It’s not uncommon for a parent to live in one place and work in another. Traveling back and forth between home and work can be a challenge but few do it quite the way the Shin family does. Freshman Jieun Shin lives with her mom and older brother while her dad lives and works in South Korea, visiting America every three months.

“Ever since I moved to America, it’s been very very different,” Jieun said. “I was very upset in the beginning when I moved to America because I was not used to living without my dad and I cried a lot and called him every single night, but now that I haven’t been living with my dad and only seeing him every 3 months for over 2 years, I’m used to it. I get very excited when he comes and visits because I miss him everyday.”

Jieun’s older brother Min helps his mother with English on a daily basis.

“Our mother doesn’t know English very well, so we have to help her when she’s outside of the house,” Min said. “She speaks Konglish which is Korean and English mixed whenever I communicate with her in English. When we’re in stores, offices, shops and other places that people speak English, my sister and I translate it for her to understand. Since my dad is fluent in English and whenever he’s here in America, he’s the one that helps my mom with English.”

Their mom Hong has been getting lots of help from her kids ever since they’ve moved to America.

“Since I grew up in Korea, I didn’t get a lot of help from my kids because I knew what to do and growing up with a lot of traditions is very different from America,” Hong said. “Ever since I moved to America, my kids have been helping me a lot with work because I don’t know English that well and they always translate for me to understand. I know how to greet their friends but I cannot start a conversation, but I’m learning from them. Also, I’m not used to the places in America, so they’re always telling me about places in America and I’m slowly starting to get used to the varieties of cultures and traditions here.”

Visiting his family every three months, Hyunjin Shin helps out his wife with challenges that the kids can’t be involved in.
“I visit them every 3 months while I’m teaching college students and curing animals in Korea for the rest of the months,” Hyunjin said. “It was pretty sad the first time they left Korea and me living alone because I missed them a lot, but now I got the hang of it and I contact them every single day. Whenever I’m in America, I help my wife with her English and the stuff she needs help with that the kids aren’t old enough to do and I take the whole family out to fun places when they’re on break.”