Suk advises young to have fun

Jeannie Suk, a professor of Harvard Law School, speaks during a press event at a cafe near Hongik University, Seoul, Tuesday. She released her first autobiographical essay “A Light Inside” last Thursday. / Courtesy of Book House

By Baek Byung-yeul

What is the recipe for success and what kind of life does a person who is highly acclaimed in their field lead? Jeannie Suk, the first Asian American woman to hold tenure at Harvard Law School said it is “just have fun.”

Suk, 39, visited Korea to promote her first essay “A Light Inside” published recently. “I was very touched by the deep attention Koreans gave me then (when she made tenure in 2010). It came as a surprise that especially young people sent me a lot of questions via email. I realized I must talk about my life story first to give proper answers to them and so I wrote this book," the professor said at a press interview held at a cafe near Hongik University in Seoul, Tuesday.

Suk left Korea for the United States with her family in 1979 when she was 6 years old. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in French literature at Yale University, she received a doctoral degree in philosophy from Oxford University at 26.

"When I had a hard time adapting to unfamiliar America in an immigrant family, arts both literature and performing gave shelter to my mind. To read literary works gave me much pleasure, but to write was another thing. I wasn’t deeply interested in literature. I felt as if I wore a pair of shoes that didn't fit."

Suk switched paths to study at Harvard Law School and earned her J.D. there. She spoke on changing from literature to law and advised, "The younger they are, the more daring they must become in changing their career course, I think."

The professor said life becomes interesting when people try not to be perfect. When asked to give advice to young people she said that it is most important they find out what gives them pleasure.

A high-flying career woman who tries to be “less perfect,” Suk said her New Year's resolution is like that of many other career women: to get more sleep, eat healthier food and work more efficiently. As a mother of two she always has difficulty in balancing between her work and her home life.

She found success in the face of the triple hurdles in U.S. society of being a woman, an ethnic minority and an immigrant. When speaking on her career and teaching at Harvard Law School she said, “I have never experienced disadvantages. It was a big advantage to me, if anything, that I was the only Asian woman."

Suk will speak at Soongsil University in Seoul on Friday under the title, “What is art?”

[caption] Jeannie Suk, a professor of Harvard Law School, speaks during a press interview at a cafe near Hongik University, Seoul, Tuesday. She released her first autobiographical essay “A Light Inside” last Thursday.