Little girl's decision

I remember living in South Korea, the many fun things you can do. Being a tomboy, I climbed a cement back of a whale shape entrance to a mechanical area for the apartment complex. My parents were busy working (my dad) and building their business (my mom). My dad worked for the military (DOD civilian) and my mom worked in construction. They both made good money but not very family oriented. Luckily, had a maid and a chauffer to help the family plus I was never alone. Whether it was back in the 70’s or present day, there will always be danger lurking around (that’s for anywhere in the world, South Korea included).

As I mentioned before, my parents worked all the time. They would come home once I a while to check on me and spend one night at home for my sake but usually it’s just me and the maid. I would go to school on week days, come home when school was finished then went to piano practice and came home for the day. Typical oriental life for this little girl. When I was grounded for doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, I would make sure the coast was clear and climb out the window to go play. Oh, did I forget to mention I lived on the first floor? That was a big benefit to go sneak out to play when you weren’t supposed to. Well, one night the storm was the worst in South Korea and everyone was told to stay home and not to come out until it was safe. The storm created tsunami’s in the coastal areas so bad that even Seoul got flooded. I was so scared. Neither of my parents were home, but the maid and I… The flood was up to the window level (about 5.5 ft) off the ground. It took four days for the flooding to get back the river area.

When you’re a kid you really take advantage of the weather being great with sunshine, light wind, etc. But them four days, were so scary, watching the water level come up… When my parents finally came home, they were happy to know everything was ok in the house. Nothing got wet or stunk from the drains, etc. My parents were great in their own way. But for me, I missed the parent and my time. I would see the kids in the building happy with their parents, doing things together. I didn’t get much of that. If I did it was when dad was playing golf, or at his office when he needed extra help. Mom? Only when she was at home sleeping or she wanted to try a new trending thing (using milk to soften your skin, etc). I thought she was nuts but to stay youthful she tried many things I wasn’t too crazy about.

My challenge in life came when my dad would come home plastered in alcohol. He was a Korean war veteran that got injured during the war. He would use the alcohol to help numb the pain. Well, when he comes home, he would be so plastered and the maid would try and clean him up and help him to bed. I thought that was inappropriate and I told the maid and my mom that I would take care of dad when he came home that way. He never tried to take advantage in anyway, just mumbled in his dreaming state and slept through the night. I was about six at the time. I had let go of my childhood to make sure I did what needed to be done. Mom wasn’t home and I couldn’t let someone who is not family take care of my family. Many of my friends, people my parents knew, all of them thought because my parents did so well that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Very few knew what my life was really like. On the contrary, I learned many things on my own so I was able to help myself to what I needed. It wasn’t an easy road to go down, but I was able to sustain.

I hope that by sharing my experiences that it would help people understand that yes there are tough situations out there that’s beyond their control but it also helps them to prepare for a world that the family shelters them from or not teach them at all. I found out the hard way to learn about the world around me. Culture shock after culture shock. There’s hardly anybody who will read and think about how they can avoid hardships like this, but I’m hoping to reach anyone out there, if it helps them to plan better for their future to read my stories and experiences. Thank you and wish you the best of luck. Until next time…

Mary