Jun Lee
GPC Student 2007
John Smith’s Korean Love Story
Two years ago, I stayed at my cousin’s house in Suwanee, Georgia. Even though his house was located in a huge subdivision, most neighbors were very kind to me, so I could be their friend easily. Among them, a neighbor, John Smith, who lived next to my cousin’s house, was really close to us because he was a soldier for the Korean War in 1950. Therefore, he had lots of memories of Korea and loves Korea. For example, he owned a Korean made car, a Hyundai Sonata, and he even had a traditional Korean teacup. In 1998, he and his wife visited South Korea, and he told me that he was really shocked because everything was dramatically changed. One day, we visited John’s house and I gave him a Korea DVD movie, 6.25. The main story of 6.25 was the Korean War. After we watched the video, he started crying and telling a love story. I never heard such a beautiful love story before.
During the War, he came to South Korea as a solider. When the army reached In-Chon, Korea, he saw that everything was ruined. Many dead bodies were on the every street and those bodies were rotten and smelled terrible. Even though it was sunny day, the day looked gloomy day because the Russian fighter planes flew overhead dropping bombs on the ground. Mr. Smith was twenty
- two years old. He never got scared in the war before he got injuries on his left arm. Therefore, he went to the army hospital, and he met his destiny in there.It was December 1950. When he was preparing to go back to America in the army hospital, he met a Korean nurse, who took care of him. She was small and she had very white skin, big eyes, and tiny lips. When he saw her the first time, he fell in love with her. Everything stopped and he could see only her. He did not know why he loved her, but he knew that she must be his destiny. Even though she could not speak English, they loved each other. She became pregnant, but Mr. Smith had to return home. He promised her to go back to Korean soon.
When he returned to the United States, he was so happy to see his parents and friends. However, the happy times for him were gone soon because he missed the nurse
a lot. He could not forget her face and smile every day and every moment. He sent several love letters, but he did not receive any mail from her because Korea was still in the war. After the war in 1955, he went back to South Korea. Of course, it was really hard to find her, since he only knew her army hospital address. He just knew that she was from Seoul, so he tried to found her in Seoul. After one year, he gave up and was ready to go back to the U.S.A. He was really sad, and he wanted to hold on the past. On the way to Seoul Station to go to Pusan, one moment, destiny came to him. He found her at Seoul Station. He did not know to express his happiness.I have heard that many American-Korean couples in the war never meet again because American soldiers never came back to Korea, but Mr. Smith was not like the others. He married the nurse, and they are still in love, fifty years later. John told me that if he had not gone back to Korea, he would not have met her again. He was really brave, and he got what he wanted.