My life began by learning the history of my family who experienced the turbulent Korean society in the 1900s. When I was returning home after my birth in the winter of 1985 as twins in a hospital in Busan, South Korea's second largest city, the first place my twin brother and I were buried was probably next to our grandparents. While filling in for our busy parents, grandparents were my first teachers and resting place during my early childhood. My grandparents were born and lived in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula but had to leave their hometown due to the Korean War that broke out in 1950. This tragic decision was made to maintain their democratic political position and religious belief as a Christian because the Communist Party that dominated North Korea oppressed people who held these kinds of views. They eventually settled in Busan, the city where an interim government was established during the war, and were unable to return to their hometown until their deaths. To remember and maintain our family roots, my grandfather gave us the name that implies Christian belief. My name, Chang Sung, is composed of two characters that imply certain meanings: (1) "to prosper society" (Chang) and (2) "saint" (Sung). My twin brother's name, Chang Kyung, can be interpreted as (1) "making society prosper" (Chang) with (2) "writings" (Kyung). The word Sung Kyung, created by connecting the last characters of our names, refers to the Holy Bible. Furthermore, with their copious knowledge, they had taught us almost everything about the language, customs and styles. We would listen to them as we read books and tell stories, and I would feel happy conversing with them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay What I especially learned from my grandparents' stories is that consistent efforts based on strong self-belief could improve their lives. After leaving their hometown, my grandparents struggled with poverty as they adjusted to their new life in South Korea. After the war, my grandfather worked as the captain of a foreign merchant ship. He told me that the most powerful motivation that pushed him to overcome the crises he encountered was his faith in God. One day, while sailing towards India, he and his colleagues had encountered pirates in the Indian Ocean and the their ship had almost been captured. Trembling with fear of losing his life, he began to pray alone in the captain's cabin of the ship. What he prayed was: “God, who protected me and my family even during the war, please allow me to have your wisdom and courage to escape this crisis. If you protect me as always, I will dedicate the rest of my life to you." After about half an hour, one of his colleagues shouted to him: “Captain! The pirates are finally gone! Time saved us!” Although my grandfather didn't notice because he was only focused on praying, the weather quickly changed to cloudy weather with a lot of rain. The heavy rain, paradoxically, blocked the pirates' approach to the ship. After this event, my grandfather always placed the Bible in the captain's cabin. In the end, this incredible story leads him to dedicate himself more to God. When he received the news of my birth and my twin brother while sailing to Japan, he wanted to give us the name expressing his deep gratitude towards God. The first characters of our names, Chang, are the same as his, and Sung Kyung, a collective word when connecting the last characters of our names refers to the Bible, as.