[Sportschosun Reporter Jeong An-ji] Chef Sam Kim opened up about the sacrifices his family made and the guilt he carried while pursuing his dream of becoming a chef.
On the August 26 episode of tvN's "You Quiz on the Block," star chef Sam Kim, now in his 27th year in the industry, revealed the heartbreaking family story behind his dream of cooking.
That day, Sam Kim said, "When I was in high school, our family situation improved a lot. We had five houses," adding, "My mother ran a boarding house and my father was in the steel business."
He explained, "Back then, instead of buying a house, if steel was used to build a villa, we would receive one unit in the building instead of cash for materials," and added, "That was how we ended up owning five houses."
But his father's once-thriving business took a sharp downturn during the 1997 IMF Crisis. Sam Kim said, "Because my father's business was doing so well, he expanded into other materials too," and added, "When the IMF Crisis hit, everything became difficult."
As the family's finances worsened, a so-called red notice was even posted on their home. In the end, Sam Kim chose to enlist in the military, and after being discharged, he decided to study cooking in the United States.
Sam Kim said, "My desire to go to the United States and study cooking kept growing. At the same time, our family situation kept getting worse," adding, "I told my family I wanted to become an accountant before I left. I couldn't tell my mother that I wanted to cook."
He said, "Seeing how badly I wanted to study abroad, my mother took out a loan for 3 million won from a second-tier lender," and added, "She told me, 'If you really want to go, take this and leave. But if you run out of money, you have to come back.'" He continued, "I wasn't in a position to get a loan with collateral," and expressed his gratitude, saying, "My mother gave me something truly huge."
But after Sam Kim left, his mother became a delinquent borrower. Sam Kim said, "I once came back to Korea after seven years. That was when everything became such a shock." He recalled, "When I went home, it was not the house I had left behind, but a smaller semi-basement home." He added, "My parents also looked older than before. From that moment on, I felt so sorry. I kept thinking that if I had stayed and helped support the household instead of going abroad, our family might have been in a better situation."
Sam Kim said, "I had been so busy working that I didn't know what was happening in Korea, and I felt terrible about that." He added, "I was so happy cooking for those seven years. But when I thought about my family spending those same seven years in Korea, I felt like a sinner. I felt guilty," as he broke down in tears.
anjee85@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
