'I learned diligence, perseverance': How a 90-year-old Vancouver man found comfort and purpose in running

Article content

His father helped Kwon with what little he had.

Article content

“He was struggling, too.”

Article content

One day, a distant family member came to visit the tombs of the family. “He looked almost like an angel, in these beautiful clothes,” said Kwon. The man was a professor.

Article content

“I decided then that was what I could be,” he said.

Article content

He rededicated himself to his studies, and became a whiz at the abacus.

Article content

When he wrote the national exam, Kwon came in third, and won entrance to a commercial high school, which focused on vocational training. He knew his father could not support his university dreams. But Kwan was tenacious, and later passed the entrance exam to Seoul National University.

Article content

His father sold the small plot of land he farmed to pay the substantial entrance fee.

Article content

“I knew I had to do well,” said Kwon.

Article content

After graduation, he landed a position with the Bank of Korea, Seoul. He was an office man at last. But he longed for more.

Article content

Kwon applied to 54 American universities, and was accepted to all. But there were no scholarships. Then he found out about a Canadian scholarship, to the University of Saskatchewan, and won it.

Article content

It was fully funded, but didn’t cover airfare.

Article content

Article content

“The airfare was $540,” Kwon said. “It was impossible.”

Article content

Finally, with airfare help from the Rotary Club, Kwon arrived in Canada on Sept. 4, 1964.

Article content

It had been a marathon.

Article content

Kwon’s fiancée, Joanne, soon joined, thanks to the kind efforts of two families in Saskatoon.

Article content

He eventually earned a PhD in economics from McMaster University. His distinguished academic career was capped by 18 years as Korean Foundation Chair in Korean studies at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

Article content

After retiring, Kwon accepted a position as adjunct professor at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, and created the Kwon Family Scholarship in conjunction with the Vancouver Korean-Canadian Scholarship Foundation.

Article content

“I had such difficulty getting tuition. I want to help others,” said Kwon. Giving to others is part of his happiness practice. So is running four to five marathons a year.

Article content

Kwon said the lessons of his youth have given him the strength to do what is difficult, and run through the pain. “Out of poverty, and the struggle, I learned diligence, perseverance and frugality.”

Article content

He has also tied his running to giving, in support of the B.C. Cancer Foundation. In the last two years, he has raised $20,000 toward cancer research.

Article content

Article content

“By extending my running to fundraising, that gave me a bigger purpose,” said Kwon. His retirement home’s “remarkable residents” award comes with a $6,250 donation to the charity of the winner’s choice.

Article content

If Kwon wins, he plans to donate it to the B.C. Cancer Foundation.

Article content

Although his beloved wife died in 2017, and Kwon can see his own finish line, he’s not quite ready to cross it. He has discovered that after his email, the BMO Marathon committee also extended the age divisions to include those 100 and over.

Article content

In 10 years, he plans to request they extend it yet again.

Article content

Article content