제23부 해방의 기쁨과 고민. 첫 번째 Part 23 The joys and troubles of liberation. The first

제23부 [...] 해방의 기쁨과 고민. Part 23 [...] The joys and troubles of liberation. 첫 번째 The first

1945년 8월 15일, 일본 천황이 라디오 방송을 한다고 해서 징용공들은 모두 손을 놓고 라디오 앞에 모였으나 잡음이 많아 무슨소린지 전혀 알아들을 수가 없었다. On August 15, 1945, the Emperor of Japan was broadcasting on the radio, and the laborers gathered in front of the radio, but the noise was so loud that they could not understand what was being said. 8월 16일, 삼척 읍내로 들어갔더니 흰옷을 입은 조선사람들이 해방의 기쁨을 나누느라고 인산인해를 이루고 있었다. On August 16, I walked into Samcheok town and saw a crowd of Koreans dressed in white sharing the joy of liberation.

해방의 기쁨과 함께 나는 고민에 빠졌다. Along with the joy of liberation, I was troubled. 아는 것도 별로 없는 내가 독립된 조국을 위해 이 한 생명 어떻게 바칠 것인가를 생각하니 걱정이 앞섰다. I was worried about how I would dedicate my life to my country, which I knew very little about. 그래도 압박에서 해방되었다는 사실은 그 무엇보다 기쁜 일이었다. Still, the relief from the pressure was more than welcome. 지금까지 무거운 무쇠가마를 뒤집어쓰고 다니다가 훌훌 벗어던진 것 같았고, 또 억눌려 있던 내 키가 하늘을 향해 자꾸 자라는 것 같기도 했다. I felt like I had been wearing a heavy iron cauldron for a long time, and I felt like I had thrown it off, and my pent-up height kept growing toward the sky.

그동안 26명에서 8명으로 줄어든 우리 징용공들은 삼척읍 유지들의 도움으로 8월 17일 목탄을 연료로 하는 화물차 편으로 서울로 떠나기로 되어 있었다. Our group, which had been reduced from 26 to 8, was scheduled to leave for Seoul on August 17 on a charcoal-fueled freight train with the help of the Samcheok villagers. 그날 아침 우리는 화물차에 태극기를 달고 의기양양하게 삼척 읍내를 돌며 독립만세를 부르다가 일본헌병들에게 붙잡혀 태극기를 빼앗기는 치욕을 당했다. That morning, we had the disgrace of being captured by Japanese soldiers and having our flag taken away from us as we drove around Samcheok town with the flag on a freight car. 차를 세운 헌병들은 권총을 빼든 채 총살을 하겠다고 위협했다. The gendarmes who stopped the car drew their pistols and threatened to shoot him.

무기가 없는 우리는 패망으로 잔뜩 독이 오른 자들과 대항하여 개죽음을 당할 필요가 없다고 판단하고는 아무런 저항도 하지 않고 이틀 동안 묵었던 여관으로 돌아왔다. Unarmed, we decided that it was unnecessary to risk death against those who were so poisoned by defeat, so we returned to the inn where we had lodged for two nights without any resistance. 이름은 잊었지만 당시 우리 일행 중에 싸움을 잘하는 손씨 성을 가진 친구가 있었다.그는 도쿄에서 고학을 할 때부터 아는 친구였는데, 노동판에 나와서도 싸움을 잘해 감독이 하루 노임을 거저 줄 테니 제발 그냥 돌아가달라고 사정할 정도로 싸움실력이 있었다. I forgot his name, but there was a fellow in our group with the surname Son who was good at fighting, and I knew him from my high school days in Tokyo, and he was so good at fighting that when he went to the labor board, he begged the foreman to let him go home because he would pay him less than a day's wages. 그는 일본에서‘콘도오 타케시'로 통했다. He was known as Takeshi Kondo in Japan.