Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

How I Became a Real Father…Just Like in the Movies

2015-05-21 16:01

The movie “Like Father, Like Son” (poster below) came out in 2013, but it was specially selected for a TV program on the occasion of this year’s Family Month. It’s the story of a family whose baby was mistakenly switched with another in the hospital. The film has received new attention, as a work that defines “father.”

Ma Sang-uk, a professor of the Department of Youth Counseling and Coaching at Soongsil Cyber University, said, “The best father for children is not a successful father but a father who spends time with them.” What kind of father am I? Before the end of this “family month” of May, let’s take a look at our lives as fathers.



Story 2: “Opening the door to conversation through SNS”: Prof. Sohn Wonyoung and his son Sohn David Sunghyun


Rev. Sohn Wonyoung (50), a professor at Seoul Christian University, was so busy with his overseas studies and dissertation writing that he could not give his young son “experiences with dad.” As the years passed, eventually his schedule became more flexible, but by then his son had grown up and left the family’s embrace. The boy, who had lived in a dormitory in Chungbuk, went to the U.S. to study in his 3rd year of middle school.

“Maybe for that reason, my relationship with my son seemed to lack cohesiveness. To be honest, his reticence made it hard for me to talk with him.” Before leaving for the U.S., his son made a proposal: he suggested that his father join Facebook so they could contact each other that way. This was done, so whenever Prof. Sohn looked at Facebook, he could find out how his son was getting along.

“But one day, I found myself excluded from my son’s list of friends. Feeling sad, I asked him why. Probably he had felt like he was being watched. But he just said, ‘With the “follow” function, I am reading everything you write.’ So I thought, I will write to my son what I want to say to him.”

Prof. Sohn revealed himself through Facebook in an effort to get closer to his son. He felt very awkward in this process: when he was young, the conflict between him and his father, a believer in Confucianism, and their reconciliation; his mother’s remarriage; the joys and sorrows of being left-handed… The stories he normally could not communicate were released through his writing on Facebook, allowing the son to understand his father’s existence.

Two years ago, when Prof. Sohn had finished a sabbatical year in the U.S. and was about to return to Korea, he got a phone call from his son. “Father, go safely and well.” Differently from his originally short, brusque way of speaking, now his son spoke with tenderness. His father could feel the change that had taken place in him.

This year his son Sunghyun (20) became a university student. By chance, Prof. Sohn happened to see a video made as part of his son’s preparations for university application. In response to the question “Whom do you respect?” Sunghyun replied, “My father.” The clear tones of his voice resounded in his father’s heart.

* Earlier this year, Prof. Sohn published his letters on Facebook as "Letters to My Son, My Facebook Friend" (photo below).




Reporter Roh Heekyung (hkroh@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)


Click here for the full story in Korean

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