"Many Korean Americans don't talk about the Korean War — especially Korean immigrants, who fear that talking about the past will conjure up old pain.
But their silence creates a hole for others.
The newest exhibit about the war at the Wing Luke Museum attempts to fill that hole in. It opens with a quote: "... my life seemed a lot like lots of other kids around me. But there always seemed to be this tension and anxiety, which was sort of blowing through my family like an unhappy wind. And there were silences ... "
The words are projected through two layers of sheer gauze, onto an opaque third sheet, as if to bring ghosts to life.
"It's not spoken of between generations," said Yul-san Liem, 31, a third-generation Korean American. "And it's not something you learn about in school."
Together with her father, Ramsay Liem, Yul-san ran a team of artists, creating a multimedia representation of war experiences with themes such as war memories, legacies and reconciliation. The Wing Luke Museum will have the exhibit up until May 17.
Ramsay Liem, a Boston College professor of psychology, first became aware of this disconnect while working with Korean-American youth who were trying to help Koreans during the 1995 North Korea famine. Talking with them, he realized how little they knew about the Korean War.
The war started in June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea with more than 90,000 troops. The United States — in a war against Communism — joined South Korea, while China and the Soviet Union supported the North. When the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, both sides claimed victory. By the end, 3 million civilians had lost their lives — 10 percent of the population, not including combat losses on both sides. In addition, 10 million Koreans were separated as a result of the dividing line between the North and the South at the 38th parallel.
Ramsay rounded up more than three dozen interviewees to speak about the war. Thirteen of these oral histories are illustrated through audio, visual or interactive art.
"This is really the culmination of my career as a psychologist," said Ramsay, 65. "It enables me to engage in a rather unique way of promoting a process of feelings, and it allows me to get involved in a really critical part of my own history as a Korean American."
Many pieces are haunting; others, quite hopeful. One piece is about going to swim practice only to have bullets ricochet into the lake, announcing the outbreak of war. In another, the speaker explains the history of the popular dish "Boodaechigae," a spicy stew made up of a mishmash of foods, including spam, sausage, cheese, kimchee and soup. During the war, the spoiled remains and leftovers collected from the meals of U.S. soldiers were sold to starving Korean civilians. Accompanying the video demonstrating how to make the dish is a rice-paper illustration of three starving children.
For many, said Ramsay, the interview process was both painful and cathartic.
"These were stories they never talked about, but in some cases, it was as if the stories were pouring out," said Ramsay. "They felt a great deal of relief, to be finally speaking about what happened to them and the continued effect of war on their lives."
The Liems — who come from a line of activists working toward the reunification of Korea — hope the exhibit will fill the void left from years of silence. They've incorporated aspects into the exhibit that look toward the future. In one, a puzzle, museum-goers can pick out a puzzle piece and fill it with their own thoughts on the war.
Another installation is a bridge, called "The Bridge of Return." It alludes to an actual bridge — "The Bridge of No Return" — crossing North Korea to South Korea. The Liems' bridge, however, is covered with white fabric tied in knots. In Korean shamanism, untying knots signifies healing. At the museum, people can cross the bridge, untie a knot, write a hardship on it, and then drop the message down the middle of the bridge before reaching the other side.
"Some students write about failing math, but some Palestinians who visited wrote about a wish for peace in Palestine," said Yul-san Liem. "There is the possibility of recovering from multiple divisions. ... It's the power of the collective. When you cross over the bridge, you cross over from pain."
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