Meeting my grandfather – The Korea Times

By Gerald Han

 

Since childhood, every two or three weeks, my family in southern California video-called my grandparents living in Seoul. My grandparents always asked my family to visit. Although they had come to see me in the United States on several occasions when I was much younger, I possessed little to no memories of their visits.

My sister’s high school graduation, and respite before starting college, finally provided the opportunity for a family visit to Korea.

After landing at Incheon International Airport, we headed straight to my grandparents’ apartment and saw them in person for the first time in years. Initially, I did not really talk with my grandfather. He was too frail to walk with us, and I focused on enjoying myself in Korea.

But when my parents dropped me and my sister off at my grandparents’ home to have a day to themselves one day, he surprised me and my sister with a watermelon, which is expensive in South Korea, hidden in a small fridge on the outdoor balcony. He smiled as I devoured the watermelon alongside my sister, telling me to eat more even when I was full.

The next time my grandfather was able to tag along with my family was for our tour of the DMZ. Although most of the tour involved walking, my grandfather, unfortunately, got tired fairly quickly. Instead of sitting down and taking a break, he asked me to hold onto his hand and walk with him so we would not get slowed down. It was a nice experience to guide him, considering I had never helped an elderly person move around before. When with him, he would always call me “my beautiful Gerald” in Korean, to which I laughed off and said, “Thank you” sarcastically.

Our last day in Korea finally came, and we walked around with my grandparents one last time near their home. Initially, I thought it would be a smooth goodbye with the usual “See you again soon!” However, right as we were packing our luggage in our taxi, my grandfather started weeping out of nowhere. Immediately, I was taken aback as I had never seen him cry in my entire life.

I rushed over to hug him, assuring him that we would see him again soon. He said through his tears, “You have to see me again soon,” and “That was the best time in my life.”

It wasn’t until then that I realized that I never appreciated my time with my grandfather the way he did. My entire family was brought to tears, and we all hugged him before finally heading to the airport. It didn’t help that I was listening to Kanye West’s “Ghost Town” during this exchange, further exacerbating my tears.

Although my grandfather and I didn’t get to spend much time together one-on-one, it was only after I left that I realized how much he cared about me, and so I wish I had spent more time to understand this man who loves me so much.

Gerald Han is a rising sophomore at Sunny Hills High School in California.