Interview with Mr. Paul H. Park

Bubble Language School Broadcast. 

Soundtrack: 21 Questions

1. Begin by telling us a little bit about yourself. How did you come to be here?
2. What does Bubble Language School do?
3. What inspired you to develop this concept, these people, and what you’re doing here?
4. How have your priorities changed from when you first started?
5. Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently when you were first starting out?
6. How did you decide where to establish your company? 
7. How did you come to be here in Thailand? 
8. How did you meet your wife?
9. What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning of your journey? Throughout?
10. What is unique about your school, your classes, your teachers, your team?
11. What advice would you give to someone who is trying to become an entrepreneur?
12. How did you raise funding?
13. What strategies did you first use to market your business? Hyped up word of mouth. Progression. Each successful case/project.
14. How did you establish your company culture? School culture? 
15. What is your personal value system?
16. How do you define success? What is success to you? 
17. What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company? 
18. What do you enjoy most now?
19. Based on your previous definition, how long did it take you to find success? When will you find it? Do you have it now?
20. What are you working on now? What’s the future look like? Is there a road map? 
21. Where’s the balance between dreams and today? 

Good evening fellow Toastmasters.

Tonight, I’ll be working on effective body language. 

(Shakes head)

Sighs.

Okay, I’m going to show you a clip tonight of something I’ve been working on, which

I hope it represents effective body language.

[Play clip from today | 25 sec version]

Oh man, I’m so embarrassed right now.

As a Korean, our faces generally get red upon drinking or shyness.

But I don’t.

But I can feel the heat on my face right now!

Okay, that was the introduction.

Today’s speech is about 

the expression of one’s own personality, 

or assertion of one’s individual traits. 

When I was 13 years old, my time was spent working to provide for myself, 

And going to school,

And trying to make sure no one reported me to an orphanage or social worker.

It was pretty stressful sometimes.

And so, the house I stayed at was off the main road, in the wilderness.

I would play music as loud as I could, 

And I could think about nothing else but the movements and rhythm.

Everything else dropped away.

Sometimes, we like detachment.

And

So here’s to more effective body language

[play Wyclef Jean clip – 30 sec version]

(while stopping screen sharing) I’m not quite sure what self-expression for me is quite yet,

But 

I

Am

Confident

That 

I will find out.

Thank you (bow)

For Thomas – Here’s the call to action: come boogy?

 (a jig)

Thank you esteemed Toastmasters, for having me here today, enabling me to speak before you.

…

12 Failures in a Row Make One Success

…

I have failed so many times in leading my team I have lost actual count.

On our team, we have 11 different nationalities with 11 different types of passports.  

Diversity is…strength.

And I fail every day in leading them…

In our meetings and work, I can imagine that one team member is learning English, another’s improving their Thai, one’s in the bathroom on Instagram, 

and another’s dreaming about being on a beach with no responsibilities — That’s me by the way.  

Sarang HAE YOOOOOOO! 

In a startup, a growing business, and small work family, 

personal and professional motivations blur.

Sometimes, the line between work and personal identity mix 

and it’s hard to figure out what’s what.

How to synchronize the efforts of 21 different souls?  

Over 40 people depending on my decisions if you start including kids, parents, and grandparents…

From creating a new sign for our street front,  to negotiating the takeover of an international school campus,

These four elements teach me every day in each of my failures.

Communication.

Integrity.

An open-mind.

Optimism,

And

A constantly evolving growth mindset.

All backed up by

Humility.

In every scenario, it’s important to maintain a healthy, logical 3rd perspective that protects you.

We have so many different types of communication and interaction these days.

Georgy and Betty, my objective PHD rationalists, 

Are protecting me, and reminding me of what’s fair and right.

Because, they say, “hey, yes, most people would agree that’s a good move.”

“I’ll log that into our Gdrive, and we’ll remember it for future reference.”

“This outside perspective says you’re not crazy. You’re fine.”

In all of this, there are a couple things I have learned.

People never like it when you tell them what to do. 

As problems and solutions are inherently married, opposite sides of a way to a positive outcome, 

People need to come up with the solution themselves.

Why?

Because the solution we find ourselves is  the most satisfying.

Anything less leads to more stuff you have to deal with eventually. 

So, my failures.

The first way I failed in managing work was a simple paper todo list. 

How I communicate work impacts how I lead, how I achieve respect, and how we earn trust.

Respect is a two-way street. If I asking for respect from you, you’re getting respect from me, too.

The following 10 failures were a combination of Trello, Japanese KanBan boards, Microsoft Todo… 

To eventually finally writing 30,000 words of our company’s bylaws, processes, and procedures,

Which, I am happy to report, is another failure. 

No one reads it. 

But, it’s there!!

So, in summary, here’s what I learned:

People hate todo lists and management systems that create accountability. 

A leader must guide a team and team members to a solution of their design.

Today, the partnership is the best way. 

If you find someone of complementary skill sets, ethics, and a mutual understanding of aims

You both will find a way there.

With each partnership layering inside of a team, you build a system that can accomplish goals small and large. 

And  remember, when you fail 12 times, maybe the unlucky 13th is the one that works.

2022 Date this article was completed.

[1998] Date this article was started.

It all started from stopping a kid from bleeding to death…

Kyong Yol Park. was laying bleeding badly, waiting on death. That was my father. A US marine had saved my father, enabling him to emigrate to the States, and eventually spawning three tiny versions of himself. Had he died there in the wintery plains of North Korea, bleeding out from a shrapnel injury, I would not be here. Therefore, each rippled, well-intentioned deed I enact, is a completely extraneous effort.

A boy lay on the ground bleeding, a piece of shrapnel had penetrated the area next to his jugular.

In the sky above the Korean peninsula, bombs fell from American bombers during the Korean War. General Macarthur and the United States military forces were making their way to the future 38th parallel line, pushing North Korean soldiers back up the Korean peninsula. Bombs struck the ground with deafening roars.

Blood was everywhere. Kyong could feel his life ebbing away. Dust swirled around him and the sound of frantic yelling could be heard. Footsteps drew near. The left side of Kyong’s neck had a hole the size of a walnut with a small but insidious piece of bomb shrapnel. The young boy of 13 years would not survive without immediate aid.

Luckily for this scrawny North Korean kid, a Caucasion, U.S. marine stood over me with a concerned look in his eyes. An American soldier in army fatigues knelt low and groaned at the sight. The soldier was afraid that the boy would die due to blood loss. He did his best to patch him up by applying a gauze bandage and wrapping it around his neck. He knew that if the boy didn’t get a blood transfusion soon, he probably wouldn’t make it.

The soldier carried the young Korean boy to base camp in Seoul.

The boy would have died if not for the soldier.

Generational Strength

A Hand Drops

I am one of the very few North and South Koreans you’ll ever meet. I’m the only one I know.

I was thirteen years old when my father passed away. He was 61 years old. Not growing up with parents has affected me in ways that still hit me like a sledgehammer. It’s funny looking through the eyes of another looking into mine, observing what they may perceive about me as I have grown up without a father and mother.

The day he died, I was playing Super Mario World. My stepmother rushed out into the living room and I immediately knew something was wrong. We ran back to him, as he was laying in the master bedroom, and my stepmother frantically began massaging his limbs, hoping to restore blood flow and his heartbeat. At the time, the only thing I knew how to do was to check his pulse. I checked his pulse for several minutes, feeling nothing but cold, smooth skin.

I slowly turned to walk out front to the presunset afternoon time of the high desert, in Bend, Oregon. I could hear my stepmother continue her efforts in resuscitation as I left the room. Sitting down on the steps, I knew he was gone.

“What’s helped me is that if my father could be watching me now, he would be smiling. If he’s watching, I’d better be damn well be on my A-game, because well, he’s friggin’ watching.”

Anonymous

It’s these sentiments that have pushed me forward through life. When I left the continental U.S. with $240 in my pocket and a one-way ticket to Hawaii, I had absolutely no fucking clue on where I would end up but had dreamt up a fuzzy outline of where I wanted to go.

Go to Korea and find lost relatives.

Hunt for details and specifics of my father’s story that as the years pass, the physical number of people who knew him alive decreases with each unknown familial connection’s death.

Try to pay off this thirteenth South Korean official sitting across from me with a computer monitor facing away from me, contact information of my mother’s siblings displayed just inches from my eyes. No go.

• Being told to put out my story on the Korean news to find family members. Pffft.

I remember knowing I could have fallen in love with the woman sitting across from me; she was there, with a soft, concerned look on her face and she clutched a copy of my family’s documents. Her eyes said, “I cannot believe you are leaving.”

• Researching legal avenues to get into contact with family members who don’t even know I exist.

The South Korean Constitution protects freedom of speech and the press of all citizens, without specifically referring to the right to information. The Constitutional Court ruled in 1989 that there is a constitutional right to information as an aspect of the right of freedom of expression. The court affirmed that there is a right to request disclosure of information held by the administrative agencies and that the government is obliged to comply with legitimate requests for information and emphasised that specific implementing legislation to define the contours of the right was not a prerequisite to enforcement of the right.

• Living 4.5 years there, walking streets he may have walked in Maepo-Dong, South Korea

• Leaving with a pile of documents, more details to the story, and a new mission.

Travel the world poor, travel the world wealthy; in the place where they treated me the same, that’s where I’d spend the rest of my days. I still haven’t found it. I’m left wondering if it’s even possible anymore. Concluding with, “It doesn’t fucking matter. Live your life. Love your loved ones. Be present.”

Anonymous

The day I met my wife,

Amornrat Pangbubpha on Maui at a ramshackle, but quaint hostel managed by Barry, a delightfully round bearded man, while on my journey of self-discovery: the exit from mainland U.S. at 23 years old. She didn’t like me much then. I was a foreigner to her, a Thai woman who flew across the world to work and study English, who brought burritos for her future husband stuck with little loving notes in broken English. We weren’t able to talk much. Funnily enough, we still don’t, but we love hard. 😀 Fortunately, and what possibly could have saved my life, I ended up chasing her down in Thailand seven years later, getting with her, starting a school with her, getting her pregnant, marrying her, and building a life with her. “The idiosyncrasies in life” (Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting, 1997)…it’s funny when breaking down a decade of life, love, toil, turmoil, and grind into a sentence; when one squeezes the intangibles of life into a few lifeless words to form an electrical storm of synaptic connections and memories.

• Arriving in Thailand
• The bedpost gripping diarrhea
• Months in isolation
• Teaching on a plastic table

The day we found out we were 13 weeks pregnant with my son, Pharrell Kyong Park, with his middle name from the first part of my father’s namesake, Kyong Yol Park (I still have the picture and can look at the surprised look on our faces anytime).

I had always wanted to be a father, but….this was something I had never anticipated feeling. It broke me and remade me in a split second.

• Dad life

What have I learned?

What have I done?

Why is it hard? Why is it amazing?

• The first moment he opens his eyes looking at the world

Left my wife in the operating room. Stayed in the nursery watching my kid. For hours.

• Teaching him to speak
• Holding him with my wife
• Observing Ying and Prapai love him
• Seeing the effect he has on everyone

That day I realized that I could be a great teacher. After finishing any previous work in the years past, I had always felt the need to blow off steam, complain about why work sucked, and be unsure of what I wanted to do. Then, I started tinkering with students, teaching them and analyzing the inner workings of their minds to figure out how to get them to remember…to develop themselves into something greater. A person is deserving of this chance they’ve been given: a chance to earn what it means to be human.

• Building a school in Thailand
• Building a life in Korea
• Volunteering in China
• On the road
• Year 1: IBE →
• Youtube (800 hours per year versus multiple lifetimes)

The one future day when I realize that letting go of the pain, the wounds, the heartbreak, and strife in exchange for something greater…

• Hopes for the future
• What I see in it
• Where my place is in it
• Pk’s story

The day I lay with my one cheek on a surfboard, floating in the waves of the Pacific. The image and memory that lulls me to sleep to this very day.

• Hiking up the mountains of Oregon, Uluru, snowboarding
• Dancing with friends; living in Oregon with the ‘gang’
• Volunteering in China at the migrant schools
• Helping students achieve their goals.
• Writing essays that get accepted into every tier of university

“A warrior’s destiny is greater than his wounds.”

Brendan Bouchard

Once upon a time, there was a warrior. He was an excellent soldier, very dutiful in his aims and actions, but restless. He would go to war and come back, wandering the streets and landscapes, always in search of something, but never finding it. Then one day, he found a woman. They fell in love. She made him burritos and gave him a son. They gave his life meaning and….a home. The warrior devoted his life to making theirs better and finally, he found peace.

Anonymous

The first time I experienced loss was when my mother passed away.

Her name was Choon Cha Byun. As a South Korean woman just after the Republic of Korea became just that, she was the second generation of a family-owned cosmetics empire in an emerging, rebuilding nation. Maybe that explains why her relatives wanted nothing to do with me or my dad. We came from nothing. His family registry was one page.

She passed away when I was 5. Breast cancer. 1988. My mother had a best friend in our local church, a community of Korean Jehovah’s witnesses. She asked her to be a mother to her boys when she was dying. Min Ja agreed. (She’s currently suffering from dementia and her family tries to take care of her in Torrance, CA). Min Ja married Kyong approximately six months after Choon Cha Park-Byun passed away.

The Privacy Act of 1996 in the Republic of Korea dismantled communication avenues between long-lost family members. Perhaps too many North Koreans tried to contact, con, and swindle their distant South Korean relatives as they snuck back into South Korea between 1950 and 1996.

Who knows?

Generational Strength

• Who I remember my mother to be. Her smell. Her death.
• What I got from her. Her link to my oldest brother, Patrick
• Peter, my bro. Patrick, my bro. Interactions over the years.
• Sitting on the chair she died in.
• Growing up in Southern California
• The stepmother, past, present, and the family connections from it. JW’s warp and the values she instilled in me.

Memories and thoughts as I write this:

• Dad taking mom to America with the assistance of the soldier
• Dad meeting mom
• Dad having Pat and Peter.
• Dad having me
• The day I told him I loved him.
• The day he died.
• The day I learned he had had a stroke.
• Every Denver omelet and corned beef hash breakfast.
• Boxing with him in the dry cleaners
• Opening up the drycleaners with him
• Helping customers at 10 years old

–> Building up the business here with each person, InfiniThai, The Agency Foundation

• My dad being in Maepo Dong
• The soldier’s friend who enabled him to come to the states
• Him traveling around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, thinking that he might have been to some of the places I visited
• Settling in America
• The picture at the airport with my mom

• The times with my step mom and her family. Buying everyone stuff, going camping, enjoying life, being generous – reports from the cousins, aunts, and uncles
• David’s mom
• Pismo Beach

We bolster our truths each day, and with them, find beauty.

The little things people do to help one another in this world.

There are people who crawl, walk, and run in life.

Anonymous

---

About Me, I Guess?

My life is a bonus card. Every person I help is a completely extra effort because, had my father not been saved there on the wintery plains of the DMZ, I would not be here.

My father’s story mirrors mine in many ways. At 13, he was on his own in Seoul, having been adopted by the marine who saved him. At 18, the marine died, and once again he was on his own.

You see in Korea, we do not have birth certificates. We have a registration of all family members within a single tree. My father’s when he met my mother, was one name on one page. My mother’s, was over 50 pages when I obtained it in Korea, on my journey and search for lost family members.

The marine had had a friend. This friend came back to Korea several times over the years to ask my father if he wanted to emigrate to the States. The first two times, he refused. The third time, he agreed.

Why? Because my mother’s family had hated him. He couldn’t have taken care of her. He couldn’t give her a life. He wouldn’t be able to provide what she needed.

In the end, she gave him three boys and her life.

My life, my introduction, and who I am, are deeply mixed. I am a heartless romantic, having lost it so many times over so much heartbreak, to be replaced by a heart of steel and hope for the greater side of humanity.

What was one of your failures?

Prior planning.

When I moved from Oregon to Los Angeles, I drove a 91 Eagle Talon to Orange County and drove it ’till it died. I left a 78 Camaro in Bend, Oregon.

I had bought a Toyota 4-runner in Santa Ana from my cousin. My two friends, Sebastian and Jeremy, were coming with me to visit their family and friends, to return for the start of the school semester.

We drove the 819 miles without a hitch, arriving in Bend, greeting friends, and having a hell of a time.

I didn’t book a Uhaul and a trailer while I was in Los Angeles. During this peak period, students from all over the country pack their belongings into a truck and drive across long expanses with friends and family going to a new stage in life. I had a storage room to empty with a piano and the bed my father died on.

After hours of searching, I eventually found a truck available in a town three hours away…and a trailer for the Camaro in another town an hour away from Bend…in the other direction. That was the first sacrifice. The cost of the drive and usage of the trailer was more than 30% of the value of the car: the motivation to make the trip in the first place. I sold the Camaro to the mechanic who had restored it. Sigh.

Picking up the Uhaul truck and driving to the storage facility, I unloaded the storage room in the crisp autumn of the Northwest. After getting the damn piano and other family furniture into the storage unit, we were ready to leave.

Until we got halfway. When the radiator steamed out in the 4-runner leaving us stranded with a 4-runner, Uhaul loaded to the rims with musical wonderment. I can’t make this shit up.

My friends needed to return, and dealing with the 4-runner and Uhaul was too much. If they left with the truck, they’d have to be responsible for leaving it and arranging transportation. If they got onto a bus and got home, they’d be at school on time. Using the last of my cash, I paid for their bus tickets and sent them on their way, returning to the owner of Skinner’s Roadside Truck Repair.

To replace a radiator on the fly was more money and time I had, so I offered to sell the 4-runner to the gruff mechanic for cash. Carless and in a rented truck, I made my way to Santa Ana, California, with 17 hours to go until the first real estate appraisal reports were due in the morning. I hadn’t written them yet.

I parked in a wide parking lot in a business complex in an urban, commercial area of Orange County, with bordering yuppies and explosive real estate and on the other side, people skirting the poverty line lived in more affordable housing. I stepped outside of the parking lot in the wee hours of the morning and lit a cigarette. The car door closed behind me as I stepped down from the truck…with a click.

So, to make a long story short, I locked myself out of the truck.

Got back into the truck with a hanger and the window trick.

Turned the car back on.

Learned that in diesel engines, it’s hard to start with an old battery and less than a sixteenth of a tank through calling roadside assistance and several trips to the gas station with a one-gallon gas tank.

Wrote 8 appraisal reports during the Real Estate Mortgage Crisis of 2008.

Didn’t sleep.

Finished the day after dinner by driving to my cousin’s house in the valley two hours away to the north in the recently developed “little houses and little cities” in the “burbs” of California.

To which, arriving at 1 am, my very muscular cousin and loan officer of a cousin said, “Ok, let’s unload this {b*%$h].”

A very fast and harrying 90 minutes later, I sat on the steps of his home, nearing 3 am.

Gazing upon the stars and just dirt-tired, I walked inside to take a shower and eat.

To sleep for another day.

I have got to learn how to prepare.

Paul Park, 2006

“At times, I feel as if I am on an island, all on my own, watching people come and go throughout my life. The waves of the ocean and the world swirl around me. Storms come and go. The sun peeks through the clouds in beautiful moments where I can’t but help but appreciate being alive.”

Anonymous

Paul Park is the son of a North Korean War refugee and a deceased heir of one of the cosmetics companies to thrive post the establishment of the demilitarized zone at the 38th parallel north. Born and raised in America, both of his parents passed away before his 13th birthday, completely disconnecting him from genetic family ties other than his two brothers. Independently, he chose to stay in Bend, Oregon to finish high school as opposed to moving to his birthplace, Los Angeles, California with his stepmother. With a 90-day experiment in eating only ramen noodles and restaurant family meals, and a ten-dollar weekly budget for food, he graduated from Mountain View High School on the honor roll while working at three different part-time jobs. The next decade represented education, LA life, Hawaii, surfing, exploring the world, setting up language institutes in Korea and China, along with orchestrating volunteer programs in the dead of Beijing winters to finally seek Thailand; to seal the deal of his love: a quiet Thai woman (Amornrat Pangbubpha) who had extreme reservations about him at first, meeting him at a random hostel on Maui (2007) so many years ago. As of the time this biography is written, Friday, June 17th, 2022, he is the proud father of two: Pharrell Kyong Park (PK), and his second, Phoenix Yol Park (Pyp).

Paul Park believes that with enough drive, dedication, discipline, and freedom to let one’s mind accomplish its aptitude… are all laser-focused towards acting with purpose, purpose with action, that humans throughout the world are just waiting to be found, as diamonds in the rough, waiting for a catalyst to shake off constraints in order to build, to create, and to improve our lives and the environments around us.

“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who measure their self-worth through the eyes of others and do not know what they want, getting stuck doing what they must. I choose to measure my life in my deeds, actions, and purpose…to know what I want, then do what I must.”

Paul Park

Wrapping Up…I Swear

When I look at the way I learn and absorb information, I think I see them as executable skills with given resources and time, with application and experimentation of concepts prioritized in line with the above factors. If I had to define what the next four years would do to any brain, with more synaptic connections than atoms in the entire universe, I am truly hoping structures grow, adapt, and make connections in the dark and light, science and arts, technology and human behavior, and research and business.

I have found that the people and I are a bit different. Seeking independence through my knowledge and skills, evolving to mobility throughout the systems of the world, I observed insights and collaborative teamwork with the why and vision in mind. In a world where the duality of business objectives can be categorized as two concepts, one must adhere to a code of honor, a code of ethics in instruction on how a student or person molds information in their mind to execute their aims in life…their vision of what it is supposed to look like…mine starts here from:

“The throes of emotion on this complex journey of life entails the expansive encompassing experience of humanity, detailed through the beats and vocal expressions of people on topics from each and every life…”

Anonymous

to

Be a good dad.

to

Dancing in the mornings with my son.

then,

Watching him get hurt.

Next,

Thinking of hiding the fact I was living on my own when I was young to not be sent to an orphanage.

to

$10 USD a week for food + job meals

Thinking,

“Spaghetti is my comfort food. A good grocery market budget is needed.”

finally to,

Working as an accountant in the mornings, grading quizzes at lunch to learn, missing 25% of school days,

then speeding up to driving and working, building a life and a community?

Bringing me back to the present: my simple happiness:

Writing for you.

Hanging out with my wife, and dancing with my sons.

Building a school for them and others.

Helping people achieve their dreams.

The Bubble Language School scholars: Love, Hero, and August, Apple and Frank, Fahsai and Kana, Max and Tonnam

Loopholes and ability – we exist in a world with limitless opportunities, exponential with the Internet in a way that’s never been before.

1,000 years from now, people will look back and look for two things: authenticity and ability.

A Starfish Story

One At A Time

A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.

As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.

Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing.”

“I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”

Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen

• Never lay down and quit. Adapt and prioritize. Excuses or outcomes. There can only be one.
• Be nice and seek to understand people.
• Does your life create bonuses? Utility? Value? Which camp are you in?
• Do you build?

Or

Do you repackage originality?

You see, in my life, I may have been resourceful and adaptive, and yes, it may be a fun story. However, what I have learned is…

Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

Best Regards,

Paul Park

Timeline of Events

2017 Bubble Language School engages with Wat Rat and Wat Bak Por

Phoenix Yol Park, Nix, Pyp is born.

Pharrell Kyong Park, Pk, K is born.

Paul marries Fah Faori.

2015 Bubble Language School is established.

Paul settles in Thailand with Fah Faori

Paul travels in Asia

Paul moves to Beijing, China

Paul moves to Seoul, Korea

Paul moves to Maui, Hawaii, and meets Fah Faori.

Paul moves to Los Angeles, CA

Courier

Waits tables

Makes coffee

2001 Paul graduated from high school.

1998 Patrick and Peter leave Bend, Oregon to go back to California

Paul lives with his two brothers, Peter and Patrick in Bend, Oregon.

1996 Date of Kyong Yol Park’s Death – Los Angeles, CA

1994 The Park Family moves to Bend, Oregon. Patrick and Peter remain in Los Angeles.

1992 Los Angeles Riots – family drycleaners burns to the ground in Los Angeles, CA. Manchester?

1989 Date of Choon Cha Byun’s Death

1983 Paul Hun Park was born.

1973 Peter Hun Park was born.

1971 Patrick Hun Park was born.

Apr 1971 Pic in the Airport – it was a trip. They traveled. There’s a picture of a bridge (possibly the Golden Gate bridge–update: it’s the Bridge over the River Quay in Thailand

Emigrated to the US, Visited SF,

Restarted in Los Angeles, California, USA

Met Choon Byong Cha

1950-1964

Vietnam

Left Korea

Friend of US Marine keeps in touch with Kyong.

1953 in South Korea, Maebong?, Korea – US Marine dies. 18 in South Korea.

Semi-adopted by the US Marine

DMZ established.

Kyong went to the US base in Seoul.

Korean War – Kyong got hit with shrapnel.

19xx Choon Cha Byun was born.

1935 Date of Kyong Yol Park’s Birthday – Near Inchon

In the ‘70s, technological advancements had helped the toy industry blossom, bringing many recognized toys to life. Many toys made the spotlight, including Stretch Armstrong, a world-renowned stretchable rubber action figure, Weebles, a variety of roly-poly figures, and NERF ball, the world’s first indoor ball.

However, all of these products pale in comparison to one of the best toys on God’s green earth, the Pet Rock, a collection of smooth ordinary stones.

A sudden cultural phenomenon in 1975 America, Gary Ross Dahl “invented” the Pet Rock, profiting more than $1 million in half a year.

Many people were inquisitive about the reason why a piece of rock made a millionaire overnight, and the answer lies in front of them: marketing.

Rocky Beginnings

---

On December 18th, 1936, Dahl was born in a small family residing in Bottineau, North Carolina. Then, the household relocated to Spokane, Washington.

Both of his parents were the breadwinners; Dahl’s father was a lumber mill worker and Dahl’s mother was a waitress.

After Dahl graduated from high school, he pursued higher education at Washington State University and graduated with a degree in advertising. Dahl later became a freelance advertising copywriter, and he claimed that it is “ another word for being broke.”

Living inside a small cabin in Los Gatos, California, Dahl described himself as a “quasi-dropout” and struggled to pay bills.

A Solid Plan

Dahl and his friends were at a local bar at night in Los Gatos in April 1975. The conversation of the group gradually shifted from topic to topic, eventually ending up about pets and their burden. They complained that their pets require a lot of attention and care, often draining their time, energy, and money.

Slightly intoxicated, Dahl joked that he had an immortal pet that didn’t need feeding, grooming, bathing, vetting, or exercise. It’s a pet rock.

“I have a pet rock. No vet bills, except once in a while to scrape off the moss. ”

Drunk Gary Dahl to his friend

When Dahl got back home from the bar that night, he was restless with the idea of the carefree ‘pet’. Dahl realized the full potential of the Pet Rock: a way to save his home and stop his financial struggles once and for all.

Soon enough, Dahl began drafting up the first booklet of The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock, a manual on how to care for and train their new rock pet.

“Your Pet Rock will be a devoted friend and companion for many years to come. Rocks enjoy a rather long life span so the two of you will never have to part — at least not on your Pet Rock’s account. Once you have transcended the awkward training stage your rock will mature into a faithful, obedient, loving pet with but one purpose in life — to be at your side when you want it to and to go lie down when you don’t.”

The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock

The main highlight of the book is Dahl’s clever tongue-in-cheek humor and rock-related puns sprinkled throughout the pages. The contents of the book presented the rock as a living, breathing pet that can be trained for various reasons, is passed down from other famous Pet Rocks, and can get illnesses and injuries. 

Dahl persuaded two of his colleagues, George Coakley and John Heagerty, to help him fund the project as investors, with Coakley reportedly supporting them with $10,000, worth more than $54,000 today (2022).

With the funding acquired, the three began buying essential supplies for the product.

The three made their first purchase on a pile of smooth pebbles sourced from the great beaches of Rosarita, Baja California, Mexico at a penny a piece.

The cost of excelsior, softwood shavings, was nearly zero, providing the three with almost unlimited cushioning material. Since Dahl was a copywriter, he was able to produce the manuals together with his employers’ products, effectively multitasking. Oddly enough, the largest expense in the entire production is the packaging, not the rock itself. 

Dahl was the leading designer of the packaging for the ‘pet.’ Mimicking actual cardboard pet carriers, the box had air holes for the ‘pet’ to breathe through, a handle for the owner to carry, and a bed of straw for the Rock to sit on. Around the box was the name of the product proudly displayed in bold with smaller labels scattered across the packaging. The aesthetics of the box was also a marketing ploy as it build up the ‘realness’ of the Pet Rocks. Additionally, the guidebook also compliments the tongue-in-cheek gag as well.

The era and social climate also contributed to the success of Pet Rock. At that moment, the Vietnam war had recently ended on the 30th of April, 1975, but Nixon’s Watergate Scandal had veered its ugly head again, the Second World War’s post-war economic boom was finally over, and there was an ongoing economic recession. People’s moods were rather dismal.

Dahl saw an opportunity in lighting up the mood by creating a silly joke out of a rock at a minimal price.

“People are so damn bored, tired of all their problems, this takes them on a fantasy trip — you might say we’ve packaged a sense of humor.”

Gary Dahl to interviewers from People Magazine in 1975

Skyrocketing Sales

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After four to five months of preparation, Pet Rock finally made its debut at a San Francisco gift fair in August 1975. The price of each Pet Rock was set at $2, which is around $11 today. Dahl stayed at his booth, waiting for someone to be interested in his product.

The public took a great liking to Dahl’s satire and ridiculous marketing. Pet Rocks rolled off the shelves.

Over time, Pet Rocks steadily gained profits and building craze, something that Dahl himself didn’t foresee in the planning process.  Interested in increasing its sales, Neiman Marcus, an American luxury department store chain based in Texas, proposed a trade offer to Dahl: a thousand Pet Rocks. Dahl set the listing price at $3.95, which has a purchasing power of $21.46 today (2022). Reportedly, Bloomingdale’s, another chain based in New York, also agreed with Dahl to purchase Pet Rocks for the same price — effectively quadrupling the value of a rock.

Many news outlets were astounded by Dahl’s creation, deciding to publish articles about Dahl.

Notably, Newsweek, a weekly news magazine, and The Tonight Show, a famous late-night talk show. The process of Dahl getting into the spotlight formed a feedback loop.

When Gary Dahl and the Pet Rock were presented in media, the mania intensified, and the presses and hosts wanted to talk more about him, thus causing the fad to continue. As the trend snowballed, Dahl’s team gained a ludicrous amount of profit, selling ten thousand Pet Rocks per day. All the while garnering massive recognition from the media.

For Dahl, he was able to buy a better home for himself and his wife, his wife, Marguerite Dhal. As the trio witnessed rapid growth, they founded Rock Bottom Productions to recruit more employees and improve their management. The company was thriving to a point where Dahl claimed that he “taught his P.R. guy to impersonate me so he could also answer his calls.” 

When December arrived, people began purchasing Pet Rocks as gag Christmas gifts for their friends, family, coworkers, etc. More than a hundred thousand Pet Rocks were bought per day, accumulating over $15 million of profit at the end of the holiday season. With more than 1.3 million Pet Rocks sold to the open market, it has cemented itself as one of the most silliest and successful trends in American pop culture history.

Today, you can purchase your very own Pet Rock on amazon.com, complete with Dahl’s original, delightful manuals on the care of your new pet.

On the Rocks

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In the late ‘70s, his original investors, George Coakley and John Heagerty were not satisfied with the shares gained from Dahl, deciding to sue him for higher splits of profit. The judge of the trial sided with the duo, resulting in Coakley and Heagerty’s victory.

Cornered, Dahl wrote them a six-figure check for compensation. After the lawsuit, Dahl and his former friends became bitter with each other and broke up.

“We would have liked to have continued a relationship with Gary. But money has a divisive element to it. Gary [Dahl] got rich quick and then he wanted more than he deserved.”

John Heagerty

With the holiday season over, the Pet Rock craze began to fade as the gag was slowly turning more redundant. Dahl, wanting to keep the trend alive, chose to create Pet Rock-themed merchandise to promote the product, ranging from T-shirts to ‘pet’ shampoo.  He also advertised them as valentine gifts for their loved ones, yet the people were not interested.

When Dahl initially created Pet Rocks, he only copyrighted the product name, not the rocks themselves as it is impossible to patent them. Many copycats began profiting from Dahl’s concept of putting a rock inside the box and advertised them as pets, slowly draining Dahl’s gain. Auxiliary businesses also sprung up to create their products around the Pet Rock brand for a piece of Dahl’s pie, including, the Bicentennial Pet Rock, which is painted with the American flag & Pet Rock college certificates. However, the well had run dry.

With the company slowly losing revenue, Dahl decided to sell his company. Alas, Rock Bottom Productions had finally hit rock bottom.

The Only Way is Up

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Other than the phenomenal Pet Rock, Dahl had designed products similar to it too, such as the Sand Breeding Kit, which is a sand counterpart of the Pet Rock, and Canned Earthquake, which is a dummy coffee can that contains a windup system that enables the can to bounce around.

Despite the creativity put into both works, they never outshone the success of the Pet Rock.

Dahl had found that his second ambition was revamping and running a small bar. With all of the planning and work cut out, Dahl successfully bought a small saloon in Los Gatos, California. Dahl named his bar ‘Carrie’s Nation’s Saloon,’ which is a reference to a well-known figure in the Prohibition era. The branding resulted in Dahl becoming a multi-millionaire in under a year.

Despite his ambition achieved, Gary Dahl was met with challenges inside his establishment and his customers.

“I used to have open days at AMC (Associated Merchandising Corporation) when vendors would bring in their items that they wanted our stores to buy. After the Pet Rock, I can’t tell you how many people came to my office to show me their ‘pet rock’ ideas, and, you know, I never saw another item that could ever match the Pet Rock.”

Gary Dahl on annoying inventors

Most of his patrons were found to be annoying since Dahl was a renowned marketeer, many people assumed they had invented the next Pet Rock. Dahl had reported times when a group of investors expressed that they were going to package elephant/bull excrement or another team claimed that they were planning to create a petting stick for the Pet Rock.

Dahl repeated again and again that the next Pet Rock couldn’t be recreated, yet people still tried. Losing patience, Dahl quit his bartending days and become a sailboat broker somewhere, citing that he would be taking an “eight-year vacation.”

Later on, Dahl returned to his professional advertising career in writing for his company until retirement.

In his final years, Dahl contributed to the For Dummies book series by writing Advertising for Dummies, a reference book that teaches beginners how to effectively market and advertise their products or services, and then published it in 2001.

On March 23, 2015, Gary Dahl succumbed to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

The Legacy

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Pet Rock became a cultural phenomenon that forever shook American pop culture history, popularized many pieces of work, and was referenced in the media. Tamagotchi, Furby, Neopets, and many other inanimate pets came into fashion with the youth, and many shows made mention of the Pet Rock as the “best pet to grace us all.”

Thanks for the laughs, Gary Dahl.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but the Pet Rock is my friend.

intelligence – noun – the speed with which a human being learns a skill, concept, or application of information

All of your life, you may have been looking for definitive proof that you’re different. That simple act, might prove you are indeed smart.

1. Smart People Prefer Dynamic Work

In the first official group studies conducted by the Hennom-Nelson Group in the early 1960’s, the common curve denoted a lower IQ range for the more static job. As the profession became more dynamic, the IQ range increased (see figure 1.1 above).

Note that IQ tests aren’t definitive by any means. The pure range of character-based and mathematics-based IQ tests attests to a very wide range of uncommon denominators in assessing intelligence. One fact does remain true: out of all the markers of success, the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) has the most evidence and research.

2. You See Patterns Others Don’t

If you ever find yourself on the side of a conversation realizing that you’re the only that sees the connection, chances are, you’re intelligent. Intelligent people see trends and connections in a holistic nature, completely different than most people. Making up 0.2% to approximately 20% of the population, a smart person analyzes and adapts trends faster than their peers.

3. You Prefer Building to Communicating

Distractions are distracting. When you’re interacting with people on social media or face-to-face, there’s always this slight pull that tells you there’s something you should be making. In 2022, you have found yourself limiting your communication to the most efficient means, while devoting time to crafting whatever it is you like making.

4. You Have Adapted to the Modern World Better Than Those Around You

Humans have always been better with tools. From fire to the hand grenade, tool usage is the main advantage that differentiates a person from a different species. How tools are utilized, set intelligent people apart from those around them.

When you look around you, at your peers, their businesses, and their work, you find that you’re doing alright. What seems difficult in applying tools to certain tasks and ways to earn income, are seemingly effortless to you while they prove to be incredible challenges for others.

5. You’re Happier Working without Distractions

Studies show that people are indeed happier when they spend time with their friends and family. However, in studies conducted on university campuses, those people classified as “highly intelligent” reported they felt happier working on their projects instead of socializing. With a mind that’s constantly buzzing, focus comes with creating something with your mind, you smart cookie.

6. You’ve Developed Perfect Adaptation Skills

You hear a gunshot, start tracking the direction, and compare it to the movements and screams of people around you. You remember where you were, where you’re going, and cross-reference it with all the newest, relevant information, then you adapt, decide, and act. In social settings, tact and diplomacy are adaptation measures for survival, perfectly attuned to handling what you need to.

7. Your Inner Dialogue Could Be a Book

Ever since you were young, that cliche quote, “You are the author of your own book. Now write this chapter,” circles in your mind. Memories, lyrics, passages, and what people have said to you ring in your mind no matter the year, time, or place. They wash throughout your mind throughout all the years…where your intelligence collects and organizes it all to make sense of the world.

If you’re thinking that some of these points apply to you, then welcome to the club.