Story by Matthew Kim, photograph by Mathew Schwartz

The first thunderous ACK! of a machine gun caught my grandfather’s attention in an instant. The whole world had fallen down upon him in a million pieces. It did not matter that it had started out as a care-free, peaceful day. Yelling prayer after prayer into the darkening sky, he rushed through the thick underbrush while bullets whizzed past his ear. He dodged behind rocks, desperately trying to get to the only safe haven in the world: home.

But not for long.

With haste, my grandpa snatched up his belongings, tied them in a cloth bag, hoisted his sister onto his shoulders, and dashed out of the burning house, collapsing into the undergrowth. He glanced up into the scene of bullets and heavy artillery. In just a few minutes, an unruffled refuge in the mountains had morphed into a never-ending realm of blood and fire.

Hearing the groans of the wounded and witnessing soldiers' lives taken in the blink of an eye, my grandpa vowed to one day serve his countrymen who had bravely sacrificed their lives to save his. Driven by this vow, he got back up and ran with all his might away from the path of the burning inferno, away from the gunshots, and away from the only place he had known for much of his life. He never looked back.

For 5,000 years, the Korean Peninsula has been disputed by a multitude of countries who seek to reap the area’s rich natural resources and advantageous geopolitical location. From the 16th century on, Japan launched numerous raids on the peninsula in an effort to gain control over it since Japan was an island country without many other territorial claims near China. In 1910, the Japanese occupied Korea in the hopes of finding land to colonize for farming and for housing military personnel. During this time, the Japanese ruled mercilessly. Drastic measures were taken upon the Korean people to keep them under strict control. In 1939, the Japanese recruited waves of Korean men to serve in the Imperial Japanese Army and Korean women to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers. After the war, the Japanese were forced to give up the Korean Peninsula, which made the Koreans the second most technologically advanced country in all of Asia, only behind the Japanese themselves. In 1950, the Korean War began. The fighting began with the North Koreans supported by China and the Soviet Union and South Korea backed by the United States and the U.N. Coalition. Nearly 37,000 were left dead.

For much of the 21st century, the issue of North Korea has been highly controversial. However, in recent years, significant advancements have been made.

In January of 2018, the first talks begin in two years regarding plans for North and South Korea to compete as one country in the upcoming Olympics. Eventually, the decision was finalized by the International Olympic Committee and the world watched eagerly as a united Korea competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning seventeen total metals, five of which were gold.

Yet, in the middle of such waves towards reunification between North and South Korea, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un engaged in a war of words. In late 2018, Kim announced that he had, “a nuclear button,” with Trump replying that he had one as well, “bigger and more powerful than [Kim Jong-Un’s].”

In order to progress towards peace on the Korean Peninsula, there are a few changes that must take place. First, there must be a renewed effort to decrease tensions among North and South Korea. Currently, efforts have stalled as the Arms Control Association writes that tensions continue to escalate after North Korea demolished the newly-built joint liaison office in June. It's a change that’s difficult to incite, but essential to invoke should we hope to de-escalate the situation. Second, there should be peace talks, summits, and discussions between the United States, China, and other allies who have diplomatic interests in Korea. Though the U.S.-China trade war has shifted attention from the silent war further east, increasing diplomatic dialogue between such stakeholders is imperative to keeping conflict off physical ground, and, should it erupt, from spilling over into neighboring nations. Finally, and perhaps most distant of all, is the denuclearization of North Korea. There have been countless forays to push this agenda upon the country, but most all have been met with severe backlash.

It is important to recognize the dissipation of conflict in Korea is far from reality. Numerous factors exist that hamper such progress. There is no one-size-fits all solution. Rather, analysis of past solutions can determine molding better ones in the future.

My grandfather’s story is one that is uniquely Korean, but one echoed by millions of displaced individuals across the world today. The grotesque images of his childhood have stoked fear and a pain too great for one to endure alone. Through his story and the continuously developing political climate on the Korean Peninsula today, we can only hope that every step backward provides another window of opportunity to move forward.

1 Literature of the Heian Period: 794-1185 | Asia for Educators | Columbia University, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm

2 “2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Medal Count.” The Washington Post, WP Company, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/sports/pyeongchang-2018-olympic-medal-count/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.af86d2115006.