The Korean community of Washington expressed their gratitude for Dr. Paul Shin who retired last month from his position as Senator of the state of Washington. They gathered at Dr. Paul’s retirement ceremony to show their thankfulness. Dr. Shin responded to the Koreans of Washington by bowing before them as one would do to his parents, and in turn thanked all those who supported him during his time in office.
Dr. Shin was born in Paju, Korea where he lost his mother and was separated from his father when he was only four years old. He became a servant in the U.S. army during the Korean War. There he was adopted by an army doctor. He arrived in America in 1953 after the war, and eventually moved onto Bringham Young University and U Penn where he acquired a degree for International Relations and later a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies at the University of Washington.
After teaching at various institutes for around 30 years, Dr. Shin was elected a member of the House of Representatives, creating a sensation among the Korean community.
When he was elected senator, Dr. Shin wrote “Thank You” on the back of his election picket which said “Elect Paul Shin”, and went out to thank all the citizens while carrying it. He started a lot of policies that would benefit Koreans in the future such as enabling students to choose to learn Korean at their schools, and to open the door of opportunity for future Korean-American politicians.
Dr. Shin has also traveled between America and Korea to speak at various churches. He mainly focused on the younger generation and spoke on topics such as challenge and ambition.
