Mini-Profile of Kalani O'Sullivan

PROFILE

Adrian L.K. O'Sullivan
("Kalani")

Kalani Profile||1998||1999||2000||2001||2002||2003||2004

Capt. O'Sullivan
at MacArthur Park.
Inchon, Korea (1989)

Graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in 1963 and wandered aimlessly not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up. Spent over three years at the University of Hawaii floating without a major ... and having a great time. But the Southeast Asia War Games was raging on at the time. Finally Uncle Sam said, "Enough!" I joined the Air Force to avoid the draft and lucked out -- I fell in love with airplanes.

For a total of 24 years in the Air Force, I was paid to do what I loved ... fix airplanes. Promoted from the enlisted ranks and retired as a Captain in 1990. No regrets ... but my military days are now a past life.

Kalani and Yoon
Seoul, Korea (1991)

"Mr." O'Sullivan
in front of the Old City Hall
in Kunsan City (1998)

After retirement, I returned to Korea and taught English at a "hagwon" (institute) in Kunsan for seven years. It was fun, but very tiring with long 12-hour days. The real satisfaction was in watching my students go on to use their English in their daily lives. Currently my former students are employed in government, business and as teachers throughout Korea. Some have even gone on to become teachers in America.

In 1997, I went into "semi-retirement" and continued to live in Korea -- and still just making ends meet. Started teaching Boram English at home. Soon other parents were clamoring to teach their kids and soon I was teaching children full-time. After teaching businessmen and English teachers for seven years, this was a big change. Had to do a lot of studying on how to teach kids -- made a lot of mistakes -- but struggled through.

On a family picnic at Changhang
with Gigi, our Maltese. (2000)

Boram & Friends
Go Red Devils! (World Cup 2002)

Family Portrait from Kook-min Taekwondo (2002)

Gigi & I at Puan Monkey School (2002)

Kalani's English Institute sign
with logo designed by my daughter, Boram (2001)

In 2001, we opened the Kalani Yongau Hagwon (Kalani's English Institute). It was a small-time operation which was owned by my wife and employed me and another Korean teacher. The big plus is that it was conveniently located next to our apartment -- and I set my own hours and formulated my own curriculum. No more 12-hour days.

For years, we had planned to return to Hawaii in 2005. As the date approached for the move, we sold off our hagwon and apartment at a great financial loss because the economy in Korea had stagnated. However, at the last minute, unforeseen conflicts with the family in Hawaii over the estate forced us to cancel the plan shattering all the dreams we had. Financially ruined, we had to pick up the pieces and start over again.

We first looked at Seoul to relocate as it was near the wife's family, but the rental fees were exorbitant. We then looked further south in the Osan AB area -- with its commissary to reduce our living costs -- but the rental costs were still double that of Kunsan. We were about to look even further south, but by pure luck, we stumbled upon a mid-sized rental apartment in our deposit price range in Songtan. Though the area was crowded, it had forested parks nearby and was only 5 minutes drive to the main gate of Osan AB. In Sep 2004, we relocated to Songtan and started life over.

Though Songtan is closer to Seoul, it is what my daughter Boram refered to as a "country town." Coming from a town with 400,000 people to one with 100,000 entails a change in life-style. Recreation is limited in the local area. To find any "beaches" (dirty sand on the tidal flats) one has to drive to Hwasong about 40km away. The only major activity is at the Shinjang Mall -- a special tourist zone that GIs from all over Korea come to shop in the day and party in the bars at night. Major tourist attractions, however, are within a short driving distance.

Yoon at Shinjang Mall in Songtan (Nov 2004)

However, then as soon as we had settled in, personal tragedies descended upon us. My father-in-law had advanced dementia (Alzheimer's disease). A gentle and loving man in all the years I'd known him, he was reduced to a shell of his former self with only brief moments of lucidity. Previously, his sons had tried to care for him, but his worsening condition forced them to place him in a nursing home as they could not control him with his bizarre behavior. Unfortunately, he was kicked out of nursing home because of his violent behavior and we took him in as a final resort. However, the strain of our financial situation, plus the stress of caring for my father-in-law, created havoc in our lives where I lost over 40 pounds in four months chasing him as he attempted to escape during the day -- and screaming out the windows that he was being kidnapped at night. For a time, his eldest son, Kiltong, came to live with us to help care for him. The stress became so great that a latent epileptic condition in our beloved Maltese dog, Gigi, flared up and she died after a short illness. Though we tried, we couldn't handle my father-in-law. Ultimately the family had to place him in a special hospital to restrain him. It ended tragically when he died because of the medical staff's neglect after drugging him to keep him docile. These events turned the year of 2005 into a nightmare.

Yoon, Father-in-law, Brother-in-law Kisana, Boram in better times (Jan 2004)

Newest nephew Suil, Kisana's son,
on his 100th Day Birthday (Feb 2006

Brother-in-laws Kiltong (sitting) and Kisana (standing) (Feb 2006)

On top of this all, we were struggling like millions of Koreans to simply keep our heads above water during the on-going three-year recession. Unlike years past, we were living from hand-to-mouth. But then people found out that I was an English teacher and soon I was teaching my neighbor's children and a few of her friends. Soon more students came as the mothers told others of my teaching methods. The small amount of money earned allowed us to survive. However, with my father-in-law in the apartment, it was difficult to teach at home. We had plans to reestablish our hagwon, but were limited because the cost of a business lease in Songtan was triple that of Kunsan -- even though the city is only about 100,000 versus 400,000 in Kunsan. With the help of Reverend Yi Jeol-seong, we found an ideal location in Anjung-ni about 20km away and furnished it with school furniture after the preliminary okay from the authorities. We were ready to start operations when the Pyeongtaek Board of Education stated under their rules the location was 3 meters (9 square feet) too small to be considered an English hagwon (institute). They would not budge on issuing us a license. It seemed that life had turned against us again. But I continued teaching from our home to keep our heads above water.

After the loss of my father-in-law in 2005, our home started to return to normal and things steadily improved. Yoon started to meet new friends and soon blended into the local community.

In late 2005, I got a new pup to replace my old pet. Shelly, a black-and-white cocker spaniel, has grown into a spoiled pup that thinks she is people and loves kids -- but has a most irritating trait of snoring loudly while sleeping. Early on she learned how to slide down the playground slide. She will run up the slide steps and slide down -- race around in a large circle up the steps and repeat the process. However, because people get terrified of a dog charging at them at full tilt, we can only let her in the playground when there is no one there.

Boram (Nov 2005)

Shelly, our cocker spaniel (May 2006)

Throughout this process, my daughter Boram had to live with the turmoil at home, the upheaval of relocating to a new area without friends, and starting over at a school where no one knew her. But she soon made new friends and reestablished herself in her new community. In 2005, she attended Songtan Middle School just a short way from our apartment where she was selected to represent her middle school at an art competition for Pyeongtaek schools. In 2006, Boram graduated from Songtan Middle School and entered Songtan Girls High School (10th grade). Academically, she has remained a "kanaka" (Hawaiian) in her attitudes with everything being "no big ting" -- though she does excel in Art and Korean language. Without expending any effort, she was able to rank in the middle of her class. However, in high school she has found the horrors of Korean-style rote memory education. It is the reason I wanted to escape Korea, but the doors to move to Hawaii have slammed shut. In the future, we will have to overcome this obstacle to her educational process as she was raised like an American -- without the obsessive push for high grades and academic excellence -- only my maniacal insistence that she simply do her best.

Boram Graduation Day from Songtan Middle School (Feb 2006)

In Songtan, recreational activities are limited. The main hiking trail is on Burak Mountain with paved walkways and off-road trails criss-crossing the mountain. (I got lost one time and ended up on the other side of the mountain about 5 miles to the east.) There are a lot of lakes (reservoirs) nearby so I have picked up a new warm-weather past time -- fishing. As a know-nothing novice, it has been a learning experience to understand to fish on tidal flats, lakes, and seashore which are all different.

Brother-in-law Kiltong, Yoon, and next door neighbor Alex on Burak Mountain hiking trail near home (Apr 2005)

Fishing at Yongin about 20km away (Aug 2005)

Boram fishing at Yongin (Aug 2005)

Besides teaching a few classes to survive, I continued to pursue my hobby of historical documentation -- as I did on Kunsan AB -- and started on the history of Osan AB and Songtan. Little did I know that like Kunsan AB -- much of the history in the local area had been "lost." The second handicap was that I was researching the local area -- not the base -- and much of the contacts was with Koreans. The third problem was that Songtan City was assimilated by Pyeongtaek City in 1991 and since that time, there has been a systematic "reshaping" of the local Songtan history as it was "incorporated" into the Pyeongtaek City history. This job was more complex than what I originally thought. However, as a side benefit, I started to meet community leaders and because no had ever compiled a local history of the area in English, there was a great interest. Soon the materials were being incorporated into the local history curriculums at some local schools. Businesses requested old photos of the area to be displayed in their shops. Thus I started to become a member of the community. Soon GIs started to contribute photos from decades past that helped to expand our knowledge of the local area and the base. The project is on-going with many unanswered questions.

As our financial condition improved, we moved to a larger 4-bedroom apartment in 2006. Currently we live in a rather nice location surrounded by other apartment complexes. It is on the shaded side of the apartment complex -- meaning that there is little direct sunlight -- but this can be a blessing during the sweltering summer heat. The apartment has a little plaza with trees outside the front veranda and a small plaza with an artesian spring to the side of the apartment which are nice spots to relax in during warm weather. (The artesian spring was part of the old village of Are Konjini (Lower Konji Village) -- now long gone.) Many Americans or middle-class Koreans live in this apartment complex driving nice foreign cars, so I feel rather embarrassed by my old junker in the parking lot. Just down the street is Songbuk Elementary School, the oldest school of Songtan built in 1955. The area is called Songbuk-dong (Songbuk district) just a short walk from the Songbuk Farmer's Market.

(L) Songbuk Apt from Route 1 (Apr 2006) (R) Sidewalk outside apartment gate (Apr 2006)

(L) Entrance to apartment (R) Small plaza in front of apartment (Jul 2006)

Plaza on side of apartment (Jul 2006)

(L) Water from artesian spring (R) Water flowing from artesian spring (Jul 2006)

(L) Entrance to apartment (May 2006) (R) Living Room (Aug 2006)

(L) Living room (Aug 2006) (R) Kitchen Dining Area (Aug 2006)

The apartment complex is situated next to Rte 1, so it is easy to access the main roads and is within easy driving distance of Emart -- the large discount department store -- and Discount Mall for name-brand discount outlets. With the recent buildup, Osan has the largest BX and commissary in Korea so living here stretches my retirement pay. Osan AB is about 2 miles down the road -- so making a quick trip to the base for a commissary run or BX stop is very convenient. Another thing we discovered up here is the Thrift Shop which a remote location like Kunsan didn't have -- where we have found bargains on second-hand items not stocked in the BX. Right outside the base is Shinjang Mall where I pick up my pirated DVDs. At night, Shinjang Mall turns into a bar row and the center of the nightlife in the area. My daughter Boram's school (Songtan Girl's High School) is about 2 miles straight down the main road (Rte 1) -- next to the City Hall. It's about a twenty-minute walk -- but my daughter catches the bus each day which runs in front of her school.

The Songtan subway station is nearby and connects directly to Seoul and Inchon making a trip to the family an easy train trip away -- and vice versa, for my nephew to spend the weekends with us. One of the side benefits of living in the area is that wife's family always pop in whenever in the area and Boram now has a sense of family she didn't have while isolated in Kunsan.