What does home mean to you?

“Flowers bloomed in my home town, long long time ago. Peaches, apples, and apricots and pink blossoms too… ”

My grandfather used to sing this song when he missed his home. When I was a kid, he always let me sit on his lap, and he used to sing with his terrible singing ability. By the time I graduated from elementary school, I had started getting tired of listening to his song, I have once asked my grandfather.” Grandfather, why do you sing a children’s song for me? I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t want to listen to your song. You are not good at singing.” Since then, my grandfather started telling me about his childhood story, and I’ve learned that where was the home he thought.

My grandfather’s generation was that went through the tragedy of the Korean war, and he was from North Korea. During the Korean war, my great grandparents told him to leave North Korea with his uncle while they looked after their house because south Korea was safe, and he was the eldest son. They said to come back after the war ended. So he came to South Korea with his tears. No need to mention, he said that he didn’t say goodbye to leave his parents, brothers and sisters, and a dog in North Korea. It was because he thought that he could go back home after he endured a little, so he was anxious that if saying goodbye would be a forever parting.

” Uncle, when will we go back home?”

” I don’t know.”

” Uncle, do you think my dog is doing well? It’s about to give birth.”‘

” I don’t know. I have to hear the news. Be quiet.”

” Uncle, I want to drink milk left at home.”

” Uncle, uncle…”

” Uncle…”

He said, at that time, he bothered his uncle every day because of the hope that he could go back home. But when his uncle wailed hearing the news about the 38th parallel, my grandfather got a glimmering that he could not go back home. It happened that North Korea and South Korea have separated due to political ideology. It was the time that using a North Korean accent could get a doubt if he’s a commie, and with the North Korean dialect, It was hard to get a job. However, he worked severely and bought his own house. He worked critically and had wealth than others, even though he had lived at a beautiful house, he sang a song about home due to longing for real home until he passed away.

I questioned why he always missed North Korea even though he had lived longer in South Korea. He had his own house, but for him, it might that the only home was the house living his family in North Korea. It was the family and that time of the atmosphere that he missed, then just a house. Because of the longing for it, he might have thought that the home in North Korea was the real home to him. So he might have a hard time when he realized it is impossible to go back no matter how he tried. I used to think that home was a natural gain, and it remained permanently. But thinking of my grandfather made me think about where my house was.

Moving to Canada was full of excitement and filled with hope. So, when friends asked me where my house was, I answered them quickly that it was in North Vancouver, not a home living my family. But as time goes by, while feeling homesick, when someone asked about my house, there was a time when I hesitated. Even though the house where I live is in North Vancouver, I told my friends that I would like to eat mom’s freshly made meals in my home in Korea. When someone asked about home, I answered that my home was in Seoul city, Korea, while I was living in North Vancouver currently. These kinds of answers make me think of my grandfather. For me, home is a place where I can go back, getting excited if I take a flight for 11 hours during vacations. But his home was forced to be stolen by someone.

For someone, home is a natural gain; For someone, home can be left because of some incident;