Adam p.5-10

"Mmm… Hawaii"
      The first time my father said "Hawaii" in front of me was New Year's Day when I was 14. At that time on this New Year's special program on TV there were 3 beautiful actresses who went to Hawaii. They kept saying, "beautiful", "delicious", "feels good"! By the way, up until this time, in my house Hawaii had been known as "the decadent symbol of capitalism." At that time, my father was 54, a resident Korean in Japan, and a communist who believed in Marx.
      Now I want to get one thing clear, though. This is my love story. As for this love, it has nothing to do with communism or democratism, capitalism or pacifism, luxury-ism, vegetarianism or any other -ism. Just so you know.
      Anyway, when my father said, "Hawaii", my mom, who made a small "guts pose," said to me shortly thereafter, "That man couldn't beat his age."
      That New Year there was a really fierce cold front, and it affected my father's body a lot. "Oh, my joints," he mumbled in distress as he rubbed his body. My father was born on Cheju island in Korea which has warm weather and spent his childhood there. By the way, Cheju island is the self-proclaimed Hawaii of the far east. On the other hand, my mom, who gave birth to me at 20 was picked up by my father in Ameyoko area of Okachi town when she was 19. She was born and grew up in Japan. My father was falling over and my mother didn't overlook this. She quickly moved around to his back and gave him a push. "The Berlin Wall was torn down and there's no more Soviet Union. Last time the TV said the reason it collapsed was because of cold weather. The coldness makes people's hearts freeze. The cold makes one's principles freeze." The way she said this was pathetic. If she continued with this, she might start singing "Dona-dona" vigorously. 
      My father, who was looking down, listened to what my mother was saying and raised his face. When he returned his line of sigh to the TV screen, before he knew it, the beautiful actresses wearing swimming suits called to him saying, "Aloha!" with melting smiles. "Aloha," my father mumbled. My father sighed deep and long, and fell down.

      He fell and after he got back up, his movement was fast and quick. Right after New-Year's vacation finished, he started the procedures for changing his nationality from North Korean to South Korean in order to go to Hawaii. I think an explanation is necessary. Why did my father, who was born in Cheju island of South Korea, have a North Korean identity and why does he have to change his nationality to South Korean in order to go to Hawaii? This is a boring story, so I think I'll briefly explain it. If I can, I'll try to put some humor in, but it might be a little difficult. 
      During childhood during the war, my father was Japanese. The reason is simple. A long time ago, Korea was a Japanese colony. My father was forced to use a Japanese nationality, name and language. When he grew up, he was supposed to become a soldier for the emperor. My father's parents were drafted into a Japanese military supply factory so my father came to Japan when he was a young child still living with his parents. When the war was over and Japan lost, my father became not Japanese. Furthermore, the Japense government stated, "we have no further need for you so just get out". He was told that selfish thing and left in a hurry. Before he knew it, the Korean peninsula was divided into North Korea and Korea according to the intentions of the Soviet Union and the United States. "You can stay in Japan, but choose which nationality you want to be," someone told my father. He chose North Korean. The reason he chose North Korea was because of Marxism which is (supposed to be) kind to poor people. Concerning Koreans in Japan, the North Korean government cared for them more than the South Korean government. That's the reason my father has North Korean nationality, which is called, "Zainichi".
      My father, who had 2 nationalities even at his young age, became old. He tried to obtain a third nationality in order to go to Hawaii. The reason is simple. North Korea and the US don't have good international relations. So, my father was not allowed to get a visa. By the way, North Korea as a country has very few international connections. So, the Koreans who live in Japan have very limited and narrow travel destinations. Recently, if you spend enough time trying to get a visa to countries with which North Korea has no relations, you might get one, but you cannot guess how long it might take and the procedures are very troublesome. In order to get nationality, my father first asked executives of Mindan for help. Here's another boring explanation. I wonder if I can make it interesting or not.
      In Japan, there is an actual branch office of North Korea and Korea called Soren and Mindan. Originally, the rule was that North Koreans living in Japan had to go to Soren and the South Koreans were supposed to gather at Mindan. These two offices reflected North Korean and Korean relations. SO, Soren and Mindan are like Montague and Capulet in Romeo and Juliet. Sometimes they compete but they never work together and never completely separate. They are hostile together. By the way do you know the conclusion of Romeo and Juliet?
      A long time ago, my father was a determined Soren activist. In order to get the rights for nationality, his companions who are Koreans living in Japan worked really hard in between their everyday work. He was told, "It's for healthy organization management' so he paid a lot of money as charity to the Soren. But he was not rewarded. Although I'm not going to write the details, I'll briefly say that Soren's eyes are always looking towards North Korea, so they don't look accurately to the Koreans living in Japan. That's what my father noticed through his long activity and when he was feeling depressed about North Korea and the Soren, he was drawn towards Hawaii's gravity.

      In order to obtain Korean nationality, the thing my father did first was to consult some Mindan executives he knew. The executive of Mindan had asked my father, "can you be our spy?" when my father worked for Soren. They brought this thrilling suggestion to my father. Of course my father refused. (supposedly)
      In order to get Korean nationality just go to the Korean embassy, start the correct procedures, and wait for the application to process. But the time it takes to process the application varies from person to person. A person who is hostile toward the Soren and Marxist might not have his application processed quickly or even at all. This must have been my father's anxiety. 
      Because of the pre-arrangement from the Mindan executives, there were no problems with the application process. It processed in just two months. Among the people who used to work for Soren and whose applications were processed this may have been the shortest record. What did my father do? It's simple. He bribed the executives at Mindan… a really large amount of money. This is how my father got his 3rd nationality with his great skill. But he didn't look even a little bit happy. Sometimes, he jokingly said, "You can buy nationality with money. What country do you want to buy?"

      So, he only needs to fly to Hawaii but there is one last thing he has to take care of. He has to send the truck to his real younger brother in North Korea. Now, the last boring explanation. No matter how I do it I cannot make it interesting. My father has a brother 2 years younger than he is who came together with him to Japan when they were young. This means he's my uncle. Although I have an uncle, he went back to North Korea with a pro-North Korean protest group that began in the end of the 1950s. That protest group said that North Korea was a beautiful paradise on earth. So Koreans living in Japan who are oppressed should push forward towards North Korea. This was their activity. The 'undou' vocabulary is never good. In those days, the Koreans living in Japan knew a little about this but compared to the discrimination and poverty in Japan returning to Korea might be better. That's why a lot of people returned to North Korea. Among them, there was my uncle. 
      A long time ago, the first letter came to me from my uncle. The following things were written in beautiful Japanese characters, 'Send me penicillin and Casio digital watches… as much as you can. Please, please, I beg you.'