The Go-Between

The everyday work life of Chung-Young Kim between Adlershof and Korea

On the night of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was out and about with his brother. “We saw it happen on TV, walked to Brandenburg Gate and climbed the wall. It wasn’t easy seeing as I was only twelve.” His parents were working the night shift in a hospital, they never found out about the adventure. Unfortunately, he had a dying need to go to the bathroom when he was up on the wall – panic ensued. “I just about made it.”

Chung-Young Kim is, in his own words, an “Urkreuzberger” – born and bred in Berlin-Kreuzberg. He was born 39 years ago as a son of Korean immigrants. He completed an apprenticeship as an office clerk, followed by three years of evening classes in business administration at the VWA, the Berlin Administration and Business Academy. Those were hard times. He worked during the day followed by three hours in a lecture hall of the Technical University every night. However, his aspiration to higher things was a strong motivation: “The job as an office clerk was soon exhausted.”

The freshly graduated businessman Kim started out managing three Burger King restaurants in Berlin. He went on to run the political department office of the South-Korean embassy on the outskirts of the Tiergarten park. However, that was quickly exhausted, too. Due to his German passport, he wasn’t eligible for a high-grade career in the Korean Foreign Service. And so, in 2011, he began spending his working days on the second floor of a grey functional building on Schwarzschildstraße in Adlershof.

There, the 32 employees of the company MGB Endoskopische Geräte manufacture precision technology for minimally invasive surgeries. Kim describes his job as product manager as being the go-between for development, manufacturing and sales. Another gap for him to close was a cultural one. He became the go-between of the Adlershof-based company and their colleagues at the parent company in Seoul. His ability to do this was also thanks to the foresight of his parents, who sent him to a Korean school in Berlin as a 5-year-old. Twice a week, on Wednesdays as well as Sundays after church. “I stopped going when I was 13.” He says this is why his Korean writing skills leave a lot to be desired. Thankfully there is software for that.

On Saturdays, Kim can be seen at the stadium in Berlin-Moabit playing with the kickers of “FC Baeko”. At 39 years of age, he is one of the oldest among a very young crowd. The football club was founded in 2010 by students from Korea. Kim admires the entrepreneurial spirit of his team mates. Many of them became self-employed at a young age. “People with courage.” Does he have any other hobbies? “I love going out to eat.” However, Adlershof could do better: “The area could do with a bit more diversity.” However: “There is a lot of construction going on. Who knows, there might be more to come.”

By Winfried Dolderer for Adlershof Journal

www.mgb-berlin.de