8) Did your parents ever blame the war on the Japanese?
-Because Korea was occupied by Japan, the Koreans weren’t able to speak as freely as they wanted to. We had very limited speech, and we weren’t able to share or express our feelings about the Japanese. Back then it was very hard to live under the Japanese control. 9) If the Koreans ever spoke badly about the Japanese, didn’t anything happen to the Koreans?
-The Koreans were captured and taken away by the Japanese police, and we were definitely not able to speak in public freely. 10) So your parents weren’t able to talk about the war and how they felt about the decisions of the Japanese during the war?
-At a certain extent they did express some of their feelings but, we could not talk about the Japanese government.
12) Did you participate in any of these jobs?
-Yes, indeed I did. I had to, there was no choice. We had to do as the Japanese told, and we also had to follow Japanese ways and cultures. They were our orders, and we had to carry them out. Were adults allowed to speak Korean?
Adults were allowed. But in the school, all students had to speak in Japanese, no matter what. 13) Did you practice any air raid drills?
-Yeah, of course. We did so many drills. We would dig up holes to go underground to hide for safety. Even when I hear the random sirens that sound similar to the airplane warnings, it brings back the horrid memories of the war period and I get very nervous and uneasy. Do you still have memories about these drills?
Yeah I do. I really hate that sound. It makes me feel uncomfortable and distressed. 14) So you practiced these drills in and out of school?
-In school it was mandatory. Even if we weren’t in school and the sirens turned on we had to automatically run and hide to the nearest safe zone. Everyone had to hide; no one was allowed to be in the streets during the time of a drill, and if anyone was seen on the streets they would be targeted and bombed. How do you...