Dawn of a New Morning 1

#1
“Min-guk, come here for a minute.”

The father called his son who was in the room. Then the son Min-guk walked out to the living room reluctantly. The father was watching TV. A documentary titled “I Am from the Independence Army of the Republic of Korea” was just starting.

“Have a seat here and watch this.”

The father who was sitting on one side of the couch pointed at space beside him. As if it often happened, Min-guk sat on the couch and fixed his eyes on TV as his father had asked him. The documentary was about a Korean student soldier who escaped from the Japanese army for the first time among the group of Korean student soldiers who were forced to join the Japanese army. The narrator explained in a clear and calm voice.

The student soldier who escaped from the Japanese army joined the Korean Independence Army Executive Training Team which was established by the Provisional Government of Korea along with other student soldiers who also escaped after him. The group of student soldiers finished their training and left for a 2,400km (1,500 mile) journey through rough mountains that were 3,000km (9,800ft) above sea level. From Nanyang to Chongqing, China, where the Pro-visional Government of Korea was, there was a mountain called Pachokryong which was famous to be rough; there were even rumors that even swallows couldn’t fly over and Zhuge Liang, and that even Zhuge Liang, the greatest and most accomplished strategist in history of China, hesitated to cross the mountain.

It took a week just to cross Mt. Pachokryong in the snowstorm. Their journey through the snowy mountain against freezing air seemed really tough. The student soldiers encouraged each other, saying, “You’ll die if you fall asleep” or “Let’s not become shameful ancestors,” and crossed such a high and rough mountain. The first student soldier had a picture of his mother who was dressed in the traditional Korean costume.

On January 31, 1945, the group finally arrived at the Provisional Government of Korea. As their long journey became known to the Allied Forces, it demonstrated Korean people’s strong will for independence and raised the status of the Provisional Government of Korea.

“. . . the student soldier who escaped from the Japanese army became an Independence Army officer. He will be remembered as a soldier of the Independence Army of the Republic of Korea and a teacher of his people forever. He finished his long journey and now we, his descendants, should start our journey.”

With this last line of the narrator, the 60-minute history documentary ended.

Min-guk knew why his father wanted him to watch it. His father was a former marine officer; he always had many things to tell his son about the military as he was in the military all his life. Educational programs on TV were effective methods to teach his son. In particular, when a documentary about the Independence Army was on TV, he called his son without fail and let him watch it. Since he was very firm about that matter, Min-guk never refused to respond to his father’s call even during his adolescence.

The story about the Independence Army was very touching to Min-guk, too; the student soldiers of the same age as his were full of burning passion to regain the stolen nation, even risking their lives. However, the age of the Independence Army and of the eternal teacher of the nation has passed though the previous generation achieved such a great work. Just as a comedian said in a comedy show, all the descendants need to do was to enjoy whatever their ancestors left for them. Isn’t it for the sake of their descendants that the ancestors went through such hardships?

The father knew how his son felt. Whenever he had a gathering with former marines, they often talked about young generation—how impatient and selfish they are, not knowing the favor of ancestors, as they are used to their comfortable life. He knew very well that his son was no different.

The matter that caused the biggest argument between the father and the son was the son’s motorcycle. Because the father was a soldier, Min-guk’s family had to move to different areas many times as he was growing up. As he became a high schooler, his motorcycle became his best friend. His motorcycle engine roared all the time.

There would be no father who would like his son to ride a motorcycle all the time, but especially for Min-guk’s father who regarded the national obligation to keep the law as priority, he could not tolerate young people who ran on the road fearlessly, forming groups, and enjoyed being chased by the police and caused traffic jam and social disorder. He couldn’t keep watching his son hang around with that kind of young kids. However, there was no way to make his son stay away from his motorcycle.

“Min-guk, please . . .”

Even his mother’s earnest plea couldn’t make him give up the freedom he felt when he rode his motorcycle. The motorcycle was still his favorite even after he became a university student.

#2
Min-guk couldn’t make up his mind, holding the notice of enlistment in his hand.

‘Which branch should I join?’

His father wanted him to join the marines. Actually, so did Min-guk because he was well-built and adventurous just like his father. However, he still hesitated because of his father; he simply didn’t want to walk the same path as his father’s.

After thinking it over, he decided to join the marines; he thought that his life would not be the same as his father’s even if he chose the same path.

The day he joined the military, his parents accompanied him to the boot camp. They were quiet the whole way there. His mother kept silent, holding back her tears, and his father didn’t say a word.

They arrived there early and went to a restaurant near the base. It had been quite a while since they all got together to eat. The father deboned the fish and put it on the son’s spoon. Min-guk tried to be nonchalant, but inwardly he was quite surprised because he had never seen his father do this kind of thing.

The recruits lined up and shouted to their parents, standing in a distance,

“We will complete our mission!”

Min-guk saw the tears on his mother’s face. His father was just standing still, watching him. Min-guk felt that tears were welling up in his eyes, too, and so he quickly turned around and joined the recruits and marched in unison.


#3
It was around the end of the boot camp training when the father got in a traffic accident. It was too terrible to accept it as a quirk of fate; he was hit by a motorcycle gang while crossing the road.

The biker sped away, and there was no witness since it happened early in the morning when he went out to exercise. He was found a few hours after the accident. Although he was taken to the hospital hurriedly and all the emergency treatments were taken, he was in a coma.

The doctor said, “We’ll have to see, but it seems like he might never wake up.”

Min-guk’s mother only cried.

Around that time, Min-guk’s group was moving fast in darkness.

Beep! The short whistle brought tension among the recruits. The moon was covered with clouds, and only the leader’s flashlight shone the path. The Inflatable Boat Small training was one of the toughest trainings during the boot camp.

On top of the heads of eight recruits in each group was a rubber boat of over 100kg (200lb). As the equipment on the recruits’ backs suppressed them as well, it felt like their bodies were sinking into the ground.

As training went on, Min-guk’s breathing became more rapid and his legs felt heavier and heavier. His uniform got wet with sweat and dust.

It was endurable so far. There was another reason why the recruits were afraid of the boot camp training. It was because of the 5th week which was called “hell week.” During this week, they could not sleep for five days; it was to overcome the desire to sleep, a human instinct which is the most difficult to overcome. As days went by, the boundary between open eyes and closed eyes and between being awake and being asleep became vague. He wasn’t sure if the mountain paths and sandy paths, which he walked all night, were real or a dream. The pain in his feet from the boots, which he couldn’t take off for about a week, was severe. As he reached his physical limits, he couldn’t keep his balance any longer.

“You’re going to die if you fall asleep! Get up!”

The drill instructor’s sharp voice pierced through Min-guk’s back, but he couldn’t hear anything.

Sometime later, he heard someone say, “Min-guk! Get up! Wake up!”

His father was stretching out his hand from a distance. When he was about to hold his father’s hand, he suddenly woke up as something pushed up his body.

It was the recruit Han-pil. A sudden, cool breeze blew.

Min-guk shook his head to shake off his drowsiness.

‘I’ll die if I fall asleep!’

He kept reminding himself. The group went through the bush in darkness.