Byung-Hee Cho

Story

I first met my future husband in Seoul Korea at the Kimpo Airport in May 1970. He was working in the Australian Embassy in Korea and was standing in the restricted area of the airport, waiting for one of his colleagues on a flight. I was an air stewardess with Korean Air at the time also waiting for a connecting flight in the restricted area after flight briefing. I advised him he should not be in the restricted area and he retorted he could as he had a diplomatic pass. The rest is history – I since married him and accompanied him to Australia in 1972.

We left Korea in Jan 1972 and came to Australia via Tokyo and Hong Kong arriving in Sydney on 8 Feb 1972. My new Australian family greeted me with a great excitement. It was, however, a very difficult journey for me as I had to leave behind my loving parents (Mr Si-Won Cho and Mrs Hyun-Soon Lee), three brothers and a sister, many close friends and my career only to rely on my husband in a new country

On the first day of arrival, my late mother-in-law (Judeline Grant) and sister-in-law (Clare Grant Mason) took me out to CBD Sydney. My first impression was communicated to them: ‘My goodness, there are a lot of foreigners in this country!!’ To that remark, my mother-in-law said ‘Dear, you are a foreigner here now…’. Further, I could not understand why they called Australia Square ‘square’ when in fact that building was round?… I thought Australia was a very dry and yellow country with lots of ghostly gum trees, but I’ve since grown to appreciate and love their beauty over the years. When I go overseas now, I long for a golden country with gum trees and cockatoos.

For the past 37 years. I’ve raised three daughters (Lee, Kim, Natalie) who now have their own children. I’ve been qualified professionally through the Australian tertiary system and been serving Australian public service for the past 28 years. I now have seven grandchildren (Charlie, Pia, Rory, Liam, Molly, Jet and Arlo) who are wonderful children with an Australian sense of freedom. I do hope they will grow up with a deep conviction for compassion, justice and equity, and embrace what Australia can offer them and in return give back whatever it takes to Australia.

Australia is now my country and I intend to be part of it for the rest of my life. This does not mean I abandon my Korean heritage. On the contrary, I’m profoundly proud of it. Indeed, my children and grandchildren are interested in their heritage and I intend to impart as much knowledge about their heritage as I can.

I regret not for coming out to Australia.

< Back to the Stories