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)

(지난 호에 이어)

This was an unexpected surprise. In fact, he was preparing answers to custom officers’ questions who would surely ask about the purpose of their trip to Canada. But the custom lady did not ask many questions.

When she stamped their passports, Kim had the feeling of passing school examination. He had the feeling that passing the custom office was a giant step forward in his new life.

They had to wait for three hours before they took the plane to Montreal. They went to the shopping area near the waiting room.

They found a Udon shop. What a relief to find Udon which he and his family enjoy eating! He ordered four Udon bowls with shrimp; they were delicious. There were huge crowd and more than a half of them were Asians.

He learned later that about 40% of the Vancouver citizens were Asians. This gave Kim a feeling of relief of not being alone in Canada. That there were many Asians in Canada made Kim feel less marginalized.

Finally, the plane took off and Kim and his family were heading for their final destination, Montreal. Contrary to the trip up to Vancouver, this time, the passengers were mostly Caucasians. Kim has never seen so many Caucasians at the same time.

Kim was watching their behavior closely. They looked relaxed and content of themselves; they talked with low voice not to disturb others; this was a contrast to Asians who talk aloud in the plane. The flight personnel were older than those of the Korea Air or Japanese Air, but they were efficient and professional.

In the plane, apart from Kim’s family, there were four other Asians who were heading for Montreal. Kim did not have a chance to talk to them, but he thought that they could be immigrants like his family. He wished them all the best.

The plane was flying over the Prairies. Kim was looking down through the window. After having passed the vast Rocky Mountains, the plane was flying over Alberta and Saskatchewan. Kim was just awed by looking down at the endless plain.

Kim heard about the vastness of the Canadian territory, but he never imagined this. He later learned that the Canadian territory was 150 times that of South Korea. He thought that Canada was surely the most blessed country in the world.

Kim was thinking about Korea. More than forty million people have to live in a space of about 33,000 square kilometers; 66% of 100,000 square kilometers that is the total size of South Korea is mountains and hills which are not suitable for human settlement.  Korea lacks the habitable space; this is the reason of real estate speculation and unusually high housing price. Kim wished that many more Koreans should come to Canada and settle for good.

As the plane was flying toward Montreal, Kim became uptight and asking himself again. He thought that he was sure of the reason for immigrating to Canada. But he never defined what he expected from immigrated life. He began to think and think. “What is my dream?” he asked himself. He could identify some of the possible elements of his dream.

It is true that Kim decided to leave Korea for a better life. But what is a better life? What should he expect? Kim was thinking hard; he knew that he should not be content with some vague wishes; he knew that he should establish road map of his new life which just began.

He was looking at his wife and kids who seemed anxious and at the same time excited. He felt the weight of his terribly important responsibility.

The pilot announced: “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are passing over Winnipeg. Enjoy your trip!”

Kim classified his dream into four targets. First, he thought that the top priority should be the education of Paul and Nancy. He thought that they should go to the best school in Montreal, find a rewarding profession, get married and have babies and live happily.

But he was asking more; he was praying God that they should become better Christians by loving neighbors and doing something, even if it is a small thing for the humanity created by God.

Second, he thought that he should become a better husband. In Korea, his profession and the very survival in the dog-eat-dog competitive environment kept Kim away from Sookja; he had little time to spend time with kids; he had to drink wine by necessity for the sake of the “business success.” Kim had little time to build up sweet memories with his family. He had little time to create loving memories.

Kim was looking again tenderly at Sookja and promised to himself:

“ Dear wife, I will try to be a better husband for you. I am so sorry that I was often impatient; that I arrived at home drunk; that I kept my mind closed to you; that I did not give you chance to share my life!”

Kim suddenly found that Sookja was much more beautiful than he had thought. He strongly felt a sense of gratitude to her. He promised to himself to tell her his inner life and build up a loving and productive relationship including spiritual life.

Sookja looked at him with tender smile as if she understood his mind.

A stewardess passed through offering coffee.

“ Yobo, do you want coffee?” eagerly asked Kim.

Yobo means in Korean “Sweet Heart” or "Darling."

“Yes, I like that, Nancy’s Appa!” replied Sookja with convincing voice.”

In Korea family, wife calls her husband as child’s father (Appa). and husband calls his wife as mother of child, Paul's Omma.

The coffee was good. Sookja seemed enjoying it.

The kids asked for soft drinks.

Knowing that the long journey will soon be over, everybody was relaxed and the tension shown on their faces disappeared.

After having decided to make a reform in his relation with Sookja and his kids, he was thinking of his relation with other people.

 But, what should be his relation with non-family people? What should be his relations with his home country, Korea? What is going to be his relation with Canadians and Quebec people? How is he going to develop constructive relations with Koreans in Montreal? What does the church mean to him? Above all, what is going to be his relation with God? (다음 호에 계속)

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