47. My First Book

It was pre IMF in Korea. Everyone was confident Korea would join the rank of developed countries in no time. Government was giving out grants to non-government organizations for the disabled. Everywhere I went, they talked about the welfare and the rights of the disabled. But in reality, nothing much had changed. There was not enough reasonable accommodation, I had to rely on the kindness of the people around. There weren’t enough educated and qualified disabled people to take the opportunities. Those few who went to school on their parents back and graduated were leading some of these organizations.

 

Knowing that I worked in workers’ compensation field, the editor of the paper I wrote the column for, Dong Bum Kim, introduced me to Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service. I had meetings with them and gave a presentation too. For many years, I provided transcripts for their books and studies, and once attended a big seminar. 

 

I found out their employees changed the positions in every 2-3 years. In Korea, civil and public workers changed the positions on regular basis. It provided the opportunities to learn different works within the organization. The new comers would bring fresh views and new ideas. At the same time, the department would lose the expertise of the long-term professional employees.

 

In America, civil service hardly ever forced the employees to move around. An employee could work in the same job for decades. Department would retain their experience and knowledge. 

 

Bang, who was a scriptwriter for various stations, invited me to her program at the Buddhist radio station. She also referred me to Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and I worked as their overseas correspondent for several years. Twice a month, I called in and reported the current events in disabled community in America. Suddenly, I became well known among the disabled community in Korea. Some looked at me with their cynical eyes. “Who are you? Where you came from?”

 

I got a call from Korea Rehabilitation Foundation. They asked me if I would write a book about me. They published books to improve the disability awareness. They distributed the books to schools and sponsored the essay contest about it. They wanted to publish my book in both English and Korean for the students in middle and high schools. So, I wrote the book, “I’ve Got the Wings.” 

 

Eun Kyung Ko, CEO of Myung Jak, edited and made it into a book. It was the beginning of my long-term friendship with her. I sent her my first draft, she made some corrections and asked me to make it longer. I reviewed the final draft, sent her some pictures for the illustrations, and there came the book.

 

In desert or deep sea where the food is scare, animals would not let it go once they got a hold of the prey. I did not have much opportunity to make friends. So, when I had a chance, I would not let it go. Once the book was published, my business relation with Eun Kyung was pretty much over. But I kept in touch with her. We occasionally exchanged e-mails and said hi.