To set the stage for this story we need to go back a little in history. Gwangju is the major city of the south western part of Korea. Is is primarily an agricultural area, but is the hub of government and educational activities in the area. During the late 1970s under the military dictatorship of Park Chyng-hee, there was a lot of attention on industrial development. Unfortunately the interest was primarily interest in the large industrial monopolies at the expense of smaller business and agriculture. Agriculture prices were kept low and workers wages were low in order to fuel the industrial growth. Many of the workers were young girls because they could be paid low wages and were easier to control. The means of control was intimidation.
The Gwangju area was left behind for two reasons. First it was not an industrial area. Second it was an area known to support Presidnt Parks opponents so was not given preferential treatment in terms of economic opportunities. As a result the farmers and workers alike experienced a decline in their standard of living.
Students and other young people in Gwangju began working for democratic reform. Some joined the Christian ministry to improve the lot of laborers. Other, like our subject (we'll call him Mr. Lee), worked diligently to establish a night school for workers. The school provided them with basic education as well as instruction in labor laws and the rights of laborers.
On May 17, 1980, the military decided to enforce the new stricter statutes of martial law curfew by entering the night school and savegly beating students and teachers. The next day, students from the local universities took to the streets to protest the beatings. The military response was brutal. Many we're killed. Soon the citizens of Gwangju, enraged by what had happened joined the students in the streets. Women behind the lines cooked, cared for wounded, and prepared the corpses for burial; but the also organized the communications for the insurrection, supplied rocks and Molitov cocktails to the front lines and even helped raid the local police and military units to supply arms to the fighters.
At one point they were successful in rousting the army from Gwangju, but they knew their victory would be short-lived. The military refused to accept the demands of the citizens of Gwangju and returned in force.
Our Mr. Lee was not among the 415 insurrectionists who were captured, tortured, and later sentenced by military tribunal to either death or life imprisonment. Nor was he among the dead. But her knew that his name was on the list. His days were numbered. An unusual number of his former associates were suddenly dying of mysterious accidents or were being arrested. He found his way out on a ship bound for the United States. Landing in Seattle with no legal documents he headed for L.A. where it was easier to hide among the many Korean-Americans.
Meanwhile, another Korean was also making her way to L.A. Miss Oh worked for a grassroots organization working for Korean democracy by raising awareness and money among the many Korean Americans in the United States and Canada. Miss Oh had never been to Gwangju, but she knew what was happening to the young Korean women working in the factories and she wanted to do her part to make changes.
It was in L.A. That the two kindred spirits met. There was no love at first sight. Mr. Lee had made a vow to never marry. He intended to dedicate his life to the cause. Miss Oh was not a frivolous girl. She was a woman with a mission. She was past the age when most girls marry and was quite satisfied with her life. She did not regret never having married. Still, there was an instant bond between the two. Had they been in different circumstances they might have thought they were falling in love, not that the thought didn't cross their minds. It was very hard for Mr. Lee to even admit he had feelings for a woman. He was a man of his word. He never went back on his promises. This was truly a struggle for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment