Personal Background
Everyone was Korean in Seoul. No one was Korean in Prichard. Motorcycles and mopeds crammed Seoul''s roads. Trees and flowers lined Prichard''s streets. In cosmopolitan Seoul, I was a favorite son showered with attention from a large circle of extended family. In suburban Prichard, knowing no one but my parents, I was the only Asian child in the neighborhood. Indeed immigrating to the U.S. from Korea and settling down in a suburb of Mobile as a twelve-year old child dramatically changed my life. Uprooted from the people I knew and the things I was used to, I felt lonely, helpless, and uncomfortable in my new surroundings. However, I redirected the negative feelings into a force of strength that propelled me to excel in academics. Furthermore, the immigrant experience gave me adaptation skills that helped me as a foreign exchange student in Japan and as a businessman working with people of different cultures and backgrounds.
Pampered materially and nurtured emotionally in Seoul, I lived with relatives close by and a helping hand available whenever I needed it. My school, while stiflingly competitive and committed to regular doses of corporal punishment, presented a system which I understood and was familiar with. Although the neighborhood lacked open areas, it was a close-kit community where children addressed the lady next door as "aunt" and housewives frequently shared recipes. I was completely at home, ethnically, linguistically, and in every other respect.
In the face of these obstacles, I started to question the purpose behind immigrating to the U.S. Seeing my parents'' exhausted silhouettes seven times a week, I began to understand the motivation behind the move that forever altered my life: a chance at a brighter future in the U.S. Because no one could help us, we had to help ourselves. Armed with this reinvigorating realization, I began to hoist myself out of loneliness, helplessness, and discomfort.