By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Once he roamed the urban back alleys and lived the life of a young hood, but Kim Jong-won has proven that ``bad boy’’ doesn’t have to last forever.
``I was stabbed more than twice and my finger bones were crushed one too many times,’’ said the 48-year-old of his young years. ``I’m embarrassed to say those were my immature days.’’
But with those same fingers, Kim has whipped out plates and plates of food for the homeless elderly for the past 20 years.
Now a chef in Seoul, Kim makes trips every weekend to nursing homes and shelters around the country with a bus full of food _ added with his energy.
``It’s not merely volunteer work. Serving these mothers and fathers is my greatest happiness,’’ he said in a Korea Times interview on Tuesday at his Yoido restaurant. ``So even after a week of hard work, I just hop into my bus and hit the road on the weekend.’’