Kim "Tommy" Si-kyong has been shining shoes and miltary boots at Yongsan since 1985. He earns roughly $200 a month despite the world economic crisis, failing health and the military's decision to switch from leather boots to suede. (Alfredo Jimenez / S&S)
Kim "Tommy" Si-kyong has been shining shoes and military boots at Yongsan since 1985. He earns roughly $200 a month despite the world economic crisis, failing health and the military’s decision to switch from leather boots to suede.
The chair remains empty.
There was a time when U.S. soldiers, family members and South Koreans would stop by on a regular basis to have him shine their shoes and military boots.
He was making money then. Now, with a strained economy, the customers stay away. Only a handful of people showed up in each of the past couple of months.
It’s still an early Tuesday morning, but he knows no one will come by. He touches his arm, bruised from his visits for dialysis. He yawns and turns on his little radio, setting it on his favorite Korean station.
The music plays, and before long, he falls asleep next to the empty chair.
Kim "Tommy" Si-kyong was born in the city of Bupyong during Japanese colonialism, when his father was forced to paint buildings. But it provided for the survival of Kim and his eight siblings.
"My father had a hard time," Kim said. "I know he did the best he could do for us, and he tried to get a good education, but poverty prevented that from happening."
Kim and his family lived to see the fall of Japanese rule at the end of World War II. Kim’s father was eager to start over in hopes his children never would endure the indignities he did, but he fell ill.
"My father, when he became sick, said he wanted me to become a doctor," Kim recalled. "But that good education never came, because we were just too poor."
By the time he was 10, his schooling became a secondary concern as the Korean War erupted. He quit school.
"I had no choice, because my family needed to eat," he said.
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t until American troops were stationed nearby after the war when Kim finally found steady work.
Kim was introduced to the United States Forces Korea community in 1958, serving as a houseboy and custodial worker. He cleaned the barracks for American troops, washed their laundry and eventually began shining their boots.
"At that time, there were a great number of soldiers stationed here," he said. "They had lots of money. … They were very generous to me."
Not only were American troops happy to share their wealth with Kim, they enjoyed his company.
Those good times seem to be lost forever, however, as Kim feels the pinch of the economy and the military’s switch from smooth leather boots to suede. He knows larger shoe-shining businesses around post are losing business as well.
But Kim continues to fight to stay afloat as he earns about 200,000 won (about $200) on a good month at his work station in the 176th Finance Battalion building on Yongsan Garrison. There haven’t been a lot of good months lately. He’s also washing cars for an extra 50,000 won (about $50).
Kim is startled by a sound he has grown to miss — a customer’s voice.
"Can you give these boots a nice shine?" Army Sgt. Bryon McGainey asked.
Kim smiled and quickly began to shine the boots.
"He was recommended by one of my troops who had used his services in the past," said McGainey, a Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers coordinator at Yongsan.
Kim asked McGainey to tell his other troops about him. He said he’s always around, except when he has to report to the doctor for dialysis.
"He provides an important service for the community," McGainey observed. "And he does it with a passion and pride you can’t put a price on."