Question: How long have you lived in Burnaby?
Answer: I've been a proud Burnaby resident for two years now. ... I also have a small business, a specialized fish and tackle store, that I help oversee. I also work in the community at BCIT, where I formerly served as the head of the department for health-care management program.
Q: What makes you uniquely qualified to represent this riding?
A: Burnaby-Lougheed is a very diverse community. As an educator, as an immigrant, as a young professional, and of course, as a entrepreneur, I do believe that I have a broad set of experiences that can resonate with the constituents that are in Burnaby-Lougheed and hopefully that will make me be an effective listener and advocate for the community in the legislature.
Q: What would be your personal priority if elected as an MLA?
A: If I have to choose four top concerns that I hear at the doorstep, as well as those that are personal to me, (they) would be keeping our education accessible for everyone, and of course I would like to see improvements in health care. We do have a great system, but the system is struggling, so we want to make sure we revitalize it. I also want to act on our commitment to the environment and continue to support the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy, and foster creative entrepreneurship.
Q: What accomplishments in your life are you most proud of?
A: If I have to choose one, it'll be my family, definitely. The fact that we had the courage to uproot ourselves from our home country, which is South Korea, and make a new life here in B.C. It's beautiful province. And we had to overcome the language barrier, the culture shock, financial difficulties.
Q: Who is your role model?
A: My mom, 100 per cent, without a doubt, my mom. As long as I can remember, she's been hard worker. She works relentlessly and tirelessly so that she can provide for her family. But also at the same time, one thing I can appreciate more so, now that I am older, is that she also stood up for her rights in the workplace, and she made sure her voice was heard.
