FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Editor’s Note: The Defense Logistics Agency recognizes May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In honor of their contributions to the agency’s global mission, DLA is highlighting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who work day in and day out to provide logistics support to America’s warfighters.
Your name and job title?
David Kim. Contracting officer for DLA Acquisition.
How long have you been with the agency?
I have been with DLA for nearly five years.
What is your country of origin?
My parents came to the U.S. from South Korea in the early 1960s. I was born and raised in the great state of North Carolina.
How do you celebrate your heritage?
I grew up eating Korean food, and now my family and I eat Korean food at home nearly every day. We are raising our children to be bilingual, with my wife speaking to them in Korean and me in English. Every New Year’s Day, my children dress up in traditional Korean garb called a “hanbok,” go to my mother’s house, and give the formal new year’s greeting to their grandmother. My mother then wishes them a happy and healthy new year (along with giving them a monetary gift).
What does Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a great way to celebrate our many distinct cultures while also recognizing that we are all Americans working hard to contribute to this great country.
Can you share something unique about your heritage, country of origin or family traditions?
The concept of the group is very important in Korea, be it the family, the school you attend, a social club in which you participate, or your team at the workplace. I spent some time living in Seoul, the capital city, after graduate school. This was back in the late 1990s, so I am sure that a lot of things have changed since then. But back then I worked on a team for a major Korean corporation. In addition to being together in the same office for up to eleven hours a day, our whole team was required to eat lunch together every day. Once every few weeks, we were even required to drink together (at company expense) – and I mean drink a LOT together. The purpose of this was to bond the teammates together who were already spending plenty enough time in each other’s company in the office. And it worked. While I found the practice of this kind of team-bonding to be a bit strange at first, I learned to enjoy it. Here in the U.S., there is a little more individualism than in Korea, which also has its benefits.
Are there any misconceptions about your heritage or country of origin that you would like to correct?
While they can be fun to watch and are a good gauge of current Korean values and practices, Korean TV dramas do not reflect real life. (Ah, if only all our life’s challenges could be resolved and wrapped up in 16 tumultuous TV episodes…)
This year’s theme for Asian American Pacific Islanders Heritage Month is “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity.” What does that mean to you?
Growing up in the U.S., I was taught that if one worked hard and contributed to a school, a club, an organization (like DLA), or to this country as a whole, that he or she would be recognized and given the opportunity to become a leader. I still believe this to be true. I am currently teaching my children that this sort of wonderful opportunity to advance and lead can only occur in a country like the United States, and that it applies to people of all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds who want to work hard and contribute to something bigger than themselves. That to me is what “Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity” means to me as an employee of DLA.
What’s one of your most important accomplishments?
Back in the late summer of 2021, I was putting in a great deal of work on a major multiple muti-million dollar contract. While that was taking place, I was also taking a two-week long, intensive online course for my Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification and going through preparation for an upcoming deployment to the Middle East. Managing these various projects simultaneously was challenging and time-consuming, but I was able to do them all successfully. This is the accomplishment at DLA that I remember most in recent memory, even more than getting my contracting officer warrant.
Tell us a little-known fact that most people do not know about you.
Growing up in North Carolina, I was a huge fan of both the National Wrestling Alliance wrestling and Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. The former still influences me; when I accomplish something big at work, I want to give a Ric Flair-styled “WOOOH!” in the office (when none of my colleagues can hear me). As for the latter, I often get asked which side I lean toward in the whole University of North Carolina-Duke University storied rivalry; I explain that I hate them both! I’m a proud graduate of North Carolina State University. Go Wolfpack!
What would you like others to learn or take away from celebrating this month?
We all come from different parts of the world – each and every one of us – and we bring our own distinct cultures to this wonderful country. But despite our varied backgrounds, all of us together are America. And by learning about each other’s unique cultures and practices and respecting them, I believe this will only make America an even better and stronger place with an ever brighter future.