my korean grandmother

i was just reading an entry from Kimchi Mamas about stories told by korean grandmothers. i loved hearing the stories from my grandmother's life.

she lived through the japanese occupation of korea, the korean war and the division of korean into two separate countries. when she was born, there was no electricity in her home and most of the people around her were making a living off the land. by the time she died, korea had become the 13th largest economy in the world. she saw her youngest son move to america, marry an american and have four american children. despite all the modernization around her, she still retained her belief in animism. she went to a traditional name-giver when each of us was born and gave the names to my father to give to us. i wish i could have known her better and spent more time with her.