Saturday, June 24, 2006
The U.S.-led U.N. intervention led to South Korea's freedom and prosperity.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
EAST LIVERPOOL -- When he was 15, Dr. Paul W. Lim and his family lived in terror for four months in 1950 in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, when it was occupied by North Korean troops.
"When you hear gunfire or soldiers searching homes, you are in constant fear," said Dr. Lim, an East Liverpool radiologist.
He said high-profile people, such as government officials, prominent businessmen and intellectuals, were in great danger.
While his father was not in one of those groups, the family nonetheless kept a low profile, Dr. Lim said.
"No one ventured to go out. The North Korean army usually didn't bother younger children. But we were afraid my father and older brother would be forced into the North Korean army or sent to a work camp. So they hid in the attic during the day, coming out only at night," he said.
Since then
Dr. Lim, now 72, and his family survived that harrowing time and the rest of the war, leaving him with a lasting gratitude to the United States.
"I cannot help but think how different South Korea would be now without the U.S.-led United Nations intervention in the war.
"We remember the war because we vividly remember what freedom is about and what it is like when there is no freedom and no dignity.
"The people in North Korea are under very tight control by the police and government. They are still trying to escape, but they must go to China because they can't get into South Korea," Dr. Lim added.
"Look at South Korea now. It is very prosperous and economically stable and one of the best democratic countries in the region. Without the sacrifices of the United States and other U.N. nations, that might not have happened," Dr. Lim said.
"I must add this. Some of the younger generation in Korea don't know anything about the Korean War and they resent the American presence. I would say to them, you better read the history," he said.
Dr. Lim has been in private practice for 31 years and is chairman of the Radiology Department at East Liverpool City Hospital, where he has also been 31 years.
His background
He was born in Kaesung, South Korea, a border town which became part of North Korea after the war. He was 13 when the war broke out June 25, 1950, and his parents and five siblings fled to Seoul. When U.N. forces retook Seoul, the Lims moved further south to settle in Busau.
Dr. Lim received his medical training at Seoul National University and post-graduate training at Seoul National University Hospital. He served four years in the South Korean army as a medical officer and held the rank of major when he was discharged. His older brother served eight years in the South Korean army.
After coming to the United States in December 1970, he did further post-graduate training in radiology at Akron City Hospital and Aultman Hospital in Canton. He became a U.S. citizen in 1973, and moved to the East Liverpool area in 1978.
He and his wife, Sun, have four children. Jeremy is a student at Beaver High School; Olivia attends the University of South Carolina; Keith works for the State of Ohio; and John is a medical doctor practicing in California.
Dr. Lim has been back to South Korea several times over the years to see family members there. Many of his relatives are in his hometown in North Korea, however, and he has been unable to see them, something he says makes him very sad.
Korean community
He said the Korean community in the Mahoning Valley consists of 150 to 200 families. Most subscribe to a Korean television channel, and many, like himself, are members of the Korean United Methodist Church on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown.
Somebody needs to be out front, he said, explaining his involvement in the Korean American Association of the Greater Youngstown Area.
The organization promotes mutual help within the Korean community and good relationships with the American-born community.
"On behalf of the Korean-American communities in the Mahoning Valley, I offer our most sincere thanks to the veterans who traveled afar to fight the war alongside Korean soldiers; and to the families who graciously sent their sons, fathers, uncles, nephews and cousins to fight for the freedom of our homeland 56 years ago," Dr. Lim said.
alcorn@vindy.com