Widely known as Korean bhai, Joseph Kim came to Bangladesh 13 years back to study. Since then, he has established himself as a Youtuber, entrepreneur, and activist. WhatsOn catches up with this inspiring person who fell in love with a foreign country, its beautiful culture, and worked ever since to help the poor and the underprivileged people of this country.
In an exclusive interview, Joseph Kim took us through his journey on how he came to Bangladesh and what made him stay behind. He said, “13 years ago I arrived here for my studies. I went to a village in Khulna to assist a Korean Broadcast to make a documentary about Bangladesh. We went to a fisherman’s house to shoot how they used to fish. There I met the fisherman’s son who was only five years old and asked the fisherman what will his son be when he grows up? The fisherman answered that he will grow up to be a fisherman just like him. This made me think about the love I received for my dreams when I was five.”
He continued, “I thought it was very unfair. This kid didn’t even get a chance to dream. It made me think that education can change his life and the lives of many others like him. That is when I came up with the plan to stay behind and help these people. I want to make schools for these poor kids and be their hope.
Joseph then talked about how he set his plan in motion. He said, “I decided to finish my studies from NSU and start my own YouTube Channel and business to save enough money to start the schools. However, when the pandemic started, I had to close my business down. I thought about going back to Korea during that time. But I had six staff whose livelihood was gone. So I changed my decision and thought to stay behind and help them in any way I can.”
The global pandemic has stopped progress and the dreams of many like Joseph who wanted to bring in positive changes in society. After the pandemic disrupted his plans, Joseph started working in a hospital. He said, “currently I am working in Karamtala hospital. I used to go out on the weekends for making videos of Bangladesh. But now a day I can’t so I stay home and write about Bangladesh in my Korean blog.”
He further talked about the things that he loved about this country. He said, “many people ask me about this question. The people of this country gave me their hearts, something that I can’t buy with money. They are heart-warming and tried to give me the best of what they have.”
He continued, “even though it’s not developed yet, still I feel more from the people. They think more about people than money and competition. When I first came here I used to be so stressed all the time, and people used to say, ‘shomosha nai’ and now I became a ‘shomosha nai’ person as well.”
Joseph Kim aspires to travel all over Bangladesh. He is currently working with NGOs to help local schools in Khulna. He talked about his goals and said, “I want to travel and find more places that need help. I want to post about them on my YouTube Channel and we can get donations and help those people. I want to be something like a creator by helping people.”
Joseph Kim, aka the Korean bhai dreams to build a fair world. He believes, “all human beings are precious. They have the right to be happy. They have the right to know. They have the right to education and to dream. We should start by respecting people from all backgrounds despite their races, colors, religions, or social classes. It’s the only way to make a fair world. And this is my dream to make a fair world and this will be my message till I die.”
People like Joseph Kim who has devoted their lives working for a poor country like Bangladesh is a testament to the fact that this country and its people are worth saving. We hope to know more people like Korean Bhai and embrace them in this country with open arms.
Watch the full interview below:
Donot forget to Subscribe to Korean Bhai’s channel: (1065) Koreanbhai কোরিয়ান ভাই – YouTube
