived together, over twenty of us along with servants and hired workers. We also had a big dog and I loved going to school.” The Ok’s were prominent landowners and held ownership over an extended area that included several small mountains and valleys.
My grandfather grew up to be quite the athlete, becoming a provincial champion in Judo during his high-school years, but laughed when he shared that, as a small boy, he loved playing soccer
“In those days, no one had a real soccer ball, so we had to improvise.” He explained how they took the bladder of a butchered farm animal, typically a pig, and filled it with air, tied the ends, and used it as a ball. He also recalled fond memories of going with his older brothers and friends to play in the rice paddies. The body of water surrounding the crop was large enough for swimming, so they would go swim and catch frogs and fish in the summer and skate during the winter months.
These wonderful memories were cut short by the Communists, who were quickly gaining power in Northern Korea after it gained independence from Japanese occupation shortly after WWII. In the dead of night, a brigade of Communists stormed my grandfather’s home and evicted them from their property with barely anything but the clothes on their backs.
“I remember it very vividly. It was midnight and it was cold, because it was the month of December. I was seven years old at the time and didn’t understand what was happening.” All of the other upper class families were also being evicted systematically by the Communists, who were planning and preparing for war. Many of the evictees fled to the American-controlled South. My grandfather shook his head and sighed deeply while sharing that, in those days, there was very little to eat; had it not been for United Nations’ rations, many would have starved to death. He remembered specifically the powdered milk amongst the rations, a vital source of life for many of the malnourished refugees.
The move South was gradual and over many months. The family moved further South as the Communists moved toward civil war. After the war broke out in 1950, and the combined US and UN forces repelled the Communists back, the family was able to travel back to their home and retrieve some valuable items and documentation for their property, which my grandfather has to this day. He dreams of someday going back to his hometown when reunification takes place.
Initially, the UN forces were incredibly successful in driving back the Communists in North Korea, even reaching the Amnok River that borders China. The Chinese government was greatly alarmed, seeing this as a potential threat, so they came to the defense of North Korea. However, the army China Justin Kim May 8, 2017 provided was not a standard fighting force, but rather a massive group of approximately one million farmers, known as the People’s Volunteer Army (PVA). They were severely under-equipped, unable to purchase firearms, so they entered the war with what they had: spears. Nonetheless, their seemingly endless forces were able to overcome the United Nation’s Forces and push them back South. My grandfather recalled stories of the Chinese army, still shocked by their resilience.
“When one was shot, another would climb on top over the dead bodies, non stop. They looked like human waves, constantly advancing.”
The war lasted three years and resulted in the division of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea was devastated and impoverished after the civil war, but the nation began slowly to rebuild economically, in part due to the immigration of Koreans to foreign countries, who would send back foreign currency to their relatives.
My grandfather made the decision to immigrate to Canada in search of a better future for his children. On New Year’s Day in 1975, he boarded an Air Canada flight with just two suitcases and $200CAD. The South Korean government had capped any foreign exchange to $200CAD (or equivalent) because there simply was not enough to go around. Three months later, the rest of his family came and started life in St. Catharines.
Forty-one years later, he is still happily married, tending to his prolific garden, and enjoying retirement as a Canadian citizen.
Grandfather Byung Wha Ok’s slide presentation:
Interview Transcript: Byung-Wha Ok
May 14, 2017
Translator: My mom (eldest daughter of Byung-Wha Ok), some words may have been changed to clarify what was said.
Disclaimer: Any numerical statistics or historical facts provided in this profile assignment may or may not be accurate, but rather are the recount of a story that occurred more than a half-century ago, some information may have been lost or forgotten through time.
How long did you live in North Korea?
I was born in 1940, was kicked out by communists at seven, fled North Korea at twelve years-old to the South. When we were kicked out of our house in Northern Pyongyang, we fled to Pyongyang, the current capital.
How long was your family in Korea?
Forever? Korea has been around for thousands of years, but the farthest proof I have is of some lineage to kings 300 years ago. I had six brothers, there were seven of us, we all lived in one house with some of their spouses and our servants.
What was an average day like for you? Did you have any hobbies?
I attended school, we had a big jindo (military/hunting) dog that I would play with every day. There was a rice plantation with pools of water that we would swim in and catch fish. In the winter, we skated on them with makeshift skates.
I enjoyed playing soccer (chuckles), but in those days, no one had a real soccer ball, so we had to improvise. So, when a pig was slaughtered, we would go the butcher and ask for the bladder. We would blow up the bladder and tie the ends and then kick it around.
I had a very happy childhood. We had a huge house where we all lived together, over twenty of us along with servants and hired workers. We also had a big dog and I loved going to school.
What happened on the day you were kicked out?
I remember it very vividly. It was midnight and it was cold as it was the month of December. I was seven years old at the time and didn’t understand what was happening. I was just seven years old, my family was kicked out because we were the upper class. All of the upper class families were kicked out too. He was seven years old, and his family was kicked out because they were the upper class.
What did your parents do as an occupation?
My parents owned a lot of land, mountains, valleys.
What happened after you fled to Pyongyang?
The Korean War broke out very quickly, and my family was not all together at the time. We had to flee quickly to escape certain death. The married brothers fled with their spouses and the rest of the family with each other, including him. My family had to flee even farther south to modern-day South Korea.
Did you encounter any soldiers on the way down?
Many, mainly UN Forces (led by the United States) from seventeen different countries including Canada. The Chinese eventually got involved in the war because the UN Soldiers had pushed as far as the Amnok River, near the border of Korea and China. China retaliated sending nearly one million soldiers across the border to combat the UN Forces.
The Chinese soldiers didn’t have guns, but had spears, because they were poor farmers. However, they could push the UN Forces back because of so many of them. When one was shot, another would climb on top over the dead bodies, non stop. They looked like human waves, constantly advancing.
When the UN had pushed the North Korean forces North, we were able to return to our house, but found nothing. Everything had been stolen.
What was it like living in South Korea during the war?
Very very difficult, we were very poor because everything was taken from us. There wasn’t enough to eat, and if it were not for the UN’s provision of powdered milk, we would have died of starvation.
When did you immigrate to Canada?
On January 1, 1975, I arrived in Canada by myself by plane to set everything up for his family’s arrival three months later. The kids and grandma came in April, another son was born in Canada.
When I first came to Canada, I could only bring $200CAD because they didn’t let anyone take out more than that amount of money because Korea was so poor. Ever since then, I stayed in St. Catharines for about 41 years now.