Alyssa Yoo/ Interview Essay Assignment/Narrative Composition/Tues. 9-11 a.m.

Diverse Experiences Shape Life

 

My father had come back from a wedding, and I was waiting for him to sit down on the sofa. The environment was familiar to both of us. There was a long, black sofa in the middle of the living room and a television right in front of it. I had told him in advance that I'd like to interview him, and he had said yes. So there we were, sitting next to each other, barely without the moment of silent awkwardness.

"Dad, how come you took Mom and me to America?" With glasses sitting on the edge of his nose, his natural gray hair stuck out on all sides. He had my grandfather's tiny eyes, but his personality was nothing like his. My dad was fast-tempered, talkative, and funny. When I threw out the question at him, there was not a moment of hesitation.

"In Korea, you can't talk back to your bosses. I was the kind of person who'd talk back to my boss if his ways were unfair. I even did not get promoted for a whole year for trying to tell everyone about my boss' wrongdoing. I thought things would be different in America. I was also tired of coming up with new ideas for my radio programs because people thought what was new yesterday was old." He went on about how stressful it was to come up with new ideas that people would show interest in. It was entirely up to him to create popular programs. I started to feel uncomfortable because I had not liked him in the past for not being home to play with me. He was always home late, smelling strongly of alcohol. I never understood my dad because he seemed happy when he came home, but as I talked to him, I realized he wasn't open about a lot of things.

My father used to work at the Korean Broadcasting System company (KBS) as a producer. As he was outgoing, he was the vice president of the Producers' Association. Also, he was friends with famous Korean baseball players. He even had fans in different countries since he was the host for some of his own programs. He had a stable and well-paid job, but he gave it all up to start doing physical labor in America.

"Hours and hours of physical labor made me want to give up my studies in oriental medicine. But I had you and your mother, which helped me keep going." I knew how hard it was for him when he was in America because he'd never done physical labor in Korea.

When he got a degree in oriental medicine at South Baylo University in California, he opened his acupuncture hospital. My dad already was fluent in four languages so he had no trouble communicating with his patients. His business was going well when he had to come to Korea because of his parents, who were both diagnosed with diseases.

"I wanted to still be an acupuncturist in Korea, but the only way I could do that was to go to university again. I did try, but after a couple of failures, I decided to go on with my life." My dad worked as a business man ever since, and he is a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Paus International. He had diverse experiences, and he never regrets it.

"They say that people just see what they've experienced. I think it's true because I got to see the world in a different perspective after all these different experiences." It was time to wrap up the interview and just as I tried to thank him, he said, "Do what you love doing. You'll never get the same opportunity again. Take action for what you're passionate for, and you'll be happy. Although money does seem to be everything, it's not. I want my daughter to be happy." My father was never the kind of person to say something sweet like this. He was always indifferent, and he never complimented me for my accomplishments. This interview was meaningful to me because I got to know what my dad's thoughts were because I never knew them.

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it." I handed him a little snack for doing the interview. He laughed, and I smiled.