37. Fly-by-Night

Korean immigration rush was the highest in 80’s. On any day, you could see Korean families coming out of the terminals pushing large bags in LAX.

 

Unique feature of the immigrant community was none of the previous lives mattered. Those who used to have nice titles and positions had more difficulty adjusting to new life styles. Blue colors and underprivileged settled down faster.

 

Korean government limited the amount of money people could take out of the country. You could not take your own money. People became gardeners and cleaners. They bought cargo vans and took various merchandises to the swap meets. Women adjusted to the new life faster and better than men, and the kids did better than the adults. People who had some money bought wig and clothing stores or liquor stores in black community. Some of them became victims to the armed robberies. 

 

Those who came to America and settled down early used to brag and exaggerate their stories. I met some of them in church. P came in 70’s and became a mechanic, K’s wife suffered stress induced hair loss while studying for RN exam, and L who came as a foreign student became a successful gas station owner. 

 

C who came to America around the time I came spent half of his life teaching in middle school in Korea. Teaching was a very respectful occupation there. His wife and daughter went to occupational center and became electronic assemblers. He could not find a job. Later, he became a part time janitor of Mormon church. 

 

L bought a large house with a pool in Northridge. He invited friends on holidays and week-ends and grilled LA Korean BBQ ribs. He had a gas station. He also opened one-hour photo shop and mail box business. Later, he got the contract with USPS and offered post office services. I loaned mother’s saving, $30,000, and collected interest from him. 

 

I heard some negative rumor about him. He opened new business with the money he borrowed and the business was not doing well. He borrowed money from many church people. Most of them willingly loaned the money to him to earn interests. 

 

People got together and had a meeting with him. We asked him what his plan was. He did not say much. Few days later, he came to see me. In lieu of the money he borrowed from me, he wanted to transfer the title of his one-hour photo and mail box business to me. He made it sound like he was doing me a big favor.

 

There was nothing left in the business. He was using post office money order illegally, got caught, and lost the contract with USPS. The rest of business was not making any money, either. I had no choice. I hoped I could get some money back from the business. Actually, he used me. He needed some time to pack and leave the town. In couple of days, he disappeared with his family. 

 

I ran the business with the employees who were there. After my work at State Fund, I went to the store, ordered supplies and kept the books. After the expenses and payrolls, I did not have enough money to cover the rent and payment for the photo equipment. So, I was forced to close it after a few months. 

 

Few months later, father found out L was living in Guam with his family. Korean community in Guam was very small and father’s friend had a relative there. Father and mother went to Guam and confronted L. He promised he would send them monthly payments to pay back the loan. He sent two payments and stopped it. I heard he died in Guam a few years later. 

 

K and P also bought large houses. During the real estate market drop in 90’s, they both lost their homes.