An Odyssey

 

                                        An Odyssey

 

                                               By Lee Hyon-soo

 

 

When I was quite young, my parents wanted to find out my destiny in advance and consulted a fortune-teller. And they were told that I was destined to become a wanderer. My parents were taken aback if only because I was their first son who was expected to live with them as was customary in Korea then.

 

Honestly, I cannot bring myself to believe that my life was mapped out for me when I was born. That said, lo and behold, my fortune-teller proved right in his prophecy. Indeed, a wanderer I became! Over the course of my working life I did not stay in one place very long. I instead underwent a succession of relocations, crossing international borders.  

 

My wandering life was set in motion when I landed a job at an American bank in Seoul upon graduation from college. After I worked in Seoul for a while, my bank recognized my upward potential and sent me to a training center in Japan where I stayed for six months to learn the ropes. I subsequently attended an international seminar in Taiwan where I interacted with a large group of foreign bankers of diverse nationalities.

 

Back in Seoul, I aspired to break out of my local confines as my horizons broadened. With five years of well-rounded banking experience under my belt, I mustered up the courage to contact a major bank in Canada to seek employment. Having no presence in Korea, this bank surprised me by sending two Tokyo-based officers to Seoul to interview me. I guess I sold myself pretty well, considering that after the interview I was offered a position in Canada. I was overwhelmed by this stroke of good fortune as I did not expect to get a job offer without setting foot on Canadian soil.

 

I reported for work at my new employer’s head office in Montreal. I immediately realized that I was at a disadvantage vis-à-vis my peers because I had not gone to school in Canada or any other English-speaking country, for that matter. But I managed to prove myself at work and became a full-fledged member of the international banking staff. In that capacity, I was transferred back and forth between Canada and several Asian countries for tours of duty. I worked in Montreal, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto and Seoul. In some of these cities, I had tours of duty more than once.

 

Furthermore, I once served as a roving auditor for two years during which period I was constantly on the road to visit my bank’s offices located in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Although my travels were work-related, it was a lot of fun to move from country to country on an on-going basis. I travelled far and wide for pleasure, too.

 

To cap them all, I had the privilege to return to Seoul after an extended absence to manage my bank’s Korean business as general manager of Seoul branch. When the time came to leave Korea for a new assignment, I was hired away by an Australian bank, for which I served as general manager of Seoul branch again. Having worked for 30-odd years in the arena of international banking, I retired in Toronto to enjoy a life of leisure.

 

Granted, I ended up being a small fish in a big pond. Be that as it may, I take consolation in the fact that my job enabled me to globetrot to my heart’s content - just as my fortune-teller had prophesied.