Interviewee: Bok Cho
Interviewer: Lauren Cho
Synopsis
This interview is with my grandfather, Bok Cho, born on May 27, 1936 in Gimje-si, South Korea. Throughout the interview Bok covers a variety of topics including migration, Korean War-era childhood, immigration to the US, and assimilation. More specifically, Bok delves into the struggles of familial separation as a child growing up in South Korea in the 1940s and 1950s as well as migration throughout South Korea and Manchuria, China. Additionally, he talks about his positive assimilation process in Maine and discusses his experience raising children, including the stark dissimilarity between his childhood and that of his own children.
The interview was conducted in the living room of Bok’s home in Sanford, Maine, the same town he’s lived in since his immigration 46 years ago. This interview was conducted by Lauren Cho, a second-year student majoring in Biology at Colby College who is interested in preserving her grandfather’s experiences and memories, and further contributing to the ongoing effort to capture unique life stories.
Biography
Bok Cho was born May 27, 1936 in Gimje, South Korea during a tumultuous time of Japanese occupation followed by WWII. When he was one-year-old his family moved to Manchuria, China, where they spent three years avoiding Japanese occupation before moving back to Gimje and later Seoul in 1949. Here, he spent his teen and young adult years first working for the United States Information Services (USIS) and then the Korean government. In 1977 Bok immigrated with his wife and three children to the United States where they settled in Sanford, Maine. After the passing of his wife, Chae-ok, in 1979 Bok later remarried Rhyoung Mee in 1982. Bok worked as a credit union manager for twenty-five years. Now retired, Bok enjoys traveling the world and spending time with his grandchildren.