The Korean War
In 1948, when True Mother’s maternal grandmother, Jo Won-mo, her mother, Hong Soon-ae (Daemonim), and True Mother herself were attending the Inside the Womb Church in the North, that church came under religious persecution by the communist authorities. There was an incident in which Jo Won-mo and Daemonim were detained for 11 days. As the persecution became more severe, Grandmother Jo suggested that they go to the South.
Around that time, heaven gave Daemonim a revelation that they should move to the South. The South was foreign to the three of them, but since they heard that the first son of Rev. Kim Seong-do of the Holy Lord Church in Cheolsan had already gone to the South, they decided to join him there. Also, Daemonim wanted to see her younger brother, Hong Soon-jeong. He had returned to Korea in the middle of his studies in Japan due to the war situation, joined the South Korean army, studied pharmacy at the Korean Military Academy and, at that time, held the rank of first lieutenant. So they departed in the middle of the night and traveled to South Korea at the risk of their lives. After surmounting many difficulties, they safely arrived in the South. 7 When I lived at Anju, my mother was rarely home, because she was investing herself in an ardent life of faith. Given that situation, I grew up under the care of my mother’s family. My father was also a devout Christian. In 1946, he was the first of my family to move down to South Korea to evade threats from the communist authorities. I vaguely remember that my father visited my mother and me at our home and asked us to leave with him. (True Mother, 2004/11/23) 8 It was very hard to live a life of faith under the communist government. So my grandmother, my mother and I journeyed to the South. We were to join Hong Soon-jeong, my maternal uncle who was living there. As we journeyed south, we three women of three generations continued our bowing condition for the Returning Lord. My maternal grandfather, Hong Yu-il, wanted to stay in Pyongyang to protect that city, because he had received a revelation that Pyongyang was the Palace of Eden. We never saw him again. (True Mother, 2013/12/06) 9 The journey to South Korea was not easy. We had to walk on the uneven ground of the plowed and furrowed rice paddies, and the mud stuck to our feet. We shivered in the cold weather as we continued walking toward the South. When at last we arrived at the 38th parallel, we were captured by soldiers of the North Korean People's Army, which was tightly guarding the area. They locked us up in an empty barn along with others whom they had arrested. The soldiers were rough with the men but treated the women and children better. The grown-ups told me to give food to the soldiers who had to guard us despite the cold weather. I was nervous with fear, but keeping myself poised I brought food to the soldiers with a smile. After I did that a few times, the soldiers' hearts softened. One night they released us and told us to return home. The power of love brought us from the brink of death to life. (True Mother, 2013/12/06) 10 My grandmother was with me all the time. Whenever we walked on the street, people treated me affectionately, saying I was very cute. So at a time when people were not free to travel as they desired, I could freely go about and do errands for others. For this I was greatly appreciated and loved. It was the same when we were journeying to the South. Because I, a little girl, was accompanying the women, the North Korean soldiers who captured us were more lenient with us. They even released us on the way, and hence we could safely continue our journey and cross the 38lh parallel.
It was when we had just crossed the 38th parallel that we ran into difficulties. The noise we made as we walked attracted the attention of South Korean soldiers. They were pointing their guns toward us, but at that moment I started singing a song. At the sound of my singing they put down their guns. Then they greeted us warmly, saying, "You must have had a hard time traveling with such a beautiful daughter," and let us go southward. (True Mother, 2004/11/23) 11 While my mother was attending the Inside the Womb Church, her brother, my uncle Hong Soon-jeong, returned home from studying abroad in Japan. He then went to South Korea and joined the army there. My uncle was a dignified and charming person. In those days many intelligent people agreed with the ideology of communism, and he too thought that communism was good. But he was disappointed with the communist system, as its reality was so different from its teaching. This is why he went to South Korea and joined the military instead of returning to North Korea where his parents were. He realized that the reality of communism contradicted its theory.
My grandmother very much missed her son while he was serving in the military. One of the reasons my grandmother, my mother and I came to the South was to see him. We went to Seoul and settled there. When we first arrived in Seoul we lived at Hyochang-dong, and that is where I entered elementary school. I was popular wherever I went and grew up receiving much love from the many people around me. This is why I later thought, "If I had not married young, I could have been lost to the secular world. Maybe this is the reason God brought me to the Holy Wedding early in life and embraced me in His arms." (True Mother, 1999/10/21) 12 Heaven led and protected us even in Seoul when we were searching for my uncle. We suffered tremendously to cross the 38th parallel and come to the South, but we had no idea how to find my uncle once we arrived in Seoul. My grandmother and mother asked around for him without really knowing how to locate him. It was not an easy task. But miraculously, we met a friend of his. It was indeed due to heaven's help and guidance. At that time my uncle was living in an army tent near Seoul, and he was very happy to see us when we visited him. He said he was glad we came, because he had been worrying about his family back home. My uncle quickly found a house where the three of us could live. Later I discovered that our house was very close to our church headquarters in Cheongpa-dong. (True Mother, 2013/12/06) 13 I was eight years old (by Korean reckoning) when the Korean War broke out. We were living in Seoul so we had to flee from there, and my uncle helped us tremendously. As a medical officer in the army, he knew in advance that the Han River Bridge was going to be blown up. He had a pass to cross the bridge, and he drove my grandmother and me across it in a military vehicle so we could flee further south. Daemonim did not come with us; she thought only about meeting the Lord, for whom she continued offering her sincere devotion. As soon as we crossed the bridge, my uncle told us to get out of the vehicle and take cover. We did as he said. At that moment the bridge was blown up, and many soldiers who were also crossing the bridge fell into the river and lost their lives.
Although we were safe because of my uncle's help, even now whenever I cross the Han River Bridge I feel great pain from the memory of that incident. Indeed, most Koreans in my age group suffered hardships from the war; however, I was always protected by God's grace. I remember the time once when I caught a cold while we were fleeing south and my mother put a piece of taffy in my mouth to keep me from coughing. I also remember when she placed a mixture of rice and cactus on my wounds to heal them. (True Mother, 1999/10/21) 14 After the Han River Bridge blew up at 3:00 in the morning on June 28,1950, my family continued fleeing south to escape the advancing North Korean troops. We stayed in a refugee camp for military families in Jeolla Province. We returned to Seoul after it was retaken on September 28 and lodged in a vacant house where a Japanese family had lived. Then China entered the war and Seoul fell again, this time into the hands of the Chinese army. Hence, on January 4, 1951, as the South Korean army retreated from Seoul, we again had to leave our home and flee. We were able to board a special train for military families that left Seoul ahead of the civilian populace; we went down to Daegu.
The Korean army moved its headquarters to Daegu as well, and we lived near my maternal uncle's home. I always realized how God was with us, even in the midst of our chaotic journey as refugees. As God had protected us when we left the North to journey to the South, He was also with us when we fled from the battles of the Korean War. (True Mother, 2014/10/11) |