'Dad, I miss you': Teen refugee's tearful tribute touches Koreans' hearts

Wanyiwah, a 14-year-old contestant on KBS' audition show "National Trot Championships," smiles during a Korea Times interview on Dec. 24. Performing under the stage name Martha Htoowah, she is already a popular singer in Myanmar. Both her parents are from Myanmar's Karen ethnic minority. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Myanmar's Karen ethnic minority family finds home in Korea with the help of warm-hearted people

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Wanyiwah, 14, took the stage as her name was called as the next contestant on KBS' hit audition show, "National Trot Championships," which aired on Dec. 5. Representing Myanmar's Karen ethnic minority, the teen refugee shared a tragic story about her father which motivated her to choose the Korean song "Surprise Lily" to perform on national TV.

"As you know, the song that I'm going to perform is about the people who miss their loved ones but cannot see them again," she said. "My dad passed away when I was very young. He's in heaven now. I miss him but can't meet him in person. The song lyrics and my story share in common that sad similarity."

She closed her eyes as the music for "Surprise Lily" started. Feeling the music, she sang articulately each lyric just as a poet reads out a sad poem in front of a book club audience. Her soulful performance reached its peak when she sang the latter part of the song. "Why are you there, a place irreversible, beyond my reach / Why, why did it have to be you?"

The camera captured each judge one after another: some were holding back tears, some crying and some wiping away tears from their eyes. Her masterful performance gave her the green light to advance to the next round. Realizing she made the cut, Wanyiwah burst into tears.

The YouTube videos featuring her performance have gone viral on the internet, surpassing the million mark. Many Koreans rooted for the girl. In the comments section, one viewer wrote Wanyiwah had the "voice of an angel." Another wrote she was touched by her performance, thanking the teen for her artful singing.

"My dad would have said he's so proud of me," Wanyiwah said in Korean during a recent Korea Times interview when asked how her late father would have reacted if he had seen her performance in person. "He would have been more than happy because he wanted me to become a singer, like him."

Wanyiwah was born in Thailand and raised there until age nine before she and her family came to South Korea in 2016 to seek refugee status.

Both her parents are from Myanmar's ethnic minority, the Karen people. Because of this, she identified herself as part of the Karen tribe, rather than her birth country of Thailand.

In the second round of the TV audition show which aired on Jan. 2, she competed in a team, along with two adult singers, and they made the cut. This Saturday, KBS will air Wanyiwah's one-on-one showdown with another teen contestant in the third round.

Wanyiwah, center, speaks to her mentor, volunteer vocal trainer Lee Kyung-ja, right, at the teen's home in Wonmi District, Bucheon City, on Dec. 24. Next to the teen is her mother Sasikan. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

KBS' "National Trot Championships" is her first experience on a TV audition show. Wanyiwah said being part of the show has been a wonderful experience as she wants to be a solo artist and singer-songwriter who can give comfort to the weary, wounded souls like the "Karen uncles" she has met in Korea. She refers affectionately to Karen migrant workers as "uncles." Korean solo artist IU is her role model.

Performing under the stage name of Martha Htoowah, she is already a star in Myanmar. She rose to stardom there after her single, tentatively translated into English as "I Want a Home," became a big hit.

In Myanmar, people know which family she came from.

Born and raised in Myanmar, her father, Sawtinhtweaye Phongphothandon, was a famous singer who performed under the stage name Htoowah. Among fellow Karen people, he was a household name.

He met his wife Sasikan in Thailand during his tour concert there for Karen migrants and fell in love with her. Sasikan was born in Myanmar but she and her family fled the country to avoid the fallout of lingering civil war. She grew up in several different refugee camps in Thailand and finished her college education in Bangkok.

After marriage, she and her husband lived in Thailand and had three children there ― Wanyiwah and her two younger brothers.

Wanyiwah recalled her dad was loving. "We lived in a small city in northern Thailand," she said. "My dad would play guitar and I would sit in his lap. We sang songs together. He proudly told his friends that I was a talented singer. Our family traveled to other cities in Thailand… I have good memories of my childhood in Thailand."

Her fond childhood memories, however, abruptly came to an end in 2014 after her father's sudden, tragic death, the exact cause of which his family declined to share.

His death was a life-changing event to his bereaved family. Reeling from sudden death of her husband, Sasikan was determined to leave Thailand to start a new life with her young children. South Korea emerged as an attractive country to start her family's new life for various reasons: she had visited the country in 2015 and heard from fellow Karen people that the country is good for education and raising children.

She and her three children came to South Korea in 2016 on tourist visas and the family of four became asylum seekers.

They lived in Incheon's eastern industrial district of Bupyeong. Being adjacent to the manufacturing complex, there were some 100 Karen people in the neighborhood. Many of them were factory workers.

Life in Bupyeong was bleak. The place where the Wanyiwah family had lived was far from decent housing. They shared a poorly built two-room apartment with several other Karen migrant workers.

As an asylum seeker, Sasikan also found it tough to feed her three young children. Life was hard for three years, showing no signs of improvement.

Her father, Sawtinhtweaye Phongphothandon, was a famous singer who performed under the stage name Htoowah. Among fellow Karen people, he was a household name. He passed away in a tragic accident in 2014. / Courtesy of Wanyiwah

Despite the daunting reality, her daughter didn't lose hope to become a singer.

In 2018, Wanyiwah competed in the regional competition held in Incheon to select contestants to compete in the annual foreign resident song contest finals. Wanyiwah performed "Colors of the Wind," a theme song of Walt Disney movie "Pocahontas."

The 12-year-old refugee seeker's clear ringing voice moved Lee Kyung-ja, then conductor of Seogu District Choir who served as head judge of the regional competition.

"I saw her talent as a singer and felt she had enormous potential to become a great singer. I thought she would make her dream come true if someone was going to help her with vocal training," Lee said. "While seeing the little girl performing the song, I thought of the hard lives of refugees and people living in other countries as aliens."

Lee told Wanyiwah and her mother on the spot that she was willing to give the teen free vocal lessons if she wants, an offer the girl and her mom accepted immediately.

Wanyiwah has come to Lee's home in Songdo International Business District every week for vocal lesson and stayed there for two to three days for intensive training. Lee, who is generous and kind, transforms into a strict instructor when she puts on her teacher hat.

Lee's role in Wanyiwah's family is much more than a volunteer vocal trainer. Depending on the circumstances, she has served as a translator, life coach and cultural guide as Wanyiwah's mother didn't speak Korean and was not familiar with Korean culture and the Korean way of doing things.

While her family's application for refugee status was still in process, Sasikan suffered polymastia and had to undergo surgery to remove the tissue. Lee found a local businessman to help with paying the medical bills.

"The first three years since we arrived in South Korea were so tough. We had no money. Even earning enough for living expenses was tough. Such bleak days continued for three years or so until we were finally accepted as refugees," Sasikan said through an interpreter. "Ms. Lee was there when our family was in dire need of help. Since 2018 when we first met, she has helped us, taught my daughter and taken care of her just like her own daughter. She helps us, both psychologically and financially. I don't know how to say it… I feel like she's my sister or sometimes mother."

Sasikan and her three children have lived in the second floor of a brick house located in Wonmi District, Bucheon, since their refugee status was granted about a year and a half ago.

The tiny three-room housing is cozy and full of warmth. Sasikan decorated a Christmas tree at home. It's a bustling place with five kids ― Sasikan's three children and two young nieces who are visiting Korea with their mom. The five children played, giggled and danced together.

Beaming at the playful children, Sasikan said this is her family's fifth place since she and her children came to South Korea. She called it home. "Before here, we lived in Bupyeong and Baekun of Incheon, and Sillim and Guro in Seoul. The first four places were tinged with our dark memories as refugee seekers," she said. "This is our true home. I feel at home here."

She said she is grateful to the Korean government for the generous support for refugees like her own family.

Wanyiwah, left, plays guitar as her two younger brothers and cousins listen to her music at the teen's home in Wonmi District, Bucheon City, on Dec. 24. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Asked about her daughter's talent, Sasikan said Wanyiwah was born to be a singer and she hopes her daughter will pursue a career as a singer.

She said her daughter is a fast learner, adding when she was young she would mimic the melody of songs that were playing on CDs. "When the songs she heard previously played, she would recognize them and sing along. I knew she would be a talented singer since she was an infant," she said.

Sasikan said she had watched the YouTube video of Wanyiwah's heart-felt "Surprise Lily" performance at the KBS show all day long as it made her feel that her and her family's years-long hardships are worthwhile.

The video triggered her mixed feelings about her daughter and Korean fans. Sasikan said she is proud of her daughter to advance to the next round and also thankful to Korean fans who supported her daughter and crossed their fingers for her success.

Wanyiwah laughs as she looks in the mirror at home. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

She said she and her children were able to find home in South Korea, thanks to several warm-hearted Koreans, including Lee and her friend Jung Seok-gyu, a professor of the Old Testament Department of Theology at Seoul Hanyoung University.

Jung said he was touched when he saw Wanyiwah perform on TV. "I experienced the outpouring of complex feelings," he said. "It was the joyful moment because Wanyiwah did a great job. I was emotional because I know how difficult it had been for her family to come this far. All those memories haunted me all at once and made me tearful as I watched her touching performance."

Jung said he hopes for Korean society to be more tolerant on racial and ethnic differences, and the government can play a role in leveling the playground so that talented individuals from ethnic minorities, like Wanyiwah, can make their dreams come true through fair competition.

"I myself lived abroad for years as a student, so I know very well how difficult it is living as a foreigner."

Jung went on to say that South Korea has advanced policy support for refugees as they are entitled to certain economic and medical supports from the government.

But, he claimed, that's not enough, calling for more affirmative action, particularly for the children from ethnic minorities, so they can experience equal opportunity.