The war cost her everything, a mother, a father, and a country. Four-year-old Bang Sun found tied to a tree, is riddled with disease, malnutrition, and bears the scars of a tragic life.
Facing a future of nothing but pain, loss, and hopelessness, we follow the story of a mixed-race African-American child of the Korean War. When Korea begins purging itself of its unwanted casualties, babies of war, her abandonment leads to two orphanages and eventually to adoption in America – where Bang Sun must now become an American – a Black American.
Fiercely resilient and embodying her birth country’s hope as expressed in the song Arirang, Bang Sun, who becomes Saundra Henderson must learn to navigate a new language, a new culture, and a new family. Through it all, she holds resolutely to the imperfect memory from her five years in her homeland and tenaciously to that of the ‘Boy’ who saved her life.
A powerful memoir of strength, grace, resilience, courage, and kindness, you’ll find yourself immersed in this beautiful and inspiring recollection of the child called Bang Sun.
Details
Edition Number: 1
Publication Date: Sep 08, 2021
E-book ISBN: 978-1-946274-56-4
CHAPTER ONE
Me, Bang Sun—You, Boy
Legend has it; I’m found tied to a tree. What happens between the tree founding and my first recollection on this earth is the mystery of my life. By age four, I’ve come to understand fate has not dealt me the best cards for a winning hand, but it’s not until I’m an adult that I could patch together the pieces of my jagged memory.
My first memory is of the Prussian-blue sea, ebbing in the afternoon sun, stretching out before me like a calming blanket. It’s the kind of blanket I appreciated on chilly Korean nights when temperatures plummet below zero, so cold that even the stars refuse to come out to play or one I throw off in the summers when temperatures top more than ninety degrees. The sea holds magic for me. It embraces me in its arms, washes me, and bears gifts that are saving my life. For many not as lucky as me, it has become their watery grave and final resting place.
I am in a sea town, one that could have been on the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, or the Yellow Sea. Truthfully, I have no idea which one. But in my sea town, Naneun haengbokhada, I am happy. Happy because that’s where I meet Boy. Sonyeon, which means boy in Korean, is what I’ve taken to calling the boy who has suddenly appeared in my life, much like Tarzan called his new son.
Sonyeon is my constant companion with whom I spend every day. When I close my eyes at night and think back on our day, I’m indeed always happily giggling next to him while dizzily bouncing along the foam-covered sea with its lulling, metronomic waves. The shoreline is in constant motion as we race along, and that, too, makes me happy, for we are in search of dinner. I don’t know his real name. I don’t know from where he’s come. I don’t know who he is, but I wonder if he’s my oppa (older brother) who’s finally come to find me. An oppa would make me happier because, as far as I can tell, I’m alone in the world.
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