AESOP RHIM

This book is written in two parts; the first part is my saga of the Korean War and the second is my life as a prayer for peace.

When the Korean War began in June 1950, I was a teenage boy living in Chosan, a town near the Yalu River in North Korea. My entire high school class was drafted into North Korean army.

After the military training ended, we began our long march to the southern front, passing the 38th parallel and Seoul. While I was marching, I witnessed the ravages of a war-torn South Korea. Eventually, my unit was assigned patrol duty in a war zone near the Pusan Perimeter.

During these patrols, I agonized constantly over my conscription and experiences in this unwanted war. One afternoon, my unit was attacked by American tanks. Chaos and death were everywhere. I jumped into a river and abandoned all of my belongings that identified me as a North Korean soldier. I emerged on the other side of the river, thankful to be alive.

It was then that I resolved to defect the North Korean army. My goal was to reach my childhood friend, Heungki, who had escaped to South Korea with his family before the war. We had been exchanging letters ever since, and I had memorized his address.

On the long walk to Heungki’s house, I struggled for many days with exhaustion, hunger, and dehydration. After several deadly skirmishes, I was captured by the local South Korean guards, who beat me severely. My death seemed imminent.

While I was held as a prisoner, I prayed for God’s mercy for all night. The next day, the South Korean army arrived at this town. Miraculously, the unit officer was from my home town in North Korea and recognized me. This officer separated me from the other captives and arranged to give me temporary South Korean soldier status, allowing me to join the South Korean army. It was an unbelievable experience, to suddenly switch sides in this war and begin advancing toward North Korea.

The following year, while I was serving as a South Korean soldier, another misfortune hit me. I became sick with tuberculosis and was sent to an army sanitarium, where I feared death yet again. However, I ended up recovering from the illness and the army discharged me from service.

When the war ended in 1953, I began attending a church for veterans. There, I discovered my destiny as a Christian of deep faith and embarked on a new life journey. I was able to back to school and graduate from the Fine Arts College at Seoul University. Eventually I immigrated to the United States to continue my education, and graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in graphic design. During this time, I met Sunhee. We were married and settled in Chicago, where we were blessed with two lovely daughters and later five grandchildren.

In 1997, I had an opportunity to travel back to North Korea on a peace mission. During this trip I was able to reunite with my siblings living in the North Korea, whom I had not seen in almost 50 years. I shocked to learn from my sister that in the winter of 1975, my older brother was sent to a concentration camp, along with his family and my mother. Hearing this news was devastating, but I prayed for God’s guidance and mercy for the North Korean people.

In 2001, the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks in New York awoke in me a personal resolve to use my art as a tool for peace. I created several Prayer for Peace exhibitions, which were displayed in many avenues in the United States over the next several years. In the meantime, I dedicated myself to missions for peace in the world such as Mexico and Uganda, also sending medical supplies to North Korean patients.

My Prayer for Peace has become my life and art. These are small efforts to bring peace to the world, but I firmly believe that my prayer is reaching God and that my art is resonating with people with peaceful spirits.

This book is my prayer for peace and an expression of my gratitude for God’s blessings, including my wonderful family who has stayed with me during my incredible journey.