That’s 3 billion won before being kicked out of the house… Victim’s son “I miss my mom’s kimchi stew”

The son, who lost his mother overnight, had no time to mourn. It was a board that had to vacate the house immediately after 15 days. When his mother, who was responsible for the family’s livelihood, was killed by a gunman, he and his younger brother were left alone on American soil.

This is the story of Randy Park, 23, the eldest son of Hyun-jung Grant (Korean name Kim Hyun-jung, 51), who was shot and killed while working at the’Gold Spa’, a massage shop in Atlanta on the 16th (local time). Park, whose future was grim, posted a story on the fundraising site’Go Fund Me’ and asked for help.

“(Mother) was a single mother who devoted her whole life to her brother and me. To be honest, I don’t have time to mourn for a long time. I have to find a way for my brother and I to live in the next few months, maybe a year. It will be used as the basic essential living expenses for me and my brother, including expenses. I want to stay at home for at least one more month and organize everything.”

The target fundraising amount was set at 20,000 dollars (about 22.6 million won). In just two days of opening, more than 100 times that of 2.7 million dollars (about 3 billion won) has been collected. 71200 people around the world have offered up to $10,000 from just a few dollars.

Mr. Park, who met at his home in Duluth in the suburbs of Atlanta on the 20th, said he thought that he would not be able to meet the target amount, let alone expect a large sum. “If my mom couldn’t go to work that night, he could happily give up all that money and sponsorship,” he said.

“It’s a huge sum. Of course I’m scared. I think I should spend it responsibly. I’ll use it only for what I need, not what I want.”

Mr. Park remembered, “Mom sacrificed everything for our brother.” It wasn’t enough, but the mother took over the living alone, and the sons didn’t even get a part-time job, saying, “At that age, you have to study hard and play.” I heard that I was an elementary school teacher in Korea, Mr. Park said.

Instead, the mother worked tirelessly. Sometimes I couldn’t come home for as little as a few days to several months. Mr. Park said, “Mom first told me that she was working in a makeup shop with her friends, but later I found out that her work is a massage shop,” he said. “I was disappointed with the lie and asked me to be honest about anything in the future.”

Immediately after the arrest of the suspect, Georgia’s investigative authorities faced fierce criticism by announcing that the motive for the crime was sex addiction. Of the eight deaths, seven were women, and six of them were Asian, and this case may have been based on hatred toward race or gender, and it was a remark that seemed to rule out this at the beginning of the investigation.

In response, Mr. Park said, “The suspect committed a murder because he was addicted to sex? “It’s ridiculous,” he refuted. “If the investigation does not conclude that it is a hate crime, it has no choice but to say that the investigating authorities have chosen ignorance.”

Two or three hours after the shooting, I heard of her mother’s death from her mother’s fellow daughter who survived the shooting. I ran to the scene, saying, “No or not,” but I couldn’t directly confirm it due to the police arrest. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I had to accept the fact that my mom died when she couldn’t come home that evening.”

Suddenly, Mr. Park, who became the head of the house, said, “I have to take care of my younger brother, as my mother did,” he said. “I just want everything to pass quickly. After that, I think I can mourn for my mother to rest comfortably.”

Park left Georgia State University and recently worked as a cashier and barista at a bakery café. Eric, 21, a younger brother, who will be two years old, is in college.

Mr. Park remembered, “Everyone says that their mother’s food is the most delicious, but the kimchi stew made by his mother is really delicious. On a day of kimchi stew, he ate three bowls of rice in a big bowl,” he remembered.

“I regret not having learned how to make kimchi stew from my mom. Then it turns out that the kimchi stew my mom made last week is still in the refrigerator. Is it okay to eat it?”

When Kimchi stew was informed that it was not easily spoiled due to the salt, Park said, “Then I should eat the last mother’s mark stew after cooking.”

The day before, Atlanta police revealed the names, ages, genders, and autographs of four Korean women killed by shooter Robert Allan Long, 21. The Korean government confirmed that these four were Koreans. In addition to Mr. Grant, Mo Park (74), Mo Kim (69), and Mo Yoo (63) died.

Park, living in New York City, came down to Georgia to help run a massage shop to stay with friends, son-in-law Scott Lee told The Washington Post. When Park was young, she worked as a dancer, and said she regretted that she could not meet her family due to Corona 19 last year.

Kim immigrated in the 1980s with her husband and one son and one daughter. It was a difficult life to earn a living by working randomly, including cleaning restaurants, convenience stores, and offices of the US military in Texas, but he was a Catholic who volunteered for various organizations.

When he was President Barack Obama, he also received the Presidential Volunteer Award for serving meals for the homeless in Washington, DC. In a letter to President Joe Biden, who visited Atlanta on the 19th, the Kim family announced that Kim’s usual wish was to see two children and three grandchildren live a fulfilling life with her husband as they age.

Yoo’s son, Robert Peterson, said in an interview with the Atlantic Journal Constitution (AJC), a local media, that her mother was unemployed due to Corona 19 and was delighted to be able to work again recently, but she was desperate. It is said that he met his father, an American soldier, and came to Georgia in the 1980s.

Duluth (Georgia) = Correspondent Park Hyun-young [email protected]