[0:09] I was born in South Korea. Uh I was born [0:14] in 1962 [0:16] and I came to the United States as [0:19] [music] a student as an international [0:21] student to be more precise. Uh that was [0:24] 1990. My father was a teacher and my [0:29] mother was a homemaker [0:31] and we were four [music] siblings and my [0:34] father used to tell us that uh uh the [0:37] only resources we have [music] in this [0:40] country uh are human resources which [0:44] means you have to study really hard uh [0:46] to make a difference in your life and in [0:48] the fate of this country. So I was told [0:51] to study really hard uh from the time I [0:53] was born by my parents. Uh so I was [0:56] really determined [music] to study hard [0:59] and broaden my horizons and there was an [1:02] opportunity to go to study in the United [1:05] States. So [music] I gave it a try. I [1:07] happened to receive a scholarship and I [1:09] came to the United States. [1:17] I came to study at the University of [1:19] Minnesota and I happened to stay. The uh [1:24] people who uh hosted me when I first [1:27] came to the US as a international Rotary [1:30] scholarship recipient were the Edina [1:33] Rotary members. So Edina always meant a [1:36] special uh uh to me. So, I've been [1:40] [music] [1:40] uh living in the state of Minnesota for [1:42] the past 35 years. Majority of it was [1:45] Inidina. When I came to the United [1:48] States, [music] I received $23,000 from [1:50] Rotary International. And somehow I [1:54] became a lawyer and I began to practice. [1:56] I began to save money. I thought, "Wow, [1:59] how did it happen? I came from a humble [2:01] country, from humble family. Now I am [2:04] actually making money. maybe I should [2:06] pay back part of the scholarship [music] [2:08] I received. So I called up Rotary [2:11] International uh and the person who [2:13] [music] answered my phone call said uh I [2:15] have a better idea instead of returning [2:17] the scholarship you received why don't [2:20] you join Rotary and you can pay for the [2:23] future scholars. So I thought that was a [2:25] great idea. So I joined the Dana Rotary [2:28] and I began to uh pay back bit by bit. [2:33] Uh I thought once I'm done with uh [2:36] paying back the scholarship I received I [2:38] would quit. But then I met hundreds of [2:43] wonderful people. I thought wow this is [2:47] uh more than I bargain for. I got to [2:50] stay with them. So I ended up staying [2:53] with Rotary and I showed up more than [2:55] anybody else. and somehow the leadership [2:58] of Adina Rotary Club asked me to become [3:02] its president. [3:04] So in year 2011, [3:07] I may have become the first ever I don't [3:10] know non-white uh president of Adina uh [3:14] Rotary Club uh in its uh 60 year [3:18] history. [3:27] When I was living in Korea, the foreign [3:30] for foreignb born citizens percentage [3:32] was under 3%. [music] [3:35] Uh in America, foreignb born citizens in [3:38] America definitely exceed more than 15%. [3:42] So there are definitely more people of [3:45] color. There is a diversity uh in the [3:48] US. So uh my neighbors for example uh I [3:53] know there is an Australian, I know [3:55] there is a Chinese, Taiwanese, [3:59] uh Indian uh so it's a definitely a very [4:03] diverse country in a way. It's a very [4:05] dynamic country in that regard as well. [4:07] I've been a lawyer about 31 years and [4:10] I've been a Rotarian uh with the Dina [4:13] Rotary Club for 30 years. So my career [4:17] and my membership with Rotary uh go side [4:20] by side. Uh I had clients from uh all [4:24] over the world from Africa, Asia, [4:26] Europe. These days [music] um it is not [4:30] always easy for these folks to come to [4:32] the US for one reason or another. But [4:36] then I uh met a group of people recently [4:39] who are committed to helping uh [4:42] immigrants uh coming to this country and [4:44] become successful. I saw the difference [4:47] uh in the sense that um those who try to [4:51] understand and feel the pain of the [4:54] newcomers can actually make a [4:56] difference. If you look around, America [4:59] is composed of immigrants. [5:01] Uh so we should always welcome [5:04] immigrants. I understand those who feel [5:07] the pain uh of these immigrants actually [5:12] develop love for humanity and then that [5:16] triggers service above self. [5:19] uh feeling the pain of uh uh newcomers [5:24] uh and developing love for humanity [5:26] which will trigger service above self uh [5:29] is a process you can compare [music] to [5:32] an oyster developing a beautiful pearl [5:36] [music] in its softer flesh. [5:46] So I want to um tell everyone that we [5:50] all came from somewhere. As long as we [5:54] can understand the pain of the people [5:58] who are not any different from our [6:00] fathers or grandfathers, we should um [6:03] help them and that will lead to America [6:07] becoming uh a leader uh in every aspect. [6:13] I went to the mayor. I went to the [6:16] school superintendent [6:18] to make a suggestion that we should have [6:23] more opportunities [music] [6:24] where those who have been living in [6:26] Edina multi-generations and those who [6:29] just came here to get together. [6:33] Uh either smart or not, wealthy or not, [6:36] it doesn't really matter. We all became [6:39] uh part of the city. We somehow decided [6:41] to reside in this city. We should all [6:44] meet with each other. Uh uh make the [6:47] community a much better place.