This story about my dad's family happened during the Japanese occupation of Korea and Manchuria, China (known as Man-chuko) and during the Korean War. My great-grandfather's name is Yongsun Lee, my grandfather's name is Wongil Lee and my dad's name is Eal Hyung Lee. Yongsun was a high school principal while Wongil had a high school diploma, which may be an equivalent to a junior high school education in present South Korea. He became a church elder around the age of 23 at Taiyuan Korean Church at Taiyuan, China. On March 5, 1938, my Dad was born at Tientsin, China. My Grandfather was so happy to have a son. He also loved the Lord very much and donated more than a tithe to God so that the Lord God could bless his business. My father told me that Grandpa was a man of God. Taewon is near Beijing, China.
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Although Wongil had no college education, he knew many languages: Korean, of course, Japanese, and Chinese, and often acted as an interpreter in the church. Once a Japanese pastor gave a sermon about the birth of Jesus Christ. He mimicked all kinds of animal sounds to express the joy of Jesus Christ's birth. Grandfather was put into a trap because he couldn't make the sounds as the pastor did. So, he said, "Birds make bird sounds. Tiger makes tiger sounds. And so on," and avoided the predicament. Everyone laughed at the church.
In China, Grandpa was a very rich man. He once owned a lucrative coal mining and other businesses in China. He used to send my dad to a nursery by his personal chauffeur in a rickshaw. Milk was delivered to his home, and a huge ice cube was placed in a living room to cool the house and drinks. At then, refrigerator and air conditioner were not available.
My grandmother was also a woman of God. She married Wongil in an arranged marriage between Wongil's parents and her family. They actually did not see each other before they fell in love.
In fact, they were married the same way that Rebekah and Isaac were married in Genesis 24. Their marriage was a miracle when they were both Christian. When my dad was born, my grandmother tried to teach my dad about the Bible since my dad was like a baby Jesus to her.
In 1944, when the Japanese were losing the war, the political situation in China became uncertain. Grandfather sent Grandmother and her children to North Korea where my Great-grandfather lived. During her stay in North Korea, Grandmother visited her mother's home at Harbin, China. Unfortunately, Grandmother suffered from typhoid during her visit but miraculously recovered from her illness through the grace of God. At then typhoid was a deadly disease. Before the Japanese surrender in August 15, 1945, communications between China and North Korea were interrupted. Grandmother was worried about my grandfather and returned to Taiyuan, China, in June, 1945. A year later, they were able to return to Korea with very little things in their possessions, most left in China in fear of being killed by the Communist.
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In 1947, the Lee family decided to leave North Korea to avoid the religious suppression of Communist North Korean regime. They tried to board a ship but fortunately got caught by the North Korean Army. The boat was too small, and with so many people on board, it might have sunk if it sailed that evening. The Lord God was with them. They were jailed and were miraculously released from the North Korean prison camps. Finally, they boarded another ship the next day to flee to South Korea. They were encamped at a refugee camp near Kaesong slightly north of the 38th Parallel. After they were released from the camps, they rode a train to Seoul. They met an old friend of Grandfather's and stayed at their home for a few months, until they found a shelter arranged by Sung-nam Church. When they found their new home, they started to make a living. Grandfather told my Dad, "Eal, if you sell 10 Hershey bars, then the whole family can eat one Hershey bar." My father was so excited and sold 10 Hershey bars. Keeping his promise, Grandfather prayed to God by thanking Him for providing his family a chocolate bar and divided it into seven pieces among the family. My Dad recalled that he never tasted such a delicious chocolate bar in his life.
When the Korean War broke out, many refugees came down to South from North Korea. They begged for food as they passed by the Lee family. Grandmother shared their meal with them. She had this faith that God will provide. Instead, they starved.
During the Korean War, the American and South Korean forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur made their offensive move to Inchon, cutting off the North Korean supply line. After the American and South Korean forces landed at Inchon in September 15, 1950, they started to move into Seoul by bombing the North Korean positions. Dad told me that many died during the U.N. offensive campaign against the North Koreans. Yongsun, Great-grandfather, was one of those casualties and was hit by a shrapnel from a mortar into his chest. There was nothing they could do. My great-grandfather was bleeding. He was dying. My grandfather asked to follow his prayer and said, "Oh Lord, please accept my soul in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." My great-grandfather barely finished his last prayer.
My Dad loved his grandfather very much and often told me about him. He really considered him to be his very best friend ever known to him. My father told me that Yongsun used to give him a ride on his shoulders when my dad was three or four. Yongsun loved my dad very much because my dad was the eldest son of the Lee family.
During the war, there were many wounded and dead. Wha-soon, my aunt, was shot by an American bullet through her leg. Their house was lost by bombs. The whole city was on fire. Eun-man would have been my uncle. He was sick and crying. Dad saw his younger brother's flesh touching his own bones. At the age of nine months, Eun-man no longer weeped anymore. Grandmother could not believe that Eun-man was not old enough to hear the gospel and started to weep for Eun-man.
Despite all the hardship, Grandpa thanked God and prayed, "Thank you, Lord. Thank you for choosing me the same way you had chosen Job. When I go through my trials, I know that I am saved." Wongil never complained to God. He was always faithful to the Lord although he had faced many trials.
After the Korean War, my grandfather owned a small pulpit gown business, Sung-Eui-Sa (The Robe) which became the largest gown company in Korea. It served many pastors, church chairs, judges, and scholars in Korea. Wongil, my grandfather, had a portrait of Jesus Christ in his home always whether they were happy or in hardship. He stared at the portrait and smiled, but my father never understood why my grandfather bought that portrait. Even though God took everything that my grandfather had owned during the war, he was not financially rewarded. Despite the past hardships, he rarely complained to the Lord.
My dad married Minja Chung, my mother, on October 24, 1968. He was captain of the Republic of Korean Army, and he later was accepted to Stanford University as a graduate student in the materials science and engineering department. Later on, I was born and they named me Yosuk. My dad probably told all of his friends at Stanford that he had a son. Young-Shin, my grandmother, was so excited that I was born. Her grief disappeared when I was born. She probably thought that my birth replaced her Eun-man during the Korean War. Although I do not know Eun-man's fate, I hope that Grandmother got to see Eun-man in her arms once again in heaven.
As my grandfather grieved over the loss of his wife to cancer, he did not complain to God. The Lord gave him a more Godly wife than Job's who said, "Curse God and die." [Job 2:9] He really felt that he was more blessed than Job.
When I was four years old, I saw my grandfather pale and weak. He was really old, and he needed a wheelchair to move around the apartment at Stanford during his visit. My dad was getting a Ph.D. at Stanford and he noticed that Wongil's health was deteriorating. I did not realize that he was about to die, and my dad took care of my grandfather. My dad told me that he always feared my grandfather because he hardly spoke, but he knew he loved him. My dad helped Wongil take a bath and defecate, and yet Wongil did not curse his Jesus. A few months later, he returned to Korea and ascended into heaven.