Senator Paull Shin

Washington State Senator, Paull Shin, visited Toronto on December 6, 2009.  The JoinTheLeaders Toronto team saw this as an opportunity to interview a man who transformed himself from being one of many homeless children in the streets of Korea to a US Senator.  The interview took place at a Korean restaurant during lunch.  During the interview, Senator Shin shared with us the story of his extraordinary life, both ups and downs, but all of them, inspiring experiences.  We hope you enjoy reading Senator Shin's inspiring story.

How was your life before and after you were adopted by an American soldier?

Senator Shin: It was a dark age with many trials.  In my life, I had to overcome three major trials: survival, education and identity as adoptee and immigrant.  For survival, normally when you are born, you have parents, but I had none so I had no choice but to beg for food to stay alive at the train station.  When the winter came, I struggled a lot for survival. During that time, when I was seven, I met a friend who was nine years old.  He was also a street beggar and his name was Jaewon.  In the morning, we separated to beg for food and by nightfall, we would meet at the station and sleep by cuddling each other to avoid from freezing.  We became best buddies and dependent on each other to survive. However, one day he said to me, “Hobeom – Senator’s Korean name -, this is too much and I can’t do this anymore and I am going to kill myself.” I said, “Don’t do that, we have to live together for each other. We depend on each other.”  One day, I came back to the station from a begging trip and I couldn’t find my friend and started to panic. I ended up finding Jaewon, laying down at the trail.  I dashed down there only to discover his dead body.  He had thrown himself into the running train and killed himself.  I was shocked.  I don’t know how long I cried for.  All I could say was, “don’t you know that you are the only friend I had.” Korea was under Japanese occupation at the time.  When the Japanese police came, they grabbed Jaewon’s body and threw him in the bucket like a piece of trash and took it away.  During that moment, I said to Jaewon in my heart, “Jaewon, you are a coward. We should have lived together and you are gone now.  I am not going to die and I am going to live for both of us.” Even today, I think of him and miss him. He gave me survival instinct: I am going to live no matter what happens.  I feel that he made a substantial contribution for my reason to survive and become what I am today.

After World War 2, the Korean War came.  During that time, I tasted a Hershey chocolate for the first time in my life.  I had never tasted anything so delicious before in my life.  So, everyday, I went after American soldiers. One day, I was picked up by one of the combat soldiers and I became his house boy.  I ended up staying there for two and half years.  Being alone and looking at American soldiers with abundance of clothes and blessings they had, I often became very lonely.  So, one night I was crying alone and when I opened my eyes, an American soldier walked over to me, hugged me tight and said, ”I have three children in America and when they cry, it hurts me inside.  I want to know why you are crying.”   He became my adopted father.  I was 16 then.  I arrived in US in 1955 when I was 19. This is how I overcame my first trial, survival.

Education, a struggle with GED

The next trial was education.  After I came to America, my adopted father suggested me to go to school but I was discouraged as I had never gone to school before.  I wanted to become a teacher though I was deprived of education. I went to grade school and requested for my enrollment but I failed because I was too old.  Thus, my only option was to take the GED (General Equivalency Diploma), which would provide me a high school diploma if I passed.  I would also become eligible to enter college. I didn’t even know ABCs at the time, but I took the challenge.  I struggled, but I studied hard and was able to pass the test in fourteen months. I thought begging for food was hard, but people give them to you, whereas for education, you have to work on it by yourself.  To me, it was another obstacle to overcome.  Overall, one who helped me the most was my father. He was always there when I struggled. He often came to me and said, “my son, I believe in you.”  That was enough to give me the motivation that I needed. Without him, I could have never made it and would have not been where I am right now.

I’m possible, not Impossible

While studying alone, I gained a ‘can do’ attitude and that education and further learning is entirely up to me.  You can do anything if you put your mind into it.  Even today, I follow the same concept. One time, I tried to memorize an English Dictionary with 450 pages.  I would become angry when I forgot words I studied on a previous page.  So I memorized words in a page, tore it up, burnt it, put it in a glass with water and drank it.  Anything that helped me to learn, I tried. One of the words I hated was, ‘impossible’. I disliked it so much that when I tore the page up in the dictionary and tried to put it together, I realized the word became, “I’m possible”. I still encourage my college students even after my 31 year teaching career.  I tell my students in Canada and America to always have a “can do” attitude. Education to me is problem solving: why and how?  I encourage my Korean students to challenge everything in life.  I am so grateful as somebody taught me how to question and strive.  Even today I believe that I can accomplish anything. This was the second hurdle I crossed.

Identity and Discrimination

The third trail was identity. When I first came to America, people used to call me ‘Chinaman’.  Asian prese nce in 1955 in the US was almost non-existent, so I often experienced racial discriminations.  Back then, I questioned myself, “I left Korea to avoid discrimination but I am facing racial problems here”.  The pinnacle of this problem occurred in 1958 when I was drafted into the US army in Texas.  On weekends, we used to go to civilian restaurants.  Those restaurants used to put up a sign saying, “Whites Only”.  I was discouraged from going in, but my buddies said it was ok.  As I went in one day, an extremely angry manager walked over, lifted me up from a chair, walked all the way across the restaurant, and threw me out.  As I hit the concrete floor, I questioned, “God, if you are there please let me know why I am always subject to discrimination.”  This is when I started to dream about becoming a politician who can make and change laws.  It took 32 years to make it happen as all good things do not come in easy packages.  But it comes and it is worthwhile.

Dream of becoming a politician

So I wanted to become a politician, because politicians have the power to make and change law. For example, they cannot use the word ‘Oriental’.  That is the very word I changed when I was elected the first time. I made an offer changing the word ‘Oriental’ to ‘Asian’ because when I was elected in the senate in the house, I did not know much about the legislative process.  There is a reason for that too. When I was campaigning for the senate, I knocked on doors, trying to introduce myself to constituents. One day, one guy looked at me very angrily and he said, “You Orientals, got too many of you, why don’t you get the hell out of here, go home!”  That really made me angry. But I collected my thought and said, “Thank you for asking me to go home, but this is my home.  I’ve been in this country for 43 years. I served in the US army for 2 years.  My family, my wife, and my children are all American citizens.  Even though my colour is different, I’m an American citizen too.  I’ve paid taxes for 41 years so this is my home.” When I talked to him sincerely, I saw his complexion change. The man who was so angry now said to me, “My friend, I’ll help you.”  So he became my friend and he knocked doors for me every day until the election day.  After I was elected in the office, he said, “As I recall, you don’t like being called an Oriental.  I don’t know why you didn’t like it, but why don’t you change the law? You could do that.”  To which I replied, “Thank you Ted”, and so I did.

When I introduced it first in 1999, my colleagues said that they did not know what the issue was so they didn’t pass it. Then next year, I made a copy of the 16^th century English dictionary and distributed it to all.  The dictionary said, ‘Orien’ is known as the east of London. ‘Oriental’ has been described as flat nose, fish eyes, round faced, black hair, short, dark, suspicious, strange, hard to understand, and not to be trusted.  So I passed down the word and it was passed unanimously, which was in 2001.  By 2003, US Congress accepted it and passed it as a law.  We’re now referred to as Asian.  The interesting part is the phone calls that I got from Singapore, Indonesia, and India asking, “what’s wrong with Oriental?”  Once I sent them a copy of the laws, the word “Oriental” was abandoned all over the world.  Oriental is a juvenile word, it’s a colonialistic terminology and now we’re called Asian.

Not a melting pot, but a ‘Tapestry’

One day, I got a call from someone and as I confirmed, that person replied with, “I’m Martin Luther King III, thank you for doing what you did. On January 15, we are holding a Southern Christian leadership conference in Kansas City, Missouri. I’d like to invite you as a keynote speaker.” I agreed.   When I got to the airport, I was greeted by Martin.  He said, “If my father was alive, he’d be the first one to thank you because my father also did not like to be called Negro/Indian.”  It’s a slave term.  

When I arrived at the conference, there were about 300 African American Christian people.  I didn’t know what to say.  I used a metaphor, “In America, we use a lot of metaphors.  Some people use baseball, apple pie, Chevrolet, or most commonly a melting pot.  What does that mean?  Do we melt together to become the same colour? I don’t think so.  To me, my metaphor on America is tapestry. There is a white thread, black thread, brown thread, yellow thread, and all different colours of threads.  Single thread is weak, but together, we reinforce each other to make a strong piece of tapestry.  To me, that is America”, I told them.  So I feel that my tapestry metaphor is more fitting than a melting pot. We don’t melt together to become one colour.  We do not change colour.

I feel that even though I had to cross three mountains -  Survival, Education and Identity - to realize what I have today, having done so was a blessing and I feel that God, using me, was accomplishing things, which I feel very grateful for.   I’m sure you folks sometimes go through identity problems here as well.  It is a universal thing.  Even though it bothered me, I used to identify myself as a “coloured man.”  Now I realize that I’m not a coloured man, instead I’m a man, just as good as anybody.

When you made a speech at Korean American Students Conference (KASCON), you mentioned that there will be a Korean-American president in US someday. Do you still believe in it?

Senator Shin: I believe that. That thought came to me in 1987 when the American president, Ronald Reagan and the Canadian Prime minister, Brian Mulroney were standing beside US and Canadian border, shaking hands. They were singing, "When Irish eyes are smiling."  They are both from Ireland.  Having a big immigration history itself, these immigrants from Ireland came to USA and Canada and became the leaders of these countries.  If this is not true democracy, then what is it?  

I said someday in the 21st century, a Korean-Canadian will become the prime minister and a Korean-American will become the president, standing at the US-Canadian border and sing ARIRANG together.  Now having seen Obama, I'm telling others that within 30 years, there will be a Korean-American president because it's visible now.  Can you imagine that an African-American person became the president with all the history behind slavery and how they were treated before?  How he did it is another story, but the fact that the American people voted for him really affect me and my perspective.

What do you think about the differences between the first and second generations of Korean-Canadians or Korean Americans?

Senator Shin:  I think for both first and second generations, we have a lot of homework to do on each other.  We need to first learn to empathize with each other: Why and How.  Then, we need to learn from that and prepare for the future.  As of now, the first and second generations have a bad habit of playing the blame game on each other. Instead of blaming, we have to learn to complement each other. I think that the first generation and the second generation have a lot to teach other.  For example, in 1996, I was a candidate to the position of United States' ambassador in South Korea.  During an interview, I was asked about issues regarding nuclear weapon, education, politics and everything else about South Korea. Towards the end, one man asked, "Dr. Shin, suppose you become the US ambassador to Korea and there is a war between US and Korea. Which side would you take?"  I didn't know what to say but in a moment later I said, "Thank you for asking me the question. To me, America is my fatherland; America has given me home, family, love and education, and has made me what I am today.  On the other hand, Korea is my motherland; she has given me birth, culture, the raising, and the color.  Now you are asking me this question of whether I will choose my mom or my dad when they are in the middle of a fight?  If you had to chose, whose side are you going to take?” I continued, “let me tell you my side. I want my mom and dad to get along most happily and peacefully.” I should've said that I would have taken the American side to become an ambassador, but I'm proud that I said what I said because I want to contribute to both my motherland also to my fatherland equally. I don't love my motherland any less than my fatherland.  I love them both equally. I'm grateful that I was adopted and came to this country because it has made me become what I am today.  The trials became opportunities for me.

You folks are young. You have a lot dynamics and future ahead of you.  Bon voyage! You could become whatever you want to become.

 What advices could you share with the young people?

Senator Shin:  at the history of Korean-Americans or Korean-Canadians, the first generation of Korean-Canadians and Korean-Americans think as Koreans, act as Koreans, and speak as Koreans.  On the other hand, the second generations think they’re Canadian or American.  They struggle with their identities.  In America, a lot of second generations commit suicide because of their identity issues.

1^st generation parents always tell their children to become lawyers, doctors, etc. – Is this the right way to go?  I don’t know.

About 12 years ago, a junior in Westpoint – US Military Academy -, a 2^nd generation Korean student, fell from 6 story high building and died.  Later that day, the police discovered a diary that he wrote before he died.  It merely says, “I didn’t really want to become a soldier.”  Why did he come to Westpoint? They found that his father was a former officer from the Korean Army.  His father’s dream was to become a general. Since he didn’t get the star, he forced his son to take on his dream, costing the son’s life in the end.

Various problems exist between the 1^st and 2^nd generations.  We need to learn together, understand each other, and reduce the void between them. So, I think 1^st generation Koreans have a lesson to learn.  Since we came here, we are part of this country. We should work together.  We have a little bit of transition to make and I’m hoping that this will be smooth as time passes by. It will take some time. We have to understand and be semantic together. We cannot forget the past.  We cannot forget our identity.

Many people ask me, ”what have you done that you consider great?”  My answer was simple: “I have not done anything that great. I’ve done only small things. But for every small thing, I did it with care and love. “  I’m not dead yet, but when I die, I know what I’m going to put on my tombstone. “Here lies a man who took two cultures to find himself and find the world.”  I think the younger generation should all go through that transition too.

Have a dream, have a hope.

Many kids say, “I want to go to college because my mom wants me to go to college. “ – To me, this is very unwise.  They should say, “I am here because I wanted to come here to become somebody” – This is when education becomes more meaningful.

My recommendation to young people is to follow your dream. I found in North America, you could do anything you want to.  Actually, Canada is getting ahead. Do you know that the Canadian percentage of college students is greater than in the United States?  You have a future and you have a huge country and that vast land is yours to conquer.

Do you have any dreams?  What would you like to achieve?

Senator Shin:  I’ve been blessed so much by coming here.  I was planning on retirement after my term, which is next year.  I wasn’t going to run again for another term so that I can travel the world and help adopted children and orphans.  They have their own problems and I wanted to spend time helping them, but I changed my mind.   

A few years ago, a 16 year old teenager challenged me by asking, “How did you change from ‘hate’ to ‘love’?” I asked, “What does that mean?” He said, “you hated your father. But now you love him. How did you do that?” – I didn’t really know where he was coming from, so I asked his mother.  When he was 6 years old, his father abandoned him and his mother worked twice as hard to support the kid.  The boy grew up hating his father.  So his mother brought him in to see me from California.  I told him my story of how I found my father, how I brought my half brothers and sisters, and also how I eventually brought my father to the States although I didn’t like him because he abandoned me too.  After hearing my story, the boy kept on saying, “I hate my father, I hate my father!”  Then he asked me, “Could I ask you for a favor? Could you be my grandfather?” – I said, “I would happily be your grandfather”  Now he calls me almost once a week saying, “Grandpa, how are you? I’m going to find my father and I’m going to love him!” – After this, I decided to run for senate to do one more term to help these kinds of kids.

I’m starting my campaign next year. When I’m done as the senate, I will be 80 years old.  I’ll be very old, but I will always work for the adoptees and take care of them.  This is how I want to finish my life.

About Senator Paull Shin

Senator Paull Shin was born in 1935 and adopted by American GI (General Infantry, a member of US armed forces) during the Korean War. Brought to the United States by his adoptive family, he began his education with a GED (General Educational Development, 검정고시) and went on to earn a Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington. He retired from teaching at the college level for 31 years, the last 26 years at Shoreline Community College in Seattle. Senator Shin serves as the Chair of the International Relations Subcommittee, and as s Vice Chair of the Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee. He also serves on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. He works indefatigably to promote international trade on behalf of the state of Washington. He is also interested in education and bringing jobs to the state. Senator Shin and his wife Donna have lived in Edminds for more than 30 years. They have two children and five grandsons. 

Interview Date : Dec. 6, 2009
Interviewers: Jooseok Lee, Yongsub Eric Shin, Joseph Kim, Sarah Yoon
Photographer: Gerald Law
Editors: Phil Kim, Hyungbin Kim, Chris Heebum Lee, Hyunwoo Lim

The views expressed in the interviews are not necessarily reflective of JoinTheLeaders's opinion.

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