Chapter 16 sad poverty

One day I heard such a story from my father. "When I was a child, the neighbor's family was grilling fish, and the smell would go around the wall and spread to the house, and every time the smell would make me feel hungrier. Although the neighbor's family is not very rich, but at least once a month. I came to eat saury twice, and whenever they grilled saury, my saliva drools non-stop, and it even makes me feel very sad. But I also know that the environment at home is very bad, so I dare not ask my parents for it. Eating fish and meat, this experience became a shadow of my childhood. At that time, except for one or two families in the village, most of them were poor families, so I didn’t feel embarrassed at all, but it also made me think about many things about poverty.’We Why are you poor?' I thought about this question for many days, and finally realized that the poverty of the people is actually the poverty of the nation. It was the period of Japanese occupation, and the shame of the country being invaded was unspeakable. Since then, I have dreamed One day we can also live with our heads held high. The reason why we study hard in such a difficult living environment is also because we have a dream that we hope can be realized.”

After hearing what my father said, I finally fully understood his heart.Invaded by Japan, the "6.25" war and natural disasters, South Korea became poorer.At that time, there were beggars everywhere on the road, thank God if they could fill their stomachs.People are struggling to find a way to survive without any job opportunities, and there are too many people willing to do anything if they can get a job.That's a pretty sad reality.There are many unemployed people but few job opportunities, and the situation in the countryside is even more miserable. Even if you work hard in the fields, you can't feed your family.It was with the belief that he would find jobs for the people no matter what, that my father launched his policy plan.

"Because our citizens did not have enough job opportunities in the past, foreigners misunderstood that Koreans only like drinking and gambling, and that they are a lazy nation. But that is absolutely wrong. Our nation has always been It is a hard-working and progressive nation." At that time, my father believed that the next generation should not be allowed to live in such a poor life. Everyone must grit their teeth and break through the country's poverty period with unanimous beliefs. This kind of will also made my father's firm belief in economic growth. On weekdays, my father is a model of diligence and thrift. No matter how hot it is outside, as long as there are no guests visiting, his office will not turn on the air conditioner.Although there are electric fans, they are rarely used. Even on hot days, we only use a fan to cool off. This is a familiar picture.He thinks it is a waste of electricity to turn on the air conditioner in a space that I use alone, and I don't even turn on the air conditioner when I am working.Usually, if you find that the lights are on in rooms you don’t need, you will turn them off, and the tap water will be used sparingly.

The life at Cheong Wa Dae is almost the same as when my mother was alive, and the menu has not changed. We all eat wheat and rice mixed rice, and we often eat small dried fish soup noodles or cold noodles at noon. noodle. My father hated extravagance as much as my mother, and I continued to use some available things from my mother's relics. Most of the things used by Cheong Wa Dae are domestic products.Among my father's daily necessities, the only foreign products are ties, razors, and pens given to him by people who came back from abroad. Other general daily necessities such as coats, leather shoes, and suits are made of domestic products.When finally getting through the food shortage, leaders are not allowed to live a luxurious life.

For my father at that time, the most important issue was to get rid of the deep-rooted poverty, and I really tried my best to help my father to stabilize the economy.Although there had been stellar economic growth at that time, there was still much room for improvement.Alleviating the plight of the people at the bottom of society was a very urgent matter at the time, and I regarded this matter as an important task that the first lady should complete.