Everyone experiences turning points at various phases of their lives. I am no exception. In addition to this universal truth, the world that my generation lived in was upheaval itself. Born in the last years of the Japanese colonial period, life always felt like waves crashing against a rock, in the midst of epoch-making events of history, such as Korea’s Independence (1945), the Korean War (1950), the Student Revolution (1960), the Military Coup (1961), the Kwangju Massacre (1980), and the June Democratization Rallies (1987). During this time, I also had the additional turmoil of immigrating to the United States with my wife, Lucy. 

I feel that I have come this far in life by industriously navigating through my past, which now grows faint in my memory. Although I was born into an era torn by war and severe poverty, I have many more beautiful memories than miserable ones. My wife always says that I “now have nothing left to do but to give thanks.” As she says, I have truly been blessed. Through the Lord’s special grace and the help of many good people, I am where I am today.