{"id":839,"date":"2023-12-03T20:19:48","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T01:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/voices\/?p=839"},"modified":"2023-12-08T18:03:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T23:03:13","slug":"the-founders-of-south-korea-and-the-difficulty-of-generational-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/voices\/2023\/12\/03\/the-founders-of-south-korea-and-the-difficulty-of-generational-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"The Founders of South Korea and the Difficulty of Generational Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Young<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interviewee: Young Woo Lee
Interviewer: Sam Lee<\/p>\n\n\n\n


This interview is with Young Woo Lee, born September 22, 1963, in Mokpo, South Korea. Young is the Damimmoksa<\/em> (\ub2f4\uc784\ubaa9\uc0ac), meaning lead pastor, at Murrieta\u2019s Vision Church, a Presbyterian church. Young starts the conversation by talking about how there is a gap between his parents\u2019 generation and his generation, especially with regard to lifestyle and mindsets. He then discusses his memories about living under Park Chung Hee, how he felt about generational gaps, and many famous incidents during his life, such as the Gwangju Massacre, and his participation in the student demonstrations that created Korea as it is today. The experiences that he shared reveal a very important point in Korean history that bridges the early decades just after Korea\u2019s division into North and South and the present, showing so many social and political changes as well as their values in society during those times.
I met Young Woo Lee very early in life, as he is my father, and so I have known him my entire life. The interview with him was recorded via Zoom during October 23, 2023.
My name is Samuel Lee, and I am a third-year student at Colby College, taking the Modern Korean History course, HI244A. I am very interested and passionate of this course and the interview, because it reveals recent history that I know little of, and as a result it shapes my Korean American identity. I hope this interview helps other Korean Americans who do not know too much about their past generations to understand what Korea has gone through to create the society today, and hopefully not abandon their Korean side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n