Yang Chong-Jin was born in August 1953 in Paltan, Gyeonggido, South Korea (or that's what it says on the Korean register). She was born on a farm 2 weeks after the ceasefire for the Korean War (and 5 days after my dad in the same year). She's the 3rd of 7 children in her family. Life was hard for most Koreans during and right after the war. Her father would buy things from passersby trying to flee to the South for food. These were the only luxuries they would have. Otherwise, the family would wake up around 4 am, work on the farm, harvest rice and tend to the farm animals.
My mother went to school late in life and started school at age 7-8. Living on a poor farm, she had no money to give gifts to her teacher, could barely afford books and was made fun for being poor. She would have to walk 1.5-2 miles to the bus stop, take the bus and get off then walk 2-3 miles to school one way. This was a tough way to go but she and her siblings did this everyday. I thought she was joking until I saw where she went to school a few years ago in Korea. It's not close at all.
She worked hard, gained some skills like cutting hair, and had to take care of her younger brothers and sisters as her older sister had left to go to school out of town (where my mom's family lived was an hour away from the nearest big city - Suwon and 2-3 hours away from Seoul). She helped her mother cook and clean the house (before school too), which was one of those old houses with the sliding doors and wood floors that was heated by coal underneath the house. It wasn't the richest family but they were hard working and close to each other.
My mother left Korea at the age of 21 in 1974. Her older sister married an American serviceman in the late 1960s and settled in Southern Indiana. My aunt and uncle sponsored my mom to come over along with 2 of my other aunts later on in the 1970's. My mom wanted to live the American dream. She wanted to live a life that she had not been able to in Korea. It did not go as planned when she first came over. Her first day in America was Thanksgiving 1974 so she enjoyed a feast but she knew no English beyond "hello" and "thank you". She got her first American experiences - going to a drive-in theater (hiding under a blanket when a couple kissed...makes me laugh), eating out at a restaurant, traveling to DC and New Orleans and even having the local boys ask her out.
Because she started school so late, she was older than most of her classmates in Korea so when she came to the US, she was MUCH older than her classmates. She had to start in the 10th grade so she was pushed back from where she was in Korea. She also spoke no English so when she went to class, she had no clue what was going on. There was no ESOL back then so she had no clue what was going on. Plus she was in a town where she, my aunt, my 2 cousins and a Japanese-American family were the only non-whites in the town. This was not LA or NYC where there might have been other Koreans to help her out. My aunt/her sister was the only who could communicate with her. My two cousins who were from 5 to 9 at the time really tried to help my mom learn English and tutored her as well as nice, well-intentioned kids would. She struggled so badly at school that eventually she dropped out because she was told she was too old to graduate. She had many times where she might cry and my mother is a tough woman but not knowing what's going on with little help beyond her family was bad for her. She started working in factories around the town she was in. She worked long hours and she no longer lived with my aunt. She was supporting herself and eking out a living. My aunt's family (especially my American uncle's mom and dad - God bless Grandma Manila and Grandpa John) really tried to support my mom and make her transition smooth but it was tough for her being alone.
My mother had been writing letters to my dad, who she had met in the summertime in her home town in Korea through a common relative (not blood relative for my mom so don't worry there), and they were pen pals which turned into love letters (which my mom still has to this day). They married in August 1978 in Korea and then came back to Southern Indiana. My dad had just left the Korean army and apparently was an interesting character in those days (honking at cows when learning how to drive in the US is one example). My mom and dad bought a tiny house (2-3 rooms) near the town high school and lived there for about 2 years as my dad tried to be a mechanic while my mom worked in the factory.
My mom became pregnant in 1979 and everything changed for my parents. To support the family with opportunities and take advantage of free healthcare, my father decided to join the American military even though his English was not that great. My mom stayed behind in Indiana as my dad had basic training in Missouri and I was born in May of 1980. Little did I know how much we would have to move during those times with my dad in the military...(part 2 coming tomorrow)
(This is a picture of my mom at her baby shower late 1979/early 1980 with me right with her)
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