You Don’t Have to Live in the Past

This is my journey—from an abandoned street child in South Korea to a U.S. citizen living with purpose, designed by God. At three years old, my parents left me at a Buddhist temple. By five, I ran away, searching for them. I survived by traveling on foot, buses, and trains. I ate from garbage cans and off the ground. I slept wherever I could—on streets, in bus stations, and train terminals. As a child growing up between the streets and orphanages, I endured abuse, starvation, illness, and injury. I contracted polio. I fell from a wall. I learned pain before I learned safety. At seven years old, I was adopted and brought to the United States, stepping into what I believed would be a new life. But that new life came with its own battles—abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction, and overwhelming anger. Yet my story did not end there. In adulthood, I found healing. I found peace. I found purpose. This is not just my story—it is God’s story told through my life. It is the reason I am still alive.