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Home / Washington Business - March/April 2008 / Profile: Sen. Paull Shin State Senator, District 21 Senate, vice president pro tem Chair, Higher Education Committee |
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Profile: Sen. Paull Shin State Senator, District 21 Senate, vice president pro tem Chair, Higher Education Committee |
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Written On: March/April 2008 |
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Written By: Daniel Brunell |
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Sen. Paull Shin is a name you don’t hear much around Olympia. As a legislator, he doesn’t speak very much on the floor of the Senate, but when he does it’s with a calm and assured demeanor. Never inflammatory, he’s rarely mentioned in the press. Nevertheless, Sen. Shin is one of the strongest voices in Olympia.
Sen. Shin’s journey from his native Korea to the halls of government is one of the most unlikely and amazing stories in Washington state history.
A childhood none of us could imagine
Shin was born in Japanese-occupied Korea in 1935. His mother died when he was four years old; shortly afterward, his father abandoned him in the streets. With the brutality of the occupation and the world at war all around him, Shin grew up in conditions that even Charles Dickens couldn’t imagine. Eating spoiled food and wearing filthy clothing, he had no relatives and no friends. Shin survived in the open elements through Korea’s sweltering summers and frigid winters. Just surviving until the next day was often a struggle.
“I remember at night, crouching down in the street and looking up at the stars,” said Shin. I would start tearing up and crying for my mother.” When he tried to go to school in Korea to improve his situation, they kicked him out on first sight.
In 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. Under a United Nations directive, the United States led an international coalition to defend South Korea. Many residents of Seoul fled south to Pusan after U.N. forces were able to secure the area on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Shin joined the exodus. He was almost halfway there when news arrived that Gen. Douglas MacArthur had captured Seoul. Shin headed back to the capital city.
In their hasty retreat, both the U.N. forces and the Korean People’s Army had knocked out all the bridges crossing the major rivers. Walking north, Shin came upon a United Nations pontoon bridge crossing the Han River. Unable to cross (soldiers guarding the bridge gave priority to military vehicles), Shin begged the passing soldiers for food. Finally, one day an officer grabbed him and put him in his truck. The officer was part of a U.S. Army medical unit. The soldiers instantly took a liking to Shin, offering him a job at their base and making him a houseboy for the officers. For the first time in his life, Shin was able to bathe, wear clean clothes, and eat on a regular basis.
Even at the base, Shin felt alone in the world. Like before, there was no one he could talk to or be friends with. At night, he would sneak outside and look up at the stars, crying, thinking of his mother. One night, one of the officers from the base came upon Shin.
“I looked up at this man who was looking at me,” said Shin. “The next thing I know, he was hugging me with his big, powerful arms. That was the beginning of my new life.” The officer was a dentist named Ray Paull. Through the remainder of the war, Shin and Paull developed a close, father-and-son relationship. When the war ended, Paull adopted Shin.
Coming to America
It took nearly a year for the adoption paperwork to go through the system before Shin could start his new life in the United States. In 1954, he met his new family at their home in Salt Lake City. In honor of the man who gave him a new life, Shin changed his first name to Paull. Once Shin was here, he didn’t waste much time. He had always dreamed of getting an education, and now he had the opportunity.
At an age when most American children were finishing their primary education, Paull Shin was just beginning his. There were a few problems starting out. All of the schools in the area rejected Shin because of his age, his lack of previous education and his lack of English skills. However, this didn’t deter Shin. With the help of his new family, Shin started a GED program.
“I remember only getting three hours a sleep a night while I was studying, trying to memorize the English dictionary,” said Shin. “My new father and family were there supporting and believing in me.”
In less than 18 months, Shin finished his GED. He then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University. After a brief spell in the U.S. Army, he went on to get his master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and another master’s and a doctorate from the University of Washington.
While at the University of Washington in the Korean Studies Program, Shin rediscovered himself. “I had terrible feelings. I felt rejected by Korea,” he said. “When another Korean person would come up to me, I felt embarrassed because I didn’t know how to speak and read Korean.” Through the Korean Studies Program at UW, Shin was able to rediscover the country of his birth — something he has always been grateful for. Many years later, when the program faced the budget-cutter’s axe, Shin led the effort to not only fund it, but also set up a permanent endowment so the program could continue as a vital link between the two countries.
After teaching in Hawaii for a few years, Shin decided to move back to the Pacific Northwest. In 1969, he took a job at Shoreline Community College as a professor of history and East Asian civilization. He taught there for more than 26 years.
Into state politics
Paull Shin got involved in politics when, in 1976, Gov. Dan Evans called on Shin to help him increase trade with Korea and Japan. Through many changes of administration in the governor’s office, Shin served as a trade ambassador to the state, a role in which he continues to this day. By 1987, both parties were actively recruiting him to run for office. Secretary of State Ralph Munro tried to get him to run as a Republican, while Gov. Booth Gardner tried to get him to run as a Democrat. Gardner won out.
Since joining the Legislature, Shin has been one of its strongest advocates for education and trade. He is currently vice president pro tem of the Senate, chair of the Higher Education Committee, and past chair of the Economic Development, Trade, and Management Committee. Representing the 21st district (comprising Edmonds, Mukilteo, Woodway and portions of Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace), Shin was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1992. In 1994 he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives and in 1996 he ran for lieutenant governor, losing both bids by slim margins. In 1998 he made the step up to the Washington State Senate, where he still serves today.
One of his proudest accomplishments, according to Shin, was the passage of SB 5166 during the 2007 Legislative session. This was a bill establishing Jan. 13 as Korean American Day, making Washington the first state in the nation to recognize Korean Americans in an honorary state holiday. The date is significant: on Jan. 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Now, native Koreans and Korean Americans comprise Washington’s third-largest ethnic population. The holiday not only celebrates the contributions made by Korean Americans, but also honors veterans of the Korean War.
Keeping active
Outside politics, Shin has remained active since retiring from Shoreline Community College. He serves on the board of the Edmonds Community College Foundation. He and his wife, Donna, have two children — both of whom are adoptees — and five grandsons. Now in his 70s, Shin remains engaged and committed. He flies around the world, mostly to South Korea and Japan, to teach and give lectures, sharing his inspirational story with adoptees and people of Korean descent.
On a rainy-sunny-rainy January day in Olympia, there’s not an inch to be found on the steps and landings inside the Capitol Rotunda. A diverse crowd of dancers, bands, Korean War veterans, and Korean American families spanning generations are there to celebrate Washington’s first Korean American Day. Among the crowd is Sen. Paull Shin, looking around in joy and astonishment. For someone from such inauspicious beginnings, it’s a happy place to be.
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