Early Childhood Memories

By Seung Geel Hong

A 76-year-old Korean man recalls his early childhood life. He narrates some of his experiences during his early years approximately ages two through six. He portrays his happy family-life prior to and during the earlier part of the Korean War. His life was simple, yet very happy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781008935426

Book preview

Prologue

As we know, people’s memories change over a period of time.  Therefore, most people’s memories of the distant past are seldom 100% accurate.  Nevertheless, they often can be amazingly close.

For example, one elderly woman insisted that she grew up in a large house that had four floors, three porches, 15-meter television antenna, and a look-out platform on the roof.

Then, a researcher later tested the accuracy of her memory:  The antenna actually was her father’s 14.6-meter Ham radio tower, not a television antenna.  Nevertheless, all the other details of the house were correct.

I freely admit that my memory of my early childhood is not 100% correct.  However, I believe that it is good enough to satisfy the average reader.

For example, the sequence of the events may be out of order, but unless the reader happens to be a faultfinder, such errors would likely be acceptable.  After all, the average reader would be interested in what I (as a young child) experienced, not the accuracy of sequence that may have an error of one or two years.

For  another example, most people would not expect me to remember the exact words to any conversation that occurred over 70 years ago when I was between two and six years old.

Hence, I hope that the reading-audience will be understanding and will not judge me too harshly for the minor errors they may notice in my long-term memory.

My Family

I probably was born in a mountain village somewhere near the city of Miryang (Milyang) in present-day South Korea. Miryang is located in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula,