Introduction

My grandfather was born in the countryside called Andong(a four hour drive from Seoul, the capital city of South Korea), on 19th August, 1946. He was the 5th child of the family, and the third oldest male. Having a total of 5 brothers and two sisters, he enjoyed going to the small streams with his family.

Early life

My grandfather has a mind that wants to experience and challenge everything. When he was very young, the 6.25 War started(It was the war between North Koreans and South Koreans, they were separated on 25 Jun 1950), and the family didn’t evacuate. A North Korean platoon(15~20 people) raided their home, with guns in their hands. They killed all the livestock that they had, and took the rice they desperately needed. The family obviously stated that they didn’t have a lot, and my grandfather bravely asked what business they wanted to see with us and waivered at them to go away. His estimated age was around four to five.

Achievements

He also played a part in the Vietnam War. But before he volunteered for the war, he went through the mandatory military services and came to a home that was going through hard times. My great maternal grandfather(or the oldest brother in the family)’s business had failed to grow. He was sent to a training camp for 2 months, and in June 1969, my grandfather went to Vietnam on a large ship for a week. Instead of going out to the front line of the War, he was placed to work in the canteens in Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City to move supplies back and forth from different areas. When he had to race there and back, the car had to go over 150km/h to bounce off the bullets.

After he came back to South Korea, he achieved an educational qualification called the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in February 1973, at the University of Hanyang in Seoul.

In 1975, my grandparents married each other, and my mum and uncle were born.

In December 1986, he got involved with the Great Man Made River Project in Libya, Ajdabiya(the first phase) Northern part of Africa. There, he was the manager of the quality control management as a civil engineer.

In December 1990, after four years in Libya, he came back to South Korea, stayed another four years and participated in other projects. However he went back to a different city called Benghazi, Libya in November 1994 and worked as a project manager there.

Over his 45 year career as a civil engineer, my grandfather had completed 11 major projects around the world. But unfortunately he fell off a high cliff 5 metres down to the ground when he was working in Sri Lanka in 2013, resulting in his thigh bone being split into 6 pieces. He recovered well and that November he was awarded the Industrial Service Merit Medal from the South Korean Government but retired from his work.

Conclusion

I never knew these until I looked through his history and his background. Before, he was a competent professional civil engineer back in history, but now, he's just a regular grandpa who likes to give sweet cuddles to me and grows stashes of chives, spinach, chillis and spring onions and many other crops everywhere in his garden.

I love the fact that my grandparents are alive, well and healthy. I truly hope I can continue to see them every week, and live a long life with me.