Once he roamed the urban back alleys and lived the life of a young hood, but Kim Jong-won has proven that "bad boy" doesn’t have to last forever
"I was stabbed more than twice and my finger bones were crushed one too many times," said the 48-year-old of his young years. "I’m embarrassed to say those were my immature days."
But with those same fingers, Kim has whipped out plates and plates of food for the homeless elderly for the past 20 years.
Now a chef in Seoul, Kim makes trips every weekend to nursing homes and shelters around the country with a bus full of food _ added with his energy. "It’s not merely volunteer work. Serving these mothers and fathers is my greatest happiness," he said in a Korea Times interview at his Yoido restaurant. "So even after a week of hard work, I just hop into my bus and hit the road on the weekend."
Kim even owns a bus especially bought to serve the elderly.
"It cost a little more than 100 million won, so yes, I guess it was a big investment," he said. "But there is just so much to take with me that a normal-size car isn’t enough."
Kim usually brings with him pots full of food cooked in his restaurant kitchen, along with other entertainment equipment, including a karaoke machine.
Chef Kim Jong-won, center, smiles with senior citizens before a meal on his bus. Photo: Kim Jong-won
He laughed and said, "You wouldn’t know how much these old folks love singing!" Behind all of this goodness, Kim has an emotional scar he lived with most of his life. At age six, his father passed away and later his mother abandoned him. Left alone, Kim lived as an orphan, which he says eventually led to his delinquent childhood. However, knowing he couldn’t live a dark life for too long, Kim jumped out of it.
"It was hard to make the move, but I knew it was the right decision," he recalled. "And that’s when I started doing all kinds of work to make a living." Selling on the streets, running a small eatery and doing other random jobs that popped up, Kim said he became exhausted and yearned more for motherly love - even though he was a grown man.
"I began to visit nursing homes out of my personal thirst in some ways," he said. "But whatever the reason, it was the motivator that got me through my tough times." And just two years ago - after years and years of tireless searching - Kim found his mother through a morning show. "I couldn’t believe it either," he said of the miracle moment. "I went on the show with the slim chance that my mother or someone who knew her would be watching, but it actually happened."
Just around the same time period, Kim also began hosting a section of a weekday evening show on KBS network called "My Hometown at Six." Titled "Table of Love," the chef traveled around secluded areas in the country to meet with unfortunate seniors and served them a warm meal. "I planned the show and approached KBS, so I was really excited when they took my offer," he said.
After two years, the show ended last year due to Kim’s personal reasons - juggling his business and volunteer work. If given another chance at doing a similar show, he said he would gladly take it again and do a better job.
"There’s no end to treating the seniors of our society," he said. "People can toss money to them, but some of the rich people who stop at just that sometimes really anger me," Kim lamented.
He said that once the show crew visited a single grandmother living in a rundown house in a secluded area of town. "There were mice everywhere and the ceiling was about to collapse from mice droppings," Kim said. "They were even biting off the grandmother’s toes."
Looking at the situation in shocked disbelief, he put aside filming for the show and stormed at town officials for their lack of attention to the local, elderly ill. "We spent the whole afternoon reworking her home to make it a pleasant place for her to sleep in," he said. "And this is just one of the many, many stories I have of unfortunate old people abandoned by their children and society."
Kim, who is a full-time chef and weekend volunteer, said he hopes the attention given to him would be diverted to these elderly people. "Don’t look too far," he added. "They might even be your next-door neighbor. All you need is just a little attention to find out."
By Jane Han
Copyright. KoreaTimes.co.kr