Gyopo

About this book

What does it cost to keep up appearances when a family is quietly breaking apart inside?In GYOPO, Ben Kim delivers a fiercely honest, deeply moving memoir that shatters the polished facade of the traditional Korean immigrant family to reveal the raw struggles and pain that can lie beneath.Born in Toronto just a year after his parents fled the poverty of post-war Korea, Ben grew up trapped between two worlds. Outside the house, he was a Canadian kid trying to fit in. Inside, he was the only son in a household governed by suffocating cultural expectations, unspoken trauma, and a desperate obsession with "saving face."From surviving the terrifying bombings of the Korean War to fighting for survival behind the counter of a small-town convenience store, Ben's father carried invisible wounds that manifested as misery and unpredictable anger. Meanwhile, his mother endured decades of quiet self-sacrifice to preserve the image of an ideal, unbroken family. Bound by an immense language barrier that capped their emotional vocabulary at a kindergarten level, Ben grew up feeling less like a nurtured child and more like an asset expected to prove his worth.It took decades of heartache-including a devastating family rift that largely severed ties for twenty-five years-for Ben to realize that protecting appearances and lack of meaningful communication were preventing true healing. Determined to break the cycle, he embarked on a necessary journey: taking a sabbatical from his career to move to Seoul, becoming more proficient in Korean, and risking everything to foster greater mutual understanding before it was too late.GYOPO-the term that is often used for Koreans raised abroad-is far more than an immigrant story. It is a universal exploration of generational trauma, the heavy burden of filial duty, and the complicated realities of forgiveness and finding peace. With grace and candor, Ben Kim offers a powerful story of resilience, the messy complexity of human love, and the freedom that comes from speaking your truth. Presented in a unique dual-language format, this edition features the English and Korean text side-by-side-visually mirroring the experience of navigating two distinct cultural worlds.Ben Kim is a Canadian-born Korean founder and author whose writing reaches tens of thousands of readers worldwide. Driven by a deep commitment to making the world a better place for one person at a time, he is the founder of an ongoing university scholarship fund for financially disadvantaged students. He lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, Margaret, and their two sons, Joshua and Noah.All worldwide proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to a scholarship fund supporting financially disadvantaged university students.