The sea so near

yet so far
Author: Ro yeon hui
Illustrator: Choi hyun young
“We’re here!“
Bada and her parents moved to Seoul from Busan.
“Time to start unpacking. Bada, go and look around the town.” mom said.
While looking around, Bada noticed an old dated area.
Curious about what’s inside, she cautiously entered.
There, she found a painted gate.
“Oh, it’s a sea!”
Drawn in by the gate, Bada stepped inside the old house possessedly.
 안녕 , 나는 유진이야 .
10 살이고 솔잎초등학교에 다녀 .
그리고 , 나는 너무너무
행복한 어린이야 .
지금부터 내 일상을 볼래 ?
On the old, messy floor, there was a picture frame.
It was someone's wedding photo.
“Is it a Kimono?”
The woman in the picture was wearing traditional Japanese clothing, just
like the one Bada saw on her trip to Japan.
While Bada stared at the photo, a cat jumped out from the corner, making
a ‘swish!’ noise.
“Crash!”
Startled by the cat, Bada dropped the picture. It scattered.
“What should I do...?”
However, when Bada bent over to clean up the broken pieces, the picture
was gone.
“Huh? Where did the frame go?”
Surprised, Bada looked around, only to find herself no longer in the old
house.
There were old, antique objects Bada saw in her textbooks and a younger
boy.
“Who are you? I was sure there wasn’t anyone here?” Bada asked.
The boy answered, “My name is Hang-gu Kim. I’m six years old.”
주말이 아무리 즐거웠어도
월요일은 너무 힘들어 .
너희도 그렇지 ?
학교에 가야하잖아 .
아 , 맞다 !
오늘 받아쓰기 하는 날인데 !
얘들아 , 나는 망한 것 같
아 ...
While Bada and Hang-gu were talking, Hang-gu’s mom walked into the
living room.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m not sure... Where am I? This place was empty except for the frame I
broke...”
"Umm, I don't know.... except the picure I had broken.
Bada was confused since she didn't know what happened.
Suddenly, a shattered frame caught her eye.
“That frame! That’s the one I broke!” she said.
“Pardon? Dear, the frame is in good shape, and the woman in the photo is
me. Perhaps you lost your memories during the war.”
“The war...?” Bada was surprised.
He said, "Yes, the war, where people shoot guns. Bang-bang!"
“Poor thing. Come and sit. It’s not much, but we can still share lunch.”
Hang-gu’s mom said.
 띠리링 ~♩♪♫♬ ᕷ
“ 유진아 나 너네 집 앞이야 !
빨리 나와 !
그리고 오늘
운동장 조회하는 날이야 !”
얘는 내 친구 수민이야 .
헉 ...!
교장쌤 훈화를 잊고 있었다 ...
오늘 같은 날 늦으면 진짜 혼나는데 !
학교 늦겠다 !
나 빨리 가볼게 !
“Itadakimasu,” Hang-gu and his mom chanted.
“Thanks for the meal...”
Bada thought that the phrase was strange because she never heard it be-
fore, but they ate anyways.
After lunch, Bada decided to look for her parents.
“Thanks for the meal. I should go look for my parents now, Ma’am.”
“Are you sure you’re alright? Now that I think about it, your outfit is quite
unusual too....” Hang-gu’s mom said.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine. Thanks for the meal.” Bada quickly answered.
 오늘은 화요일 !
내가 기다리던 체육대회야 !
평소에는 잘 안 입던 체육복도 입고 ,
도시락도 챙겨가야 하는 거 알지 ?
우리반은 꼭두각시 춤을
추기로 했어 .
점심에는 친구들이랑 도시락도 나눠
먹고 , 다 같이 박 깨는 게임도 했다 !
Until that, Bada didn’t know-
That place was where Bada could never be at.
“That was weird. I should head back now!”
Bada tried to go back the way she came, but the path was gone.
Though she went in circles, she couldn’t find her house.
“Where am I...? My house was here before...?”
Bada was scared.
체육대회에서 가장 신나는 건
달리기잖아 !
난 우리반 계주야 !
그리고 당연히
우리반이 일등했지 !
1 등 도장도 받았다 ~!
오늘은 절대 손 안 씻을거야 .
너도 혹시 달리기 잘 해 ?
With no other solution, Bada returned to Hang-gu’s house.
He was playing in front of the house.
“Hang-gu, why are you here alone? I saw lots of kids out there.” Bada
asked.
“Oh, Bada! Here again? I can’t hang out with them.” Hang-gu replied.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“They call me 쪽바리 . My mom’s Japanese, so they won’t play with me.
So I play alone.”
> Since my mom is Japanese, they don't wanna hang out with me. So I'm
all alone.
“What? 쪽 바 리 ? Hang-gu, where are they? I need to have a word with
them.”
Bada was angry at the word ' 쪽바리“ , because it was a slur made to insult
Japanese people.
Bada and Hang-gu held hands and headed to the town clearing.
오늘은 수요일이라
학교가 일찍 끝났어 !
학교 끝나면 뭐다 ?
문방구랑 분식집이다 ~!
Recognizing Hang-gu, the kids in the town clearing started to make fun of
him.
“ 쪽바리 !”
“Go back to your country!”
Hang-gu was upset.
Bada butted in.
“Do you even know the meaning of ‘ 쪽바리‘ ?”
“Of course. My mom said Hang-gu Kim has Japanese blood in his veins.
So he’s a 쪽바리 !”
Bada was dumbfounded.
“Why is bloodline important? Since Hang-gu and you both live in the
same neighborhood and are at the same age, you can all be friends.” Bada
said.
 친구들이랑 컵떡볶이도 사 먹고
500 원짜리 공포책도 보고 !
오늘은 내가 하고 싶던 뽑기도
할거야 !
맞다 , 방방도 있었지 ?
아까 봤는데 , 수민이는 벌써
스마트폰으로 바운스볼 하더라 .
나도 휴대폰 바꾸고 싶다 ~
난 휴대폰 바꾸면 제일 먼저 셀카
찍어서 카카오스토리에 올릴거야 !
Disgusted with the kids, Bada digged into her pockets.
“I brought some crayons, don’t you want to try them out?”
“Yes, I wanna try!” The children chanted.
“If I let you use them, you all have to get well with Hang-gu! Promise!”
“Deal!”
"I promise."
Hang-gu beamed.“Where should we draw on though? There’s no paper...“
The children said.
Bada didn’t have any paper.
 놀이터에서 놀다가
노을이 지려고 하면
빨리 집으로 돌아가야 해 !
왜냐하면 < 꿈빛파티시엘 >
봐야하거든 !
이거 놓치면 다음날 친구들
이야기에 못 끼는 거 알아 ?
그런데 내 동생이 자꾸
< 파워레인저 > 보자는 거 있지 ?
진짜 최민준 못 말린다니까 !
난 우리 가온오빠 봐야한다고 !
Suddenly, Bada came up with a great idea.
"Follow me! There is a place that we can draw."
Bada and the kids gathered in front of Hang-gu's house.
"Here is a smooth gate we can draw on."
"Yahoo!"
They started to draw on the gate.
Bada looked at them with a pleased smile, forgetting to return to her house.
Meanwhile, Hang-gu's mom heard the gate squeak due to the kids painting
and came out.
"Guys, What are you doing?"
Bada was surprised. She forgot they shouldn't have drawn on the gate of
someone's house without permission.
"Sorry, ma'am... I just wanted Hang-gu to make friends. I let them draw
here without your permission. I'm sorry, that's my fault."
However, the answer was quite a surprise.
"Thank you. It's ok to keep drawing. I can erase it later. I was so worried
that Hang-gu wasn't good enough for his peers because he was Japanese.
Thanks, you're a nice girl. Speaking of which, I don't know your name.
What's your name?"
An unexpected reply made Bada bittersweet.
"My name is Bada Kim."
"Thanks, Bada. I appreciate you. By the way, did you find your parents? It's
getting dark."
"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm afraid that I should go back home. See you later!"
said Bada.
"Bye, Bada! See you tomorrow!"
Hang-gu waved bye-bye with an adorable smile.
"Bye, Hang-gu!“
 어제는 결국 민준이랑 싸우다가
엄마한테 혼났어 .
그래도 지금은 최민준 없으니까
내가 보고 싶은 거 봐야지 !
오늘은 목요일이니까
< 캐릭캐릭체인지 > 보는 날이야 !
혹시 말이야 ...
나한테도 수호알이 있을까 ?
At sunset, the alley was empty. Only an unfinished painting of the roaring
sea on the gate was left.
The beautiful rush of the sea was painted on the gate.
Bada left the alley and continued to find her house.
As she went through bushes, the sky got brighter and brighter.
Street lamps glimmered, vendors crowded with loud visitors, the park filled
with smiles, and skyscrapers stood high up the sky.
Eventually, Bada's new house came into her view!
She was so happy that she ran as fast as she could.
The morning came. Bada woke up in the her room.
"What happened? I was just looking at the picture....“
Suddenly, Bada felt something in her pocket.
"What's this? It's like a piece of paper..."
When she opened it, the paper showed a wedding photo.
Just then, Bada's dad entered the room.
"Good morning! You got up early. You seemed so tired last night. Oh, what
is that?“ He was surprised.
"Bada, how did you get that?"
"I don't know. Maybe Hang-gu put this? I found it in my pocket."
"Hang-gu? How do you know that name? He is your grandfather. And this is
the wedding picture of your great grandmother's...."
"Huh? Now that I think about it, I was outside a minute ago. How did I end
up here?"
"Really? You had a peculiar dream."
Bada thought that she had seen her grandfather's childhood in her dreams.
 “ 유진아 같이 놀자 ~!”
“ 수민아 ~ 오늘 유진이
구몬 해야 돼 ~”
헐 ...
오늘 구몬 선생님
오시는 날인데 !
만화만 보느라
숙제를 다 안 했어 ~!
어떡하지 ?
엄마한테 혼나겠다 ...
"Bada, since you got up early, what about taking a walk with me?"
"Sure!"
Bada's dad walked hand in hand with Bada.
They stopped in front of a monument.
"Do you know what this monument symbolizes?"
"Umm... I don't know. What does it mean?"
"This is a memorial stone to commemorate the Japanese who ended their
lives in Korea. Your great-grandmother rests here, too."
"I see...."
"Did you know that she was Japanese?"
"No, I didn't."
'Then, Hang-gu's mom may rest here....'
Bada thought about her.
 금요일이라 그런지
오늘따라 다 신이 났었어 .
그러다가 사고도 많이 쳤지 뭐
야.
미르랑 희준이는
메이플 스토리 딱지로
동전 내기 하다가 걸려서
반성문을 쓰게 됐어 .
표운이는 컴퓨터 시간에
타자연습 안 하고
게임이나 하고 있었어 !
그래서 걔도 반성문행이지 뭐 .
"Bada, your great-grandmother was Japanese. During the Japanese colonial
period, she married your great-grandfather, a Korean in Japan. After the
independence, they returned to Korea and gave birth to your grandfather.
His name is HANG-GU KIM. His name comes from a harbor since his
mother gave birth to him upon arriving at a harbor in Korea. She originally
planned to remain in Japan but came to Korea because she was worried that
the child might get discriminated against due to his father's nationality.
However, ironically she was hated for her nationality upon arrival. Your
grandfather was also discriminated against that he was half-Korean. Isn't it
tragic? They did nothing wrong...."
그리고 나는 ...
점심시간에 경도하다가
정글짐에서 떨어졌어 .
결국 팔에 깁스를 ...
많이 아팠지만 ,
그래도 깁스는 처음이라
너무 신기하다 !
"Then... if she had returned to Japan, she could have lived without
oppression," asked Bada.
"She couldn't go back to her country. The Korean government closed the
door to Japan due to the Japanese colonial era. People didn't want to engage
with those who had left pain to their country. As time passed, airfare
eventually opened back, yet she couldn't go back due to her health. She also
had lived in Korea for too long."
"That's so sad...." said Bada.
"Right? She lived a sorrowful life. Her country was just across the sea, but
she couldn't reach it until she passed away.
So I named you after her, Bada.
I want you to remember her for long.
Can you do that for me?"
Bada answered, unfolding the crumpled wedding picture. "Of course, I'll
never forget her."
‘ 요네모토 도키에 할머니의 마지막’

사진출처 / 김종욱 사진작가님

 In the Japanese colonial era, it was uncommon for Korean men to marry
Japanese women. Japanese women usually came across the ocean and kept their
marriage. 'Jaehan-ilbonin-chu( 재한일본인 처 , Japanese wife in Korea)', this is
another name of them. August 15th, 1945, Korea got independent from Japan,
and most of them were abandoned by their Korean husbands. There were people
who had lost their husbands in the Korea War and left alone. They couldn't go
back to their homeland since Korea had broken diplomatic relations with Japan.
Even if they had gone to Japan, there were none who greeted them. They were
those who had forgotten both in Korea and Japan. Korean couldn't accept them
due to the history of the Japanese colonual era, so they had to lower their head.
But is it alright? Those who just loved their husband paid for Japanese's sin, in-
stead of all of Japanese and war criminals. Those who suffered from the war
were the weaks of the era. We should remember this wrong history. Please read
this book and don't forget ' 재한일본인 처‘ .