Immigrants everywhere can look to Korean-born Yoon as the quintessential success story.
Yoon, 51, came to the U.S. in 1982 at the age of 28 — flying from Seoul to the U.S. and when he stepped off the plane at Cox International Airport he had exactly one dollar in the pocket of his wrinkled trousers.
“Bad part of that,” said Yoon with a laugh, “was that it was Korean dollar — not worth much here.”
But the good-natured business man with a contagious smile turned serious when remembering the painful days of missing the young bride he left behind in Seoul.
Yoon, who also operates the Apparel Care Cleaners & Altering in Beavercreek and makes daily pick-up stops for cleaning and alterations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, finally brought his young bride, Sin (Shin) Yoon, to be at his side a year later as he explored life in his new world.
“We work hard together and started a dry cleaning store in Cincinnati, with the help of a loan from my sister, Hyun Yoon, who now lives in Minnesota,
“In Cincinnati, a dry cleaner owner wanted me to take over his business and he loaned me money. I did well and paid him and my sister back in six years time.
“Sin and I then came to Huber Heights in 1989 and managed to buy this business, which was called ‘Pantorium.’ ” He recalled he was told not to use the same name, so his daughter, Donna Yoon, came up with “Papayoon,” after the man she called papa.
“The place was in bad shape ... most washers and dryers in laundromat were not working.
“It took time, but I eventually replaced broken machines one at a time,” said Won Yoon. “And Sin and I, along with a Korean friend, Young Choe, worked side-by-side and business gradually picked up. I had no money to advertise, but customers became good friends — like they were trying to help us.
“And many of the people helped me repair things when something broke down and I learn that Huber Heights people are great Americans.”
A devout member of the Korean Methodist Church, he said “without God we can do nothing, so he was on my side. And I learned English by talking to people, watching TV and reading newspapers.”
He laughed when he recalled that Sin, the altering specialist in the company, “never sew in Korea ... but she learn fast in Cincinnati and has many customers.”
How successful have Yoons’ enterprises been? The couple has helped put their two children through college: daughter Donna is a junior studying pre-law at Ohio State University, who earned scholarship money her junior year; their son, Paul Yoon, who earned half scholarship funds, graduated May 10 from New York University with a degree in chemistry.
Papa Yoon has reason to be proud.
Contact this writer at (937) 236-6032; mickeyz@zoomtowm.com
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