A Mother's Letter to Her Son
"Myung-jin, listen
(Please deliver this letter to my son Kim Myung-jin after I die.)
My beloved Myung-jin!
All five members of our family have starved to death because of those Japanese bastards.
Myung-jin, I will follow your father. You must fight against the enemy Japanese with all your strength and wisdom until your last breath.
Your father and three young siblings all starved to death. From the day after you were drafted into the Japanese army, those police and local officials came to our house every day, ransacking and stealing our rice. They only gave us a pitiful amount of rations, causing our family to starve to death.
Myung-jin, you must avenge those who killed your mother and father.
While you're in the Japanese army, use every method to secretly destroy their cannons, tanks, and planes, rendering them useless. And when you can no longer stay, kill a Japanese general, steal important documents, and escape to our independence army or allied forces. Join forces with them and fight to the end against our enemy, the Japanese!
Myung-jin!
I am leaving now. This is my final letter.
You must avenge us. Our enemy is the Japanese.
April 11th, Your mother Sook-ja"
This heart-wrenching letter, discovered by the National Institute of Korean History, reveals the unspeakable suffering inflicted by Japanese colonial rule. It exposes the brutal exploitation, where families of conscripted soldiers were left to starve as Japanese officials stole their food. The mother's desperate plea for her son to sabotage the Japanese war effort and seek vengeance reflects the deep anguish and hatred born from years of oppression and cruelty.
The letter serves as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during Japan's occupation of Korea, challenging any notion of forgiveness or friendship without proper acknowledgment and atonement for these historical crimes. It stands as a powerful testament to the enduring pain of those who suffered and the fear that such history could repeat itself if forgotten.