Darleane Lucero 1
Oral History
My mother, Kyong Hi Carrier, has quite an interesting history. She was born in Seoul,
Korea in 1948. She was the third child. She had an older sister and brother. There are a lot of
details left out because
Here is my mother
performing a
traditional Korean
drum dance. It’s a
very difficult
routine as it
requires the
person to bend all
the way
backwards in
order to bang all
around the edge
of the drum.
the subject of her
childhood is not a fond
one for her. I don’t even
know what her parents
name were. Over the
years I have attempted to
gather information about
her family history. I will
share with you what I do know.
Her father was a local businessman and her mother was a homemaker. Women in Korea,
much like the states, did not work. It was unheard of for a woman to go to college or work. She
had an older brother and older sister. Three months after she was born her mother passed away
from what is believed to have been Tuberculosis. It wasn’t uncommon for men to have affairs
and soon after her mother passed her step-mother moved in, already pregnant. Her little life was
turned upside down. Her stepmom was quite an evil person. She knew how to play the part
around my mom’s dad, but when he wasn’t around life was hell for her. She pampered her
daughter and flaunted it in front of the other kids. She would buy her daughter candy or treats
and not the rest of the kids. She was verbally abusive to my mom and her other siblings. My
mom and her siblings learned to be strong and independent. She eventually graduated from high
school and left home. She worked as a waitress for several years until she married my biological
Darleane Lucero 2
Oral History
father. Before she married her father passed. Not much longer after that her older brother would
commit suicide. Unfortunately, do to her life circumstances she was never able to pursue her
true talent. She has an extraordinary voice and talent for folk music. I think that if she
had been afforded the opportunity, she could have made a career out of it. However, her
life took a different
course.
Soon after she
married a young airman I
was born. She thought
her dreams had come true
and her thought her
lifelong struggle was over. They received orders to move when I was just a few months
Here is
again
performi
ng
another
tradition
al dance.
This
dance
require a
lot of
grace ,
somethin
g she idd
not pass
on tho
me.
old. My mom had my sister a year-and-a-half after me. When we moved to the states,
my mother spoke no English, could not read or write in English, and didn’t know how to
drive. She became very dependent on her husband. He became an alcoholic and my mom’s life
quickly turned upside again. My father was discharged from the Air Force. I was told he was
kicked out because of his drinking problem. She then took on a job as a bar waitress. After
months of enduring his drinking binges, she wanted out. He took off to Louisiana, to his home
town, with my sister and me and left my mother in Georgia. She was devastated but left with
few options due to her lack of resources. She worked hard and sent money, oblivious to the fact
that he was drinking away all the money she sent for us. After about a year, she meets a young
Air Force pilot at work. Three weeks into meeting the young man, she received a call from
social services in Louisiana that my sister and I had been reported for neglect. This young
Darleane Lucero 3
Oral History
gentleman she had only known for three weeks offered to drive her to Louisiana to pick us up.
After all her years of hardship and missing out on her dreams of singing and folk dancing, she
final had meet someone who swept her off her
feet. They married when I was five years old.
My mother finally got to tap into her talents.
She slowly began buying folk dancing outfits
and other equipment. She practiced all the time
while my sister and I were in school. As she
became comfortable, she began to teach my
sister and me some dance routines. It wasn’t
long before we were performing at the local
Officer’s Club and other events on the base.
My mother then started providing lessons. She
was amazing. We continued to dance from base
to base and when we received orders to go back
to Korea my mother was ecstatic. We not only performed but we began to compete. We took on
professional lessons, my mom including. Until now, she had been teaching herself. We all had a
blast. My mother was finally living her dream. We competed until we entered high school. My
mom continued to sing for her church and on occasion would perform.
My mother is now sixty-one and for the last year she has been traveling to Korea to
receive more lessons and tour the country. She has endured so much in her lifetime and has
managed to overcome all her obstacles. Learning about her life has helped me better appreciate
Darleane Lucero 4
Oral History
mine. I have learned that no obstacle is too big and that it is never too late to live your dreams.
To your
right is my
mother on
the Korean
drums. My
sister and I
are
performing
the
traditional
Korean
wedding. I
am the
bride on
the left.