Risk Takers, Visionaries, and Happiness Seekers — We are Women | Part 1

A Little Firecracker Who Was Not Afraid to Stand Up to Her Father

“Unless you try, you won’t know,” said my mother enthusiastically who lives in Seoul, over 2,700 miles away from my home in a suburb of Seattle. About 6 years ago, I left a large technology company to pursue starting my own business. While excited about my new journey, my daily emotional highs and lows as a newly minted entrepreneur, sometimes stirred up self-doubt. My mom’s familiar and encouraging voice always helped me to get grounded on my why — growing my impact beyond the company and its shareholders.

My mother, now in her late 70s, grew up in a patriarchal society. My maternal grandfather, a mayor of a large western coastal city in Korea, accepted and practiced polygamy like many affluent and powerful men of his generation. Growing up with a few stepmothers and half brothers and sisters in the same house, my mother never felt the parental love and attention she was seeking. My maternal grandmother didn’t produce a son, an heir to my grandfather, but only two beautiful daughters, my mother, and her younger sister. This was how my grandfather justified polygamy — to get a son.

My maternal grandmother, my grandfather’s first wife, escaped into a Buddhist temple to get away from her husband, his other wives, and even her own kids, to seek solitude and peace. My mother longed for a new life, a new beginning away from all the drama taking place in her father’s house. When my mother turned 19, she packed up her stuff in a small suitcase, walked to the bus station, and took a 10-hour bus ride to Seoul. She had the home address of one of her distant relatives in Seoul.

It was 1958, just five years after the Korean War ended, and what she did — fleeing her father’s patriarchal, dysfunctional household at a young age — was unheard of at the time. Korean women of her generation were raised to obey their parents, marry a man in an arranged marriage, worship and submit to their husband, and then raise lots of kids, especially boys.

My grandfather got so angry at his daughter’s audacity and the humiliation her act brought to him and his reputation. Consequently, he completely cut off any financial support for my mother for a long time until he became seriously ill. She was brave, independent-minded, and took her destiny into her own hands. She was a true pioneer.

Over the past six years, I have built a few different startups, ranging from enabling small businesses to be digital marketing ready to educating students in K-8 about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Without a generation of women before me who dared to stand up to societal norms, I might not have such courage to leave the comfort of corporate life for an uncertain journey. While challenging at times to deal with unknowns as an entrepreneur, it’s at the same time gratifying to experience the impact I have on others.