Mr. Kim came to Canada; he had dreams; did he realize them?

 Joseph H Chung (정희수), Ph.D.

Professor of economics Quebec State University in Montreal (UQAM)

Introduction

This e-novel is based on my observation of the life of Korean immigrants in Montreal. I have had the privilege of observing their dreams, their joy of success, their fear of failure, their courage to meet difficult challenges including language and cultural barriers, their feeling of isolation, their dedication to the Korean community, their devotion to their family and their search for meaning of life.

This e-novel is based on the actual people I met and events I participated in. It is story of a real family who came to Montreal and who found Christian faith and family happiness after having gone through the bumpy road of immigrant's life.

 Mr. Kim was thinking about his 35 years of immigrant life on a Plane coming back to Korea

Kim woke up on his business class seat of Korea Air. It was a beautiful day of September 2012.

The plane was speeding smoothly above Rocky Mountain ranges he had seen many times in the past. Mr. Kim was 80 years old and had come back to Korea many times mainly on business. But, this time, the trip was special; it was organized by his children.

The plane was crowded; there were many Caucasians, there were many Chinese and other Asian people. He heard people speaking English, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, German, Spanish and even French. The plane was loaded with globalization. All these people were going to Korea. It seemed to him that Korea was a destined port of globalization. He was very proud of Korea which gave him his life.

The female flight personnel were beautiful, fluent in English, some in French and very cosmopolitan. For Kim, these girls were the modern brand of Korea. He felt proud of being a part of Korea. The Korean meals were excellent and when people around him praised them, he felt the urge to speak out:” I am a Korean!”

 Kim had ten hours to think back his life.  For him, this trip looked like the closing of a life circle. He left Korea in 1977 with his wife and two children, one boy, Paul and one daughter Nancy. He was 45 years old then.

 He ordered a glass of Scotch whisky which he enjoyed sipping once a while; it made him relax. He closed his eyes and recollected his life; so many things passed through his mind like a movie film.

 Kim was trying to make some sense out of his 35-year life as immigrant. He was wondering if he had done the right thing for his wife and children. He was asking himself if he did something useful for his Kim’s clan and for Korea.

Indeed, he was eager to know if he had done something good for the poor Koreans in Montreal. He thought that he was an elite person in the Korean society in Montreal; but, he was not sure if he acted as true responsible elite.

Kim kept closed eyes and fell into deep thought. The lady sitting beside him thought that Kim was sleeping. He was not; he was thinking and thinking. He was asking himself whether he was a good Christian; he was asking himself if he followed the God’s command of love of neighbor through love of God.

He was not sure; he cheated the customers to make money; he justified his action in the name of his family responsibility. He was jealous of a fellow church member who made a lot of money and who could make frequent expensive cruises.

The plane left Canadian soil and flying toward Korea, but Kim’s though flew back to 1977.

Mr Kim's Decided to Immigrate to Canada

1977 was the year of his departure from Korea, Kim Sung-ho (45 years old) had a loving family with his wife his wife, Lee Sookza (42 years old) a son Paul (12 years old) and a daughter, Nancy (10 years old).

Kim's family was an elite family. Mr. Kim went to one of the SKY universities (Seoul National University, Koryo University and Yonsei University); he had a good job at one of the Chaebol companies; he had a good salary.

So, he could live reasonably well in Korea. His wife, Sookza went to Ehwha Women University, the top women university in Korea. She had B.A. in business administration. She did not have a job; she wanted to be a good wife and devoted mother; her career had to wait.

Mr. Kim was thinking about immigration for some time. He examined various documents related the immigration. He met some people who immigrated to the U.S., Canada and Australia. He knew that there would be heavy cultural, psychological and financial cost of immigration.

So, it was not easy to deicide, but there were realistic reasons for choosing immigration.  

First of all, Kim had to retire from active career at the age of 55, ten years later; this made him wonder what he could do after such early retirement.

Second, he was fed up with the corrupted leaders. In Korea, the corruption culture was so deeply rooted that it was just impossible to pull the root off. This corruption culture had been well institutionalized from the time of Chosun dynasty led by the Yangban people.

To his despair, even the minister of his church was corrupted; he liked women and money. Kim thought that the greatest danger of the corruption culture is that it moves Christian away from Jesus Christ, love of neighbor and social justice.

Third, he could no longer see the terror of military dictatorship of Park Chung-hee government violent violation of human rights.

Fourth, he thought that the whole education system was preventing the young children to develop analytical capacity, to enjoy the life of youth and to form a mature personality of loving neighbors.

 Kim was a devout Christian; in fact, he was a deacon of a large Presbyterian Church in the Gangnam area. The corruption culture was something a Christian like Kim could not digest.

For all of these reasons, Kim decided to leave for Canada. He chose Canada for the following reasons. He was told that Canada was a rich country; he learned that Canada needed immigrants; he was informed that Canada was the most egalitarian country; he read somewhere that Canada had the most universal medical care insurance.

Mr. Kim chose Montreal despite the fact that it was French-speaking city. He had two reasons for choosing Montreal.

The first was that there was a church pastor who was a friend of a pastor of the church Mr. Kim used to go in Seoul. The second was that being a French region, his children would learn both English and French.

There was the hurdle to go over. He had to have the consent of his family. It is possible that his wife night have guessed what her husband had been thinking, but she did not intervene.  (다음 호에 계속)

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