As usual, my parents were lying down on the heated floor, watching eagerly a new Korean drama series on TV. So, I had to wait half an hour until it ended but it was a good opportunity to review the questions I would ask my father for the interview. As soon as it ended, my father, a bit annoyed, called me from the living room; so, I immediately ran out of my bedroom with the phone on my left hand while, on the other, a pen and a yellow notepad to record the conversation and his attitude respectively. In short, I was ready to understand his business motive abroad, an exclusive guidance for my career.
Impatient and tired, he was already settled on the sofa with all the light turned on. So, I immediately assailed him with questions. Surprised with the personal questions, he asked me about the purpose of the interview. Despite his concern about telling his personal story, he finally granted it. To give him a vague idea about the interview, I began by confiding him some of the questions so that he could be psychologically prepared.
To start, I asked him "What was the motivation of moving the business from London to Paris?" He answered me that the Korean company where he was working had opened a heavy equipment plant in Wales in England but it needed a strategic continental base for sales. Paris became the target, as it had a huge market with an original yet impregnable network.
"Not a single thing was easy to overcome, but the language was one of the highest barriers! So, I hired people who were basically able to speak both French and English." did he stated to the next question and something in him caught my eyes: his wrinkles around his face. In front of me, was seating a middle-aged man who still wore his years well at first sight, but, by staring at him minutely, there was but a man with a brown seamed face and a grizzled face due to the unsupported struggle he had to overcome by himself. He also added that supporting our family was not that easy as it was his first time in an unfamiliar place with a totally different language and culture; he had to organize everything including looking into a local school for my 3-year-old-younger brother and I. Besides, as the French originated from the Latin people, they tend to be straightforward, impatient and very emotional; these traits made him hard to manage the business right along.
So far, the questions did not seem that intrusive as he had neither difficulties nor hesitation answering them. His attitude showed as such: he was comfortably installed on the sofa, lying rather than sitting, with his head resting on the uppermost edge of it while his eyes were closed behind his transparent glasses, his head slightly heading to the ceiling by 45 degree and his feet resting on the small table in front of the sofa, with his arms and legs folded.
When I queried him, "How did you come out with diverse business items?" he suddenly put off his glasses, started to rub his eyes and his legs were folded, one on the floor the other on the sofa while his left hand was resting on the upmost edge of the couch. This was probably one of the questions he was uncomfortable answering me. After a pause of a few seconds, he earnestly replied to me, "What I am going to tell you now, is totally your right to use it as a part or entirely for your assignment; but this might not be such a good idea to deliver about all the details. Nevertheless, I will tell you the very truth.
"Before the Asian economic crisis, as I told you just above, we produced heavy equipment such as forklifts and excavators in Wales and exported them in France to sell them in other European countries. However, as soon as we were settled in Paris, the crisis happened which terribly affected the firm, having no choice but to shut down all the overseas branch offices. However, I could neither abandon the employees nor forgo everything I had done so far. So I decided to acquire the company I built in Paris."
After explaining that, he made a pause like to recall his memory. My attention was, once again, attracted to him and this time, on his burgeoning belly. It represented the stress he has endured hitherto. He has relieved his stress by eating a great amount of food, more exactly snacks. He has not usually eaten a lot for meal but a lot for biscuits, jellies and candies as well as drinks such as coke or sodas. Whether we were in London, Paris or Seoul, our fridge has always been full of various drinks and, inversely, our garbage full of empty cans as he used to drain at least 5 sodas a day.
My unconsciousness was awaken when he appended as such. "However, as the previous business was from a big company, it could not have been the same circumstances or conditions as a private one. It was difficult to maintain the business affairs as before, so we had to change and diversify the items. This is the main reason my company has produced and sold various items as well as components.
"Whether the business was a success or a failure, I would say both! It failed if we only consider the result as I shut down everything and came back to Korea. Yet it succeeded as I, a foreigner, managed to run a private international business firm abroad, being able to work with highly qualified employees; this phenomenon was, at the same time, really rare but also rewarding."
Even though I knew vaguely the whole story, I could further learn about my father, his own business affairs as well as his personal experience. Indeed, I was able to feel the sincerity in his eyes and thoughts and how responsible he was, even though it might have been a particularly hard time for him. Sometimes, he tend to swing his right hand around or be drifted into deep thoughts like Rodin's sculpture 'The Thinker' when answering the above two questions.
Finally, I inquired my father: "this is my last question; if you could return to the past, would you stick to your decision of the firm's acquisition or change it? If you would change it, how would you do?" After few seconds of reflection, he told me that, "Even though I could return to the past, I would stick to that decision. Even though I would have had an easier life by returning to Korea and going to the head office, I do not regret my decision and I would do the same if I was given the chance. I was proud of saving the intangible asset!" By stating 'intangible asset', he meant the technology or the know-how he could acquire, develop further, and expand overseas in addition to the management experience he got.
The interview was done and our eyes met for the first time. This surely proved that he was extremely concentrated and tried his best to answer to each questions as much precisely as possible. As a resident employee at the beginning, our family had the opportunity to live in different countries such as Italy, England and France for a quite long period. But I wanted to focus just on the transition from London to Paris and the situations my father had to endure and overcome all or mostly by himself as a breadwinner.
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