Book tells how Haeundae changed

By Choi Kyong-ae

Park Hong-lip

Park Hong-lip, 28, briefly suspended his studies in the U.S. in 2013 to return to Korea and do his two years of mandatory military service.

He studies biology and economics at Oregon State University and plans to finish his undergraduate studies starting in September. While serving as a public service worker at Haeundae-gu Office in Busan as part of his military duty, Park wrote a book about Haeundae, the most famous beach in the port city.

“I wanted to record changes in Haeundae over the past decade based on my childhood memories; what happened and what’s happening. As I walked from my parents’ place to the office for about an hour during the week for the two years, it really helped me figure out how Haeundae has changed,” he told The Korea Times in a recent interview.

High-rise apartment complexes such as Marine City have replaced old shabby towns, forcing most of native residents who cannot afford to live in the luxury apartments to move, he said.

Given this, he may seem to be a young Korean who studies overseas, has a keen interest in his surroundings and a sense of patriotism about his home country.

But there is more to Park’s story. His parents run separate dental clinics in Busan, the country’s second-biggest city after Seoul. Park was born in Busan in 1988 when the country hosted the Seoul Olympic Games.

“In 2011, I went to the U.S., not to study but to pull myself together from my past failures, insomnia, depression and an inferiority complex. I wanted to make a new start there,” Park said.

He dropped out of a high school and a university in Korea because he didn’t find any meaning or value in completing the academic courses. In fact, he was born with osteochondroma, which causes lumps to grow on his bones.

He has undergone three surgeries to address the hereditary disease. But his lack of “mobility” still requires constant remedial exercises and potential additional operations for the rest of his life.

“My life was all painted in gray in my early 20s. But things began to change and improve in the U.S. where I was insulated from my gloomy old days,” he said.

Park initially took a language course at Oregon State University, but later took undergraduate courses in 2011. The next year, he was selected as one of five winners of the Waldo Cummings Award based on his academic performance as a freshman.

Looking back on his early years, he said, “I once earned a score of 105 in mathematics due to my answers to questions. My aggressiveness in studies despite my illness impressed professors to be also aggressive in guiding me through the courses.”

In 2013, he took a leave of absence from the university not only to fulfill his military service but also to spend time with his grandmother who had suffered a stroke.

On top of his current majors, he said, “I plan to study dentistry to help people in Korea.”