MKOTBlog

When I was younger, it never seemed to me that my dad was a very outgoing person. I remember him as a quiet, pensive man, who, after his retirement and move to Canada, spent hours by himself painting watercolors (In December I found a numerous amount of his paintings in my house, and I hope to post photos of them sometime in the future). At most times, he was a serious parent, with serious expectations of his children.

He did, however, have the reputation among our extended family as “the fun uncle.” There were rare moments, like big family gatherings and weddings, where a whole new side of my dad emerged. He was loud, he was chatty, and he indeed was the life of the party as he sang and danced with everyone and anyone around him. I didn’t get to see this side of dad too often, but it would always make me happy when I did.

From the following photos of my dad from his youth, it’s not hard to see that he was a pretty silly guy inside.

Not 100% certain, but I think this is from when he served in the Korean Navy.

Camping

Showing off more of his camping equipment.

One of my favorite things about going back home is having the chance to look through old family photos. No matter how many times I have seen them before, with each opportunity I see something or someone new and am always overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia.

More than anything else, I enjoy coming across photos of my father from his younger days, through which I try to understand his life in the past. For those who may not know, my father passed away in May 2005 after a very short battle with pancreatic cancer, so I guess this may be one of my ways of remembering him. I won’t explain the details of this whole episode (that’s a story for another time), but in the next few days I will be posting some photos of my father I found during this holiday break: some goofy, some serious, but all encompassing the personality of my dad.