Haraboji was self-contained as an egg. Only Saki, H.H. Monro, said it better: "as full of himself as an egg". Haraboji never cracked out of his Korean shell and therefore, was always himself: an original, unique. He married Halmoni, who gave him four sons. He drank and gambled and dissipated his inheritance and had to fall back on the farm. That did not bother him. He had heard it said the king, His Royal Majesty, once confided that the farmers ranked only a step below the king and the scholars (yangban) who ruled with him. "Who else is so important to the country than the farmers who grow the food to keep us alive?" Enough said. Haraboji put on the paji (the loose workerա trousers), held up by a robe belt and took to his new role. Long hours, stoop labor, subsistence fare for himself and family. (He was no farmer.) Halmoni thought her husband had reformed and that it was due to her prayers to the new Christian God. Haraboji said nothing, silently toiling. Evenings, though, he resumed his gentleman world: there in his refuge, the anpang, sipping his rice wine and smoking his long-stemmed pipe with the tiny brass bowl holding, but a few puffs of tobacco, watching the smoke idly curl like a poem he never wrote. His life was set in work, but he was assured of rest at the New Year, two weeks of celebration; and again at the autumn festival, honoring the bounty of harvest for the living and ritual for the ancestors who had given them life. Tablets of names bowed before, then visits to the grave mounds, placing food for their spirits to share with. Each month found one day Haraboji vying in contest with old friends again. Writing poetry, gaming and drinking wine. Haraboji was no poet, and losing, ending the day paying for the wine.

The family tree

There came the time for Haraboji when outer forces cracked his egg shell. He and three of his sons were leaving their homeland. Korea was no longer theirs. So he sent his sons to copy the family records, the genealogy so precious to old-timers like him. When they arrived in Hawaii to work in the sugar plantations, the records were put away; the papers lay away half a century in a box, then was found and translated. First by Tay Bong Kim, who came to the Islands to work for Korean Independence and became the owner of a tailor shop which prospered and enabled him to contribute to Korean National Association and become one of the leaders. The second was translated by a professional at the Michigan State University at Lansing. Kims is written in lay style, hence more readable, and begins, "I have reviewed your family tree ledger," and goes on to write about

1. Derivation of the surname: Dunn or Chun explained. In North Korea it is called "Dunn", in South Korea "Chun" due to variation of speech.
2. Origin of surname. Mr. Duk See Dunn was born to a family whose surname was "Char". His birthplace Damyang, a city in Kyung Sang Namdo. It was during the Koryo Dynasty prior to the Lee or Yi Dynasty. The king was Choongyul who ruled in the capital at Songdo (now Kaesong). It was here that young Duk See Dunn took the annual civil service examination (Literary Classics) and came out with high marks. This started him in government service, where he soon learned that his Korean name Char (which was not Chinese) held him back from promotion. Thus he changed the name Char to Dunn, a Chinese surname, which the family has used from Choongyuls reign, 700 years ago.
3. Family prominence or the generations in government positions: "Beginning with the first generation to the 13th generation, and 18th generation to the 27th generation, Dunn family line held government positions as governor of provinces, army general, secret service agency, judges and volunteer army leader during the abortive Japanese invasion in the time of Yi Dynasty, and other government positions."
The volunteer general during the Hideyoshi invasion was Dunn Soo Lok who died with 2000 of his men in the famous "Yim Chin (Jin) War" and who was responsible for organizing the volunteer forces. The 3-day standoff by the volunteers kept the Japanese soldiers from overcoming the Korean king, who was able to reach Pyongyang where the Chinese army awaited to rescue him. The volunteers fought with pikes, lances, and boulders. The boulders were rolled down the hillside as cavalry charges were made by the enemy. But the enemy had artillery fire and soldiers using firearms that eventually wore down the thin line of Koreans. It was 25,000 Japanese against the 2000. Overwhelming odds! But the small number saved the day. It was another 200 years before the Japanese attacked en masse in Korea.
Concluding Tay Bong Kim translation: "From the 14th generation there was nothing of significance on record. Also from the 24th generation to the 27th, ending with your great grandfather there is no record to mention." (Reference is made for Basil Dunn.)
4. Migration to the north: After Damyang, the family moved north where the family lived for generations. They gradually moved north following their appointment in government. Finally they made their domicile in Pyongyang and northern areas; hence their speech, manner of living and custom followed the lifestyle of north Korea. Areas where the Dunns lived or moved to were Soon Chun, Moo Chang, Chang Sung, Moo An, Yang Hung, etc.
The families the Dunn ancestors married into were Park, Lee, Choi, Char, Kim, Chang, etc. Women folks were usually considered chattel, or listed with household goods. (Chattel, indeed!)
5. Background explanation. "In Old Korea only those who were proficient in the Literary Classics were given the title Yangbans (upper class) and given government posts. Others, such as farmers, artisans and merchants, though essential, were looked upon as beneath their (upper class) dignity and esteem. Thus Korea was often called a nation of scholars. Japan, a nation of warriors, and Chinese a nation of merchants. In any generation where no record was provided, it can be assumed the Dunns were commoners.
One other section is the detailed instructions on marriages, proposals, and ceremonies about funeral rituals and have no connection with the family. This ends the summary of Tay Bong Kim translation.


Haraboji goes home

Grandfather decided to go home to die. He was satisfied. He worked with women and children, the old men like him, weeding and hoeing at small chores around the plantation. The lunas, "bosses", did not want old men hampering them getting the job done. But he was able to add to the slim income of the family; now he was ready to go home. His grandson, stateside, wrote he was heading for Gen. Robert E. Lee academy to become a soldier. Haraboji was in his mid 70s; he said farewell. His second son was wealthy, lived like a yangban although the title no longer was used in Korea. He told Nak Joon, his oldest, he would go home and become a burden on the rich son in old age; the son could well afford to care for him. (The old sinner still lurked in Haraboji, thinking about burdening his one wealthy son!) Haraboji lived until 1933. He was 93.

And afterwards

In the late 1980s, Korean students attending Yonsei University summer session, found a national archival (Seoul) reprint to use with the translations I had. It had greater detail than the records I had. A Korean minister, Kyungson Lee of the Camarillo Korean United Methodist Church, was able to give more information about genealogical records. He found that Duk See Dunn, the one called the first ancestor under Choongyul rule, ranked fifth with 18 competitors in the national scholars examination. He also explained about Jun Woo (variation of Chun or Dunn) born 1841, died 1922. He compared this distant relative to Haraboji, born 1840-1933. They were contemporary, but how different their lives. Lee translation also detailed what the records wrote about the relative Jun Woo: Jun had a title at work; he was called "JA or Ja Myung. When he traveled in official capacity, he was called HO or Ho Min Jee. His root name (Dam Yang) Bon Kwan. His position name was Gam Yuk (it means third person in charge of the county, which suggests he was a secretary.)
With so many names to answer to, Korean government service personnel must have difficulty keeping track of himself! Mr. Lee doing the translation said Jun Woo had these "nicknames" so that his true name was never used. It was not correct to refer or address him as Jun Woo.
Which brings me back to my father when I asked what was his mother name. He smiled and said, "When she was baptized Christian, she called herself Abigail." Then he said the names of dead persons were not to be used. He did not explain. Being Korean is complicated business, I do believe.