With my arrival in Korea in February I was reconnecting with a friend, Han, Wan-hui, who I had not seen in many years. I first met him just a little over a year before "Y2K", for those too young to remember or even know, the moniker applied to the year 2000. He had been attending Walter's State Community College as a foreign student and, needing money, despite the strong limitations of my ability to compensate him (the other options he had were much worse), he agreed to assist me in the running of a very special martial arts program in east Tennessee.
Myself in my late 40's in uniform, having earned multiple Black Belt levels in Taekwondo, Judo, and Hapkido from a very special Korean Master, and graduate of Korea Judo College (now known as Yong-In University), Grandmaster Eun, Byong Kon.
In the US with, from left, former student Todd Ottinger, Jung, Mi-hyan, 1997 Korean National Taekwondo Champion, Wan-hui, and myself.
Wan-hui's graduation from Walters State displaying some of the honors he earned.
In the time we were together I witnessed this young man maturing to become the kind of man he has become. One dedicated to family - he not only has a wife and three daughters, but, in a time when traditions are becoming loosened by the demands of earning a living, has kept with the Korean tradition of helping his parents who also live with him - and friends (he provided me the ability to come to Korea now rather than me having to await certain financial arrangements).
After his return to Korea he found himself having to reinvent himself three times. At first, he taught English, that is until competition caused some reduction in his income (Korea is an incredibly competitive society; but only by this means were its people able to rise from years of Japanese domination only to be followed by the destruction of war, to become one of the large economic tigers of Asia. While many would have been satisfied by the level of income he was still receiving from the teaching of English, he saw the future and was concerned so he used his knowledge of the ocarina, a beautiful sounding, traditional wind instrument,to recreate himself as a teacher, craftsman, and author, and wound up becoming a 'National Treasure'. Even today, his book on the ocarina which he wrote several years ago is very highly regarded. Yet, competition infringed even on that market so he began trading through the internet and made considerable money there until that market died. He is currently working towards a fourth reincarnation and I expect that this will prove at least as successful, if not more so, than his previous efforts. He is a mover and a shaker, not a follower; and he has the brains,the flexibility of mind, and the same relentless pursuit of goals as a tiger following its prey to be a person of significance. To truly understand Wan-hui, try to create in your mind the image of somebody imbued with a traditional understanding of how life should be managed in combination with an absolute determination and drive for success. So, with my working to pass from cloud shadow into the light of the sun for my final life's journey, into this household I landed upon entering Korea.
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