Ki Moon - God Surprise

When I was there, I did not value anything, neither the sea, nor the forest. It would be nice if I could turn back time with a time machine that has never been invented. I never thought before that I would miss my native land with age.

To some extent, I agree with the old people who had predicted about my future. I have had to live and work under harsh conditions, among former prisoners (those who have been released due to good behavior on parol) in order to pay back my education. Life had been harsh on me when I was sent to work in the northern part of Sakhalin. In winter there is extremely cold the temperature gets down 40 degrees below zero. In order to protect myself from being cold, I have had to bundle up. It is clearly understood that all the time God has taken care of me. I thought I was just a lucky but I was mistaken. They got drunk to such an extent that they could not control their emotions, and started a scuffle. I saw for the first time in my life how prisoners fight among themselves. It's scary to watch! They would hit each other with anything they can get their hands on. And how much blood I've seen, it's scary to remember. At the sight of them, my heart trembled! I felt like giving up on everything, my work, the hostel, and run away as far as my eyes could not see it. In fact, I remember one day I broke down and ran away home. but later I have got the letter from the Construction and Installation Department. It was written on the summons that if you did not work for 3 years as you should after training, the cases may be referred to court. Seeing this agenda, I have had to go back there and work out the appointed time. God has been always with me in the midst of difficulties and trouble. !

Having returned to the village of Tymovsk, I was engaged in the team to work, with a prisoner, who was considered to be boss of prison “Athos”prison. It was located on the island near the city of Poronaysk. All the prisoners were afraid of him, respect him. No one dared to pass him without bowing down low. He became my protector and shield, he constantly encouraged me: I was chubby, and everyone who saw me could not walk past me without touching my chubby cheeks. Because of my little baby fat, almost everyone called me Pet, donut, but no one called me Peter And this man also called me Pet which means cute. One day during lunchtime, we went to have a snack while sitting at the table. I was bombarded with lots of questions how I got there and so on. Then he said to me: God forbid, Pet! If anybody among our prisoners hurts you, let me know about, I will immediately deal with them. And thanks to this man, I was able to complete the appointed time. This is how God kept me everywhere! Apparently, I was considered a particularly chosen vessel to be cared of

Unlike my friends, I was the first to believe in God and lead a new life. Almost thirty years have passed, and I still continue to serve him with all my heart, wherever He leads me. He deliberately orchestrates such situations so that I would experience His miracle. Although there have been many difficulties, and valleys of tears and torment, God always watches over me. I have been through many adversities in my life due to illness. Despite the fact I have had difficulties and valleys of tears to go through God did allow all these difficulties in order to strengthen me, and bring me to the next, desired spiritual level as he did to Job.

The scripture says that there is nothing new under the sun; what was, it will be: and what was done, it will be done. In other words, people will change, and everything will be repeated. With a good example I want to show all that I said is true. .For example: let’s take the Soviet Union as an example. Speaking of the Soviet Union, many people still have nostalgia for the Soviet Union, they want to return to the Soviet Union again. The People cannot forget the systems to which they were accustomed to, saying in those days we had had everything: sausage, meat, free education and medical service and so on.

As for me, the law had been harsh and difficult with regard to my past. I don't know anybody else, as for me, I don’t want any longer drawn into the past. I don’t want to live isolated and bullied from outside the world. Freedom is more valued than anything else. Once you have lost the freedom, you would be in great trouble in many ways.

After I became a Christian, I read the book of Exodus in the Bible and found something in common with the Soviet system. This book tells how God miraculously led the people of Israel out of Egypt, in which they were enslaved, where they were exploited as they could be. Moreover, the Egyptians scoffed at them, treating them like low-class people. Unable to withstand such severe torment, they howled to God for help. And God heard their moaning and cries. Then, He decided to bring the people of Israel from slavery into the Promised Land, called Canaan, where freedom and peace awaited them. In the end, when God actually brought them out of Egypt and having them gone through the Red Sea on dry ground and seeing the Egyptians that pursued them drowned in the sea. Seeing how Pharaoh's army perishes in the water, the Jews began to glorify God, His Majesty, and power. They joyfully sang praises to God that He was their protector, and the deliverer. Less than a few days after they were liberated from the bondage of slavery, finding themselves in difficulties, they all rebelled against Moses, and began to murmur against him and against God.

No sooner had they been liberated from the hands of their enemy then they started complaining to God that they happened to be in difficulties. They all rebel against God and Moses. They began to grumble at him and God, saying that in Egypt there were a lot of things – watermelon, garlic, meat, but there is nothing but manna from heaven. They stated that they want to return again to Egypt. Less than a few days after the release, finding themselves in difficulties, they all pounced on Moses, and began to murmur against him and against God. How come quickly they forgot that they were in bondage, where they were treated like low-class people.

After all, God knew that they would want to return to Egypt. He knows us better than we do ourselves. Although there were many paths leading to the land of Canaan, but God chose this path- through the Red Sea-there is no turning back. Therefore, he chose this path, don’t you think there is similarity between the people of Israel and of the Soviet Union. Prior to this, we have had abundance of food in the Soviet Union, such as meat, sausage and so on, but after the collapse of the country, there is nothing. So we have forgotten that during the times of the S. Union, there was not what we had had after its collapse – freedom of speech and free movement abroad. Freedom is a gift from God that we are freed from political dependence.

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.