{"id":82897,"date":"2020-09-17T03:08:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T03:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/portrait\/gilbert\/"},"modified":"2020-09-17T03:08:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T03:08:59","slug":"gilbert","status":"publish","type":"portrait","link":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/portrait\/gilbert\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilbert"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-82897-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GIlbert-Kim-Interview-mixdown-compressed.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GIlbert-Kim-Interview-mixdown-compressed.mp3\">https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GIlbert-Kim-Interview-mixdown-compressed.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gilbert K. is an elder resident at Menlo Family Apartments, as well as a father to three children and grandfather to two grandchildren. Working as a teacher (for elementary, middle, and high school) in Korea during the 1970s, he has seen firsthand how the country has developed and advanced over the years. He came to America 20 years ago at the behest of his family members, and he now spends his days playing tennis, reading books, traveling and spending time with his family.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Where is your hometown? <\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\uace0\ud5a5\uc774 \uc5b4\ub514\uc785\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was originally born in Nagoya, Japan in 1944, but I moved with my parents to Kyungbok Yungduk (\uacbd\ubd81\uc601\ub355) in Korea, which is a small town near Pohang and Daegu. I spent the next 30 years in Korea working as a teacher and moved to America when I was around 60. I also spent some time in the Marines, and I moved around a lot during that time as well. As a result, I don\u2019t have very strong ideas, nor any particular feelings about one certain place that I might consider a hometown. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have some memories of being in Japan, but they aren\u2019t really significant. Also, while America\u2019s large surface area means there are clear distinctions between the different cultures between, say the East and West Coasts, Korea is very small, so it\u2019s kind of the same wherever you go. There aren\u2019t really special characteristics between towns in Korea, so that\u2019s why I don\u2019t have much to say about my hometown or where I\u2019m from.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Did you experience racism\/discrimination in Japan as a Korean? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ud55c\uad6d\uc778\uc73c\ub85c\uc11c \uc77c\ubcf8\uc5d0\uc11c \uc778\uc885\ucc28\ubcc4\uc744 \uacbd\ud5d8\ud558\uc168\uc2b5\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was very young when I lived in Japan, so I don\u2019t really have any particular memories of living there. However, I was teased when I was in elementary school by the other Korean kids. I understood Korean very well, but I wasn\u2019t too good at speaking it, so the children would make fun of me and say that I was actually a Japanese person. But as I got older, I didn\u2019t get such discrimination at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Do you live or work in Koreatown? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ud55c\uc778\ud0c0\uc6b4\uc5d0\uc11c \uc0ac\uc2dc\uac70\ub098 \uc77c\uc744\ud558\uc2dc\ub098\uc694?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I live in Koreatown and have lived here since being invited by my family 19 years ago. I\u2019m retired now, but before I was a teacher in Korea. I taught elementary, middle, and high school students, so I\u2019ve taught pretty much every subject before. Most of my students might be in their 40s and 50s now, but they don\u2019t really contact me. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most memorable experience I had while teaching was during the 1970s in Korea. During this time, Korea\u2019s economy was very bad and everyone was quite poor, so I remember there were many students that could not afford to come to school. Some students were not well taken care of by their parents because they did not have money, and some didn\u2019t have parents at all. There were lots of kids like that in the countryside, and I felt bad for them as a teacher. Of course, there were some kids who didn\u2019t come to school just because they didn\u2019t want to. Then I would have to go to their homes and scold them about the importance of education. But that was a really profound experience during my teaching career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What are your thoughts on Koreatown? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ud55c\uc778\ud0c0\uc6b4\uc5d0\ub300\ud574 \uc5b4\ub5bb\uac8c \uc0dd\uac01\ud558\uc2ed\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think that it is a nice and comfortable place to live. The hospital and the grocery store are nearby, so it\u2019s very convenient. It\u2019s nice to live here in that sense. It\u2019s like a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Korean village that exists within America.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What is your favorite place in Koreatown? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ud55c\uc778\ud0c0\uc6b4\uc5d0\uc11c \uac00\uc7a5 \uc88b\uc544\ud558\uc2dc\ub294 \uc7a5\uc18c\ub294 \uc5b4\ub514\uc785\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There aren\u2019t that many parks in Koreatown, but there\u2019s a small park with a tennis court on 4th and Vermont. Exercising in that park is my favorite thing to do, so I go there often to play tennis. The senior tennis club that I\u2019m part of has around 40 members, and I mostly play with them. I\u2019ve been part of that club for around 10 years, but I\u2019ve been playing tennis for over 30 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What is the biggest way your life has changed because of the pandemic? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ucf54\ub85c\ub098 \ud32c\ub300\ubbf9 \ub54c\ubb38\uc5d0 \uc0dd\ud65c\uc774 \ud06c\uac8c \ubc14\ub010\uc810\uc774 \uc788\uc2b5\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has changed very much. I can\u2019t move around as I please because of the \u201cstay at home\u201d order. In fact, if I\u2019m not playing tennis, I\u2019m just at home. So the only times I go out are from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m., because that\u2019s when I usually play tennis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Did you go out a lot before the pandemic started (besides tennis)? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ud14c\ub2c8\uc2a4 \uce58\ub294 \uac83 \ub9d0\uace0,\u00a0 \ud639\uc2dc \uc720\ud589\ubcd1 \uc804\uc5d0 \uc678\ucd9c\ud558\ub294 \uac83\uc744 \uc990\uacbc\uc2b5\ub2c8\uae4c?)\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I used to visit my son who lives in Seattle once or twice a year. I also traveled a lot through riding tour buses and things like that. The most memorable place I have visited in this way is Sedona, Arizona. The town is surrounded by big, red mountains and the landscape is truly beautiful. Visiting the Native American reservation was also quite impactful, as it was interesting to see how differently people lived here outside of Korea. It was also amazing to know that these people once were the owners of American land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>If the quarantine ended tomorrow, what is the first thing you would do? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\ucf54\ub85c\ub098 \uc790\uac00\uaca9\ub9ac\uac00 \ub0b4\uc77c \ub05d\ub09c\ub2e4\uba74, \ubb34\uc5c7\uc744 \uac00\uc7a5\uba3c\uc800 \ud558\uc2dc\uaca0\uc2b5\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s not really anything special I would do. All I really want is to be able to exercise and play tennis freely in the park that I enjoy going to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What is a moment in your life that you\u2019re most proud of? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\uc778\uc0dd\uc5d0 \uc81c\uc77c \ubfcc\ub4ef\ud588\ub358 \uc21c\uac04\uc774 \uc788\uc73c\uc2ed\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fact that all three of my children went on to receive higher education. My first son went to study abroad in Japan and received a Ph.D. in Computer Science. And my second son got into Korea Military Academy which is the Korean equivalent of West Point in America. My daughter also did well in school and went to the University of Hawaii. We as parents worked hard to make sure they did well in school, but in the end, they all went to college and became educated people of their own volition. So yes, that\u2019s something that I am quite proud of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My children are all in their forties now, but I still see and talk to my children quite often. My daughter lives in Los Angeles so I see her a lot. My oldest son lives in Seattle, Washington, and we go up to visit him and his family around two times a year. He has two seven-year-old twin boys, and although we can\u2019t see them physically, we often video chat and call them. My second son still lives in Seoul, Korea, so I can\u2019t see him in person that often, but I frequently call and message him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because I was a teacher, I would always tell my children that they should be role models for other people. I did my best to teach them this by being the person that I wanted them to become and just being a good person in my day-to-day life. And to this day I feel that they still have this mindset, which I am very relieved about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>What does it mean for you to live a meaningful life? <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\uc758\ubbf8\uc788\ub294 \uc778\uc0dd\uc744 \uc0b0\ub2e4\ub294 \uac83\uc740 \ubb34\uc5c7\uc744 \uc758\ubbf8\ud569\ub2c8\uae4c?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think you have lived a meaningful life if you have been able to fulfill your goals and desires. I\u2019m still in the progress of working towards that to this day. For example, my main goal right now is to be healthy. I do this by playing tennis every morning reading lots of books, and staying at home as much as possible, especially at this time. My philosophy is that taking care of your body creates the fruit of a meaningful life. When I was younger, my main focus was studying hard in school getting good grades, because that was what my parents wanted. Now I think that being healthy is the best because if I am unwell, I can\u2019t go out and discover the purpose of my existence, I can\u2019t meet and communicate with my children, and I can\u2019t be the best grandparent that I can be to my grandchildren. When my grandchildren say \u201cGrandpa, Grandpa\u201d I want to be able to respond and say \u201cI love you\u201d to them. If I am sick, I can\u2019t do any of that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can\u2019t say for sure if I have been able to lead a meaningful life, but I think that I am going in the right direction. I\u2019ve been going towards the goal. What I mean to say is that I don\u2019t have any regrets in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>*Gilbert wished to keep his image private, so this is an anonymous photo.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gilbert K. is an elder resident at Menlo Family Apartments, as well as a father to three children and grandfather to two grandchildren. Working as a teacher (for elementary, middle, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-82897","portrait","type-portrait","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portrait\/82897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portrait"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portrait"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portrait\/82897\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kyccla.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}