Interview with my uncle - Chae Ko

Chae Ko was born in Seoul, Korea. He moved to the United States with his friends and family in April 14,1974. With his wife and two young daughters, Chae set out for a new and better life for them. Being in the more advanced and economically stable country of the United States, Chae found that his occupation as a jewelry merchant was open for more opportunities. No sooner did he realize that, the U.S. was undergoing many changes in technology. He knew of how many of his friends were forced to learn how to operate the US’s new leading machine in modern technology, the computer. Chae wasn’t at all interested in the computer. Chae says that the first time the computer, one somebody tried to have, you talking about like, twenty thousand dollars. It’s like almost a car. You know. Brand new car and stuff like that and especially and it was so big and it requires a lot of space.

My main ambition was to make money. A lots of money. All I cared about, I guess that’s it. I still have that same interest now. See, people are materialized, and that’s the main reason I guess. Make money, living well, raise the kid, whatever. You know. Simple, you know. I am very simple person.

Everything was computerized. Most of it machine. Everything was modernized by machine. Computers, especially computers. It used to be just like you guys. When I grew up, we play the games, whatever, exercise, sports. We used our hands and you know bodies, stuff like that. Using hand and eye and coordination or and your fingers. It’s totally different. It’s totally different. It changed. 

Computers weren’t popular at that time. That’s why, see since then I didn’t decide to learn the computer because it’s not for me, actually. That’s why I never played games or used the computer at all. I know it’s much, faster and comfortable. You know, you can get a lot of from using it. Back then, at that time, they mostly used it for the special requirement. Like a jobs you know, stuff like that.

     It was like, first time the computer, it wasn’t easy to learn it. It was hard to learn it and not many places that you can learn it from; but now is so popular it’s like one of you guys’ toys. You know, but we were not used to that kind of stuff, before.

We did a lot of typewriting, but you don’t, gain anything, typewriting is just writing. Not getting the information from it. All the information was from the book and probably we go to the library. Find from a books, and the information from the TV I guess, but at that time we didn’t have internet. There was a limited amount of information you can get. Is not like, right now you can get all the information from all of the world right? Internet, in every country, information, and every location you can get information. Get together and you can share it. But we didn’t have that kind of system before. So it was, most of it involved the library and find the book to learn from it. So it was very limited information we are getting at. It was whatever we are trying to do, was much more time consuming, much harder, everything. It took a lot of time; but now, you just push a button to get the information. So that’s how fast it become. The thing is, this machine is growing faster, faster. It’s like a car goes a certain speed and automatic you get more speed out of it. Computers are just like that.

Most of my friends do use the computer now, depends on their jobs; and if you are willing to use, you know, that’s depended on what you do. I guess you need to use the computer, because it’s very easy to look at the information, sending information, getting information, and storing the information, everything. It’s good. Using computers to, you know, make everything useful again.

In my case as you know, I’m usually dealing with a small business right? Most of them, I do with my hand, repairs stuff like that, and there’s certain jewelries that are certainly different from other stuff. If you are just buying and selling like a whole seller, they also use computer too, you know, organize the different styles, whatever. You order, you sell, whatever you do, but in my case, I personalize, that kind of stuff. It’s very personal, and I have to do by myself, and when people’s bring and ask to fix, they talk to me, and all the jewelry are like, it has very sentimental value to them. They explain what they want from it, right?  That you can not do with computers. That’s the reason why I didn’t learn the computer at all. It actually didn’t help me that much. Unless I gonna expanding, and try to sell more; then guess I probably need to sell more items, have more storage, and more information. Then I probably require the computers, but not now.

Computers weren’t popular. See when I grow up, we didn’t have any kind, just like you guys; didn’t have any video games. That’s the reason I probably didn’t use that much, but I see the difference. See, before, even though, we were gathering information, whatever we did, we are usually playing games like sports; but you guys watch television most of the time, you guys are mostly video games. Nothing but the games. That’s how much difference that makes. Whole culture changed I guess.

We knew, we figure out pretty soon, you know, that everything would be computerized, cause you know, when somebody is faster than you, you try to be like him, right? So you try to keep up, with it. You have to, I guess, learn the computer and in such a short time. You become just like that. At that time, it wasn’t for me. At that time I was young and I was involved with learning the skill.

Skills, you need lots of time, more patience and you have to do it by yourself, with you know, hand. So, at that time it was more like practicing you know, using, making, figuring out, stuff like that. Computer had nothing to do with it; but even now, they are using a lot of computer to make the stuff like that. Before we make everything by the hand, now their design and even the making all the items by the computer.

There’s no certain line for which one is better, which one is not better. The computer is more detailed and, more exact, precise. You know, and mass production you can do. But the jewelry is like this, sometimes mass produce makes the price down. That’s not actually good. Just like controlling the diamond of the whole world and also, we are developing, getting lots of gold from the Earth, but we not using all of them. There’s a certain limit they are sending out to the open market. The reasons are very simple, because of the price. So there’s a certain, line and you can’t tell which is better, which is not better.

Nobody knows if this was a good or bad change; and by the way, I don’t think anybody can do anything. The way it goes, it goes you know, all the stuff, develop fast, whatever. I don’t think anybody can have any affect on it. They can not control. So the way it is, it is I guess.

Interviewed by Janet No