Chance for citizenship
During the period when Stalin was in power of the Soviet Union, back then the Koreans were given the chance to take USSR citizenship. A large number of Koreans took the opportunity to be naturalized as soviet citizens. However, my parents, out of special feelings of motivation, basically preferred to hold on to statelessness persons, hoping that someday they would return to their homeland. According to the parents, every day they lived with the hope that someday representatives of their country would come to take them home. As time went by, the children were born to them, but no matter how much they waited, their expectations have not been met! Although their dreams did not come true, they continued to hope for the best that someday there would be a chance to repatriate to Korea.
Then the relationship between the two countries deteriorated sharply after the passenger plane was shot down en route from the United States to Korea. More than 200 passengers have been killed in this tragedy. My parents constantly listened to the Korean news on the radio, and said that they would soon allow Koreans living on Sakhalin to repatriate to Korea. They said that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Moscow is about to .
As time went by, the leaders of the country changed, but there was no warming in relations between the two countries. Soon after Gorbachev came to power, the Sakhalin people were allowed to move freely around the Sakhalin Island. Prior to coming a new leader to travel across the Island a permit was required from a Visa department. Along with this, finally, the long-awaited day came, which had been expected for so long. While waiting for this day, many have grown old, and some are no longer alive. Before the new leader came to power in the country, life had been very harsh on Koreans. Because of the refusal to accept citizenship, it had been difficult for my parents to move around. This problem extended to us, we inherited this problem from our parents.
. Although we lived in Soviet Union and studied in a Soviet school, we were deprived of many rights to be used. Many of the benefits did not apply to us and we could not do what other people could have done it. In a word, we lived like foreign guests. Without the permission of the passport department, it was strictly forbidden for ethnic Koreans to freely move from one place to another, it was possible only within the territory we were registered. Even when I went to the summer camp, I had to take permission of the passport department whereas other children could freely do it without it.
The law had been very harsh in relation to Koreans who did not take citizenship. And in case of violation of the passport regime, illegals were expected to be punished very severely, up to imprisonment for serving in labor camps. Because of these problems, we ethnic Koreans have had difficulty living there. There have been such cases when we moved without the permission of the passport department, hoping that everything would be ok.
Due to the strict passport regulation, we had to avoid the law enforcement agencies. I remember I was traveling by train to another place, suddenly a passport control procedures began, out of fear that I would be caught, I hid in the toilet and sat there holding my breath until the passport control procedures was over. And sometimes out of fear, because of the sudden appearance of the police on the train, I had a desire to jump off the train on the move. That’s what the matter is all about. In fact, I know many people who have served their sentences in labor camps because of the passport regime violations. To make a long story short, it is impossible to describe everything in detail what we had been through because we were regarded to be foreigners. .
`Not of their own will, but of imperialism.
Many foreigners were interested in how fate decreed that a lot of Koreans ended up on Sakhalin Island. In order to tell everything, it will take a long time. But I'll tell you as much as I know it.
Most of the young Koreans are of draft age, including my father ended up on the Sakhalin Island not by their own will, but by the will of Japanese imperialism. You are probably all aware that Korea had been under the Japanese colony for a long time. In order to carry out their treacherous plan, the Japanese authorities mobilized many young Koreans to serve in the Japanese army during World War II. In addition, many people were forcibly taken out of Korea to be used as force labor. According to the old people, I learned that they were driven into coal mines so that they would extract coal under the terrible conditions at that time. And when Japan lost the war to the Soviet Union, most of the Japanese returned to their homeland, and the Koreans have been left there to fend for themselves. The remaining Koreans hoped that they, too, someday return to their homeland. While they were waiting for that day, they had to take root there, live, have children and then raise grandchildren.
As an adult when I read the book and learned the story of my people, how the Japanese had treated them brutally. The first thought that crossed my mind was that they had committed an unforgiving sin before the Korean people. After I came to know Jesus as my savior and God who loves and forgives. With the love of Christ, I was able to forgive the Japanese for their sin and all that they had done to my nation. Actually, I realized that there are no things that cannot be forgiven. Anything can be forgiven, but it takes a time. In other words, everything has its time. Time to love, forgive, cry, etc. This is very well and clearly written in the book of Ecclesiastes. Yes, it is true; we must forgive and love, as Christ did. After all, we were all created by one God and we are all brothers and sisters because he from one nation created all the nations throughout the whole earth. It seems that we are all different;
In fact, we are all the same, only we are different in appearance.
There is no bad nation on earth, but there is sin that makes a nation proud and bad. Therefore I hold no grudge against Japan and its people. It turns out that the Japanese and Koreans were descended from the same ancestors. Frankly speaking, I have learned this truth from my Japanese historian teacher when I studied Japanese at university. Most of the people living on the Japanese islands are considered to be of Korean descents. They are just like us belong to the same blood group, which was confirmed by DNA analysis, but the Japanese were brain washed because of politics.
One day when I was returning home from seminary, I met by chance a Japanese man who was standing at a bus stop and waiting for the bus, but he did not know that buses did not run at that time due to the restriction of bus traffic.
At first, I thought he was one of us local ethnic Korean, but turns out that he was Japanese, and he looked a little upset. Then I had a strong desire to help this man, get out of this wilderness. Out of pity, I asked him if he needed help, he said he was waiting for the bus. I knew that the buses were no longer running after 4 p.m. Then I decided to have a conversation with him, it turned out that he was Japanese. To be honest, I had never met Japanese so close in Sakhalin before, because the island was closed to foreigners.
He spoke English with a Japanese accent. Having learned that he was Japanese I had compassion, besides had no grudge against them, I decided to give him a lift to Dolinsk. Because of this, I arrived home late, for which my wife was greatly offended by me all day. However, I was so happy that I was able to help that man get to the next city where traffic was available. Upon returning home, I was so happy that I was able to help the Japanese solve the problem of transportation. This did not happen by accident, but God gave me a chance to exercise my faith. Faith should be shown not in words, but in deeds.
After I dropped him off, he said that he would just want to talk to me. Then he gave me his contact phone number, and with a smile said: give me a call if you are in town. It was a good opportunity for me to practice my English. At that time, I was already fluent in English, but not as good as it should. In addition, he asked me to call him in case I was around his area. This was the first time I have practiced my English especially with a foreigner. Before we parted with each other I shared my testimony what made me believe in Jesus