PAGE 1 NANCY KWON 2021/03/29

LIFE IN THE 1970S

AN INTERVIEW WITH MY GRANDPARENTS

Aren't you curious about the generation that has been a stepping stone to Korea’s astonishing growth? This
interview is about the lives in the 1970s in Korea, a period of remarkable growth in the Korean economy following
the devastations of poverty. I had interviewed my grandparents, who were in their 30s when they lived back in the
70s. They are one of the generations that participated in that marvellous growth, starting to settle into their jobs
by then. reading this interview, I hope you will be able to get a glimpse into their life in the 70s and see how
different their life used to be compared to the life we have now.

Q. I heard that the Korean economy developed a
lot at that time during the 70s. If you had to name
a couple of significant changes, what would you
say?
Grandma: It's a lot different than before. Before that, we
ate rice made with barley if we didn’t want to starve. There
Q. I heard that there were a lot of regulations for
dress codes back then. What kind of clothes did
you wear in your daily life?
Grandma: Clothes.. (Talking to Grandpa) You know, in
summer...
Grandpa: Sambeh (Hemp clothes) . . . Cool fabric.

were a lot of people in the '60s who couldn't eat. Grandma: Yes. Sambeh. People these days don’t wear it.
Me: Did you wear that in the 70s?
Grandpa: It was hard to live... It’s was a little better than
Grandpa: In the 60s.
the 60s... And it got a lot better in the 80s. Back then in the
Me: How about the 70s?
60s, there were a lot of people who peeled trees for food
Grandpa: Only in the countryside.
and went to the mountains to eat berries. . . And eat barley
Grandpa: And... Pants and jeogori.
rice cake. Me: What is that?
Grandma: What's the one that is left when you take off the Grandpa: People put cotton inside the clothes to keep them
rice? Ah, gyeo (rice offal). Gyeo. There were a lot of people warm. We wore it in winter.

who made porridge out of rice offal.

Q. Were there any regulations on the dress codes?
Me: Oh, you eat that?
Grandpa: There was no such thing.
Grandma: Yes. Many did. But our family was well off
Me: None?
enough to eat rice.
Grandpa: In the 80s we did.
Grandpa: Our family ate barley rice. People did everything
Me: None in the 70s?
with their hands back then. There was no agricultural
Grandpa: Hmm... People were not allowed to wear anything
machinery or anything. There was no fertilizer, either. . . At
short.
that time, we picked and rotted the grass from the
Grandma: They measured it with a ruler.
mountain and used it as a fertilizer. . . Plus, there were
Grandpa: I shaved my hair when I was in school.
storehouses where you burn things and get ashes to spray
Me: Girls... short hair?
it when people are farming.
Grandma: Yes. Girls needed to have bobbed hair [in school].

Q. How about sports? What did you usually watch on

TV?

Grandpa: Wrestling!
Me: You watched that a lot? Not Ssireum (Korean Wrestling)?
Grandpa: Yeah, you know that one that does headbutt.
Me: Wrestling was popular in the 70s? Was it broadcasted
through TV?
Grandpa: Yes it was. Me: How about you, Grandpa? You were a soldier, right?

Me: There were TVs back then? Grandpa: Yes. that’s right. I was in Korea.

Grandpa: Yes. I’ve had it since the late 60s. I brought it from Me: What class were you in?

Vietnam. Grandpa: I was a Lieutenant Colonel.

Me: Was TV sold in Korea?

Grandpa: Yes, but it was from abroad. Not many had it.

Q. Who was the most famous celebrity at that time?

Grandpa: Nam Jumg-im, Kim Seung-ho… They are actors.

Grandma: Choi... Who was it? Choi...
Grandpa: Choi Moo-ryong. He’s also an actor.

Me: How famous were they?

Grandpa: Literearly everyone knew them.

Q. Did you have any hobbies? What did you do? Q. Have you ever been abroad that time?

Grandfather: I loved travelling.
Me: You still like it. Haha. How about you, Grandma?
Grandma: I didn’t have any hobbies because I was busy with
hair salons.
Q. What kind of song did you listen to?
Grandpa: Hmm… We listened to 한 많은 대동강, Lee Mija’s 아씨...
Grandma: I don’t remember anything...
Me: Did you listen to music from other countries, too?
Grandpa: No, but in the 80s we did.
Me: Grandpa has been to Vietnam because of the Vietnam
War. What about grandma?
Grandma: I couldn’t. Only a few could go abroad.
Grandpa: We didn’t even think about it. We were not allowed
to go abroad back then without good reasons.
Me: Have you been to countries other than Vietnam, Grandpa?
Grandpa: No, but we went a lot in the 90s.
Q. Do you have any special memories back in the 70s?
Grandpa: People loved to go watch movies then. It was

expensive at that time.

Q. What movies did you watch? Were there any Korean
Grandma: I couldn’t even eat lunch because I was busy.
Movies?
Grandpa: Some movies were from Korea, but most of them

were from America. The ones with Cowboys.

Me: There were more American films than Korean ones?
Grandpa: Yes. There were a lot of them.

Now I will ask a few more personal questions.

Q. What was life like in the 70s as a hairdresser/

soldier?
Grandma: Cutting hair, bridal makeup...
Me: How many hours did you work?
Grandma: I worked day and night. There was no time to eat
lunch.
Me: Were there any specific hairstyles that the customers
preferred?
Grandma: Ujimaki, Sotomaki (Types of bob haircut)…
Q.What do you miss about the 70s?
Grandpa: Back then, eating white rice was the best thing. In
the 50s and 60s, we couldn’t eat white rice. Also, there was
something called nylon, and that was the thing that only rich
people could wear.
Grandma: I don’t miss anything. I didn’t know if I was hungry or
not even I couldn’t eat lunch. Back then I couldn’t think about
what I wanted to do.

If you had wondered about how Korea was like back in the 70s, you probably now have a brief idea after reading
this interview. As seen in the interview, the quality of life has improved significantly since then. They worked day
and night to maintain their living and for their future generation. Because of their sacrifice, we are able to live the
life we live today. As a Z generation who grew up with what previous generations have achieved, I am proud of my
grandparents. Now that you looked into some of the aspects of what the ‘70s were like, — if you know one who
lived through the time — why don’t you thank them today?