WF
MY TURN
A Tale of My Sweet Life
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views of Washington FAMILY.

38 Washington FAMILY MARCH 2022
live in two worlds: one as a co-owner of a
chocolate shop in downtown Washington,
D.C., and one in a world I create. My
customers always remark, “You own a
chocolate shop and write children’s books—
what a sweet life!”
But life wasn’t always so sweet.

Growing up, my father was a senior
economist for the World Bank and often
traveled to faraway places for his work—
Thailand, Ethiopia and Peru. When he was
away, I kept his photo under my pillow as a way
of keeping him close to my heart. I was always
missing my father, my rock, my hero.

Tragically, my father died on a business
trip enroute to Malaysia, two days before my
17th birthday. It’s no surprise that birthdays
have never been the same.

My father’s untimely death
put panic in my heart, and I
clung to my mother, afraid
if I so much as looked away,
she might die too. During
those dark days, I was full of
anxiety as well as questions
about my parents’ lives in
old world Korea, questions
I never thought to ask
when my father was alive.

My mother was a
luminous storyteller,
sharing memories of my
parents’ childhoods―
stories so compelling I
couldn’t help but pick up
the pen and begin to write, document and
preserve. She told stories of my father and his
impoverished boyhood on the outskirts of Seoul
and how he believed a college education was
his passport out of poverty. My father would
eventually cross the seas to attend Harvard.

My mother told me about her missionary
parents who trekked over mountains and
valleys, spreading the word of God in a land
ruled by Buddha. Most heartbreaking was the
story of a 19-year-old brother and his doomed
fate when he was forced to fight against his
will on behalf of Japan in World War II, during
the Japanese occupation of Korea, and was
never heard from again. Another story told of
the mother who futilely waited for her son to
come home, missing her opportunity to escape
across the border into the south before the
outbreak of the Korean War.

That’s when a lightbulb went off in my head.

These stories should be in books. Little did
I know that crafting my art was healing my
anxious heart, too.

I went on to write many award-winning
picture books inspired by my heritage. But as
a chocolate shop owner, I was most intrigued
by the story of my mother’s family, proprietors
of a department store in their hometown of
Sinuiju from 1930 to 1945. The department
store would eventually crumble to the ground
during the Russian invasion of Korea following
World War II. But it would be years, decades
even, before the idea of a book would come
to me. “The Hundred Choices Department
Store” (Regal House Publishing, 2022) a
historical children’s novel, came to fruition
eight months after my mother’s passing. In
honor of my mother, the book’s release date is
March 25 of this year— her birthday.

Writing is my happy place. Perched in
front of a manuscript and falling into a world
of words brings me joy and comfort. But the
most rewarding aspects of writing children’s
books are the letters I receive and the visits to
my chocolate shop. Families from all over the
country have walked through my shop doors to
meet the author. I’m always deeply humbled.

Honored. It’s a reminder of why I write books
for kids. It’s not only to give youngsters a
glimpse of a world so far removed from their
own, but perhaps, in my small way, to inspire
them to explore their roots and discover
what’s there. n
Ginger Park is the co-owner of Chocolate Chocolate
in Washington. Her newest children’s historical
novel, “The Hundred Choices Department Store,”
is available at regalhousepublishing.com
or through Amazon.com.

GINGER PARK: PHOTO PROVIDED; BOOK COVER:
REGAL HOUSE PUBLISHING
I BY GINGER PARK