We have Fresno, California's very own TV anchor and reporter Christine Park's story to share with you today! First off you may think 'How glamorous, fabulous and she must have a great life?' Well, I think so! But, in her own fun way, she tells us how it can and may not be, so hold on to your seats, you're going into G-Force levels with a splash of mommy honesty which is oh-so refreshing!
Please, share a mini bio of your life.
I was born in a small hospital in Apple Valley, in the California desert. I think my family was the only Korean family in the city of Barstow. My parents owned a small grocery store there, chasing the American dream. That meant we moved around A LOT, as they pursued a number of small business opportunities: Glendale, Fullerton, Stanton, Alhambra, Diamond Bar, to name a few. I went to three or four different elementary schools, two different high schools.
My brother Brian was born 11 months, 2 weeks after me. He was my best friend and partner in crime. We never fought (at least I can’t recall). But that may have something to do with the fact that when he was born, I bit his finger so hard, to this day, he has problems with it, and will require surgery. I tell him, I was merely establishing dominance early on. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, then, when my own daughter bit her baby brother’s finger. Sigh, poor thing, it was his destiny.
My sister was born when I was six. She was a chubby, mischievous tomboy, and her initial endearing cuteness wore off quickly when I realized how much trouble she could get into (because I was always held responsible). My parents worked very hard, as many immigrants do, to provide us with every possible opportunity in life – private school, piano lessons, taekwondo, computer tutors, art classes… but my favorite activity growing up was free: weekly trips to the library. I loved books and I loved to read. I attended Diamond Bar High School for barely a semester.
Just when I thought I had found my niche (in a group of all Asian friends), we moved again, this time to Fresno. It was devastating. I didn’t speak to my parents for two months. The student body at Clovis West High School in Fresno was predominantly white. It took me months to find friends. But it taught me what it was like to be out of my comfort zone and still succeed. I will never forget the day someone asked me where I was from. I said, “Southern California.” “No,” he said, “WHERE are you from, you know, your family.” I said, “Korea.” He said, “What’s that?”
How was it growing up as a Korean American girl?
I don’t think I really noticed that I was different from my Caucasian friends until Kindergarten. There was a little Japanese boy named James in my class, and he was the only one that looked like me. So naturally, he became the boy I “liked.” So when we played girls chase boys on the playground, I went after him.
My parents insisted we go to Korean language/culture school every Saturday in Hacienda Heights. So instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons, we endured a sixth day of school. But I am so grateful for that experience, because I can read, write, and speak Korean. I learned fan dancing and drum dancing as well as calligraphy and songs. To this day, I can sing that Korean school’s anthem without missing a beat. My mom taught me the quiet pride, beauty and grace of being a Korean woman. I loved putting on my hanbok every New Year’s. The hundreds of dollars we got from our elders for showing our respect (seh-beh) didn’t hurt either.
We didn’t eat a ton of Korean food on a day to day basis. We were a mac ‘n’ cheese, fish sticks kind of family. My mom and paternal grandmother (who lived with us) worked late every day, so dinner was whatever was fastest. But I do recall my grandma made some delicious rice krispie treats! How very un-Korean!
We spoke a mix of English and Korean at home… Konglish! Growing up in Southern California, it’s easy to be Korean American. There are so many others like you. I only distinctly became aware of my differences when I moved to Fresno in high school. I considered trying out for pep and cheer but balked at the thought of being the only minority on the squad. The largest group of Asians at my school was Hmong. I didn’t even know what that was. One of my best friends (originally from Texas) told me I was her first “Oriental” friend. I was glad to educate her about my background and my culture. She is still one of my best friends to this day. I eventually found my way, embracing my new home.
Like a dutiful daughter, I dove headfirst into my studies, taekwondo (I was a red belt before I hurt my knee), church, and all the clubs and organizations I could manage to pad my resume with. I wanted to go to Stanford. I loved high school. I wasn’t popular or unpopular – just comfortably in the middle, friends with the nerds and jocks. I was never ashamed of being Korean American. Maybe only when the house smelled like kimchi when my friends came over. LOL But I was distinctly aware that the popular Asian kids all seemed “white-washed”… meaning they didn’t speak their parents’ native language, they had all Caucasian friends, etc.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
My mom was always working, but somehow she managed to be an amazing mother to us kids as well. I never felt like she wasn’t there for me—spelling bees, award ceremonies, piano recitals, school projects, you name it. She also really knew how to throw a party. Every one of our birthdays was an event. My favorite childhood memory was my 6th birthday and my brother’s 5th birthday (we always had our parties together when we were little). There was a puppet theater in our neighborhood. My mom, 7 months pregnant with her third child, rented the place out, and the theater put on an amazing show centered around our birthdays. We had the best time and I felt so special. I wore my best pink lace dress and had flowers in my hair. To this day, I remember the sheer joy of dancing and clapping with my friends and family.
What did you study / major in during your college years - which school?
I thought I wanted to be a doctor. My family wanted me to be a doctor. I attended UC Berkeley (I didn’t get into Stanford) intending to major in Biology. My freshman year was a huge wakeup call. I did terribly. Chemistry kicked my butt. No matter how much I studied, I couldn’t get it. I did some major self-evaluation my sophomore year, looking at what I was good at and what I really enjoyed: reading, speaking, writing. I was clearly in the wrong major. I did an internship at a TV station that summer, and I was hooked. It was such an adrenaline rush and so gratifying. I changed my major to Mass Communications my junior year and suddenly classes become enjoyable again. Everything came naturally again. I graduated with honors and pursued a career in journalism with a single-minded focus. I still distinctly remember telling my parents I didn’t want to be a doctor. I thought they’d be furious and disappointed. I think they were disappointed, but they were very supportive. I was so relieved, and I promised to make them proud.
Tell us a little bit about being a mommy and having your own children now.
I was never one of those girls who dreamed about having a family. I was always very career and achievement oriented. Even when I got married, kids were an afterthought. Sure, I wanted them, but not for awhile. Then literally, overnight, that all changed. My husband Gene and I had been married for three years, and were having the time of our lives. We traveled to some amazing locations, including the Bahamas, Italy, and Hawaii. We had bought our first home. My career as a TV reporter was taking off. And then my biological clock started ticking on overdrive. I was 29. I wanted a baby yesterday. LOL. A baby girl, to be exact. One that I could dress up in the most adorable outfits, play princess tea parties with, plan her wedding with.
We got pregnant relatively easily and I was sick as a dog. I lost ten pounds my first trimester, and the only things I could eat without throwing up were watermelon, yook-ggeh-jahng (spicy beef stew) and naeng-myun (cold buckwheat noodles). I knew it was a girl. My mom knew it too – she told me she had had a dream of brilliant jewels, which apparently signifies a girl. But when the ultrasound confirmed it, I burst into tears of joy. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. Sydney (named after Jennifer Garner’s character in Alias) was born September 20, 2006. She was an easy, happy baby. Such a joy to raise. But to be honest, being on maternity leave, I felt like I was losing myself. My job was so much of who I was and still am.
So I went back to work when she was 2 ½ months old. I was a pumping machine, pumping in the live truck while out on stories, pumping in a tiny bathroom at a New York City club on my first trip away from her. That lasted 10 months. When she was two, we discovered she had a birth defect called tethered spinal cord, it affects her leg, bowel, and bladder control. So far, she had developed normally, but we knew we had to do something, or she could suffer from incontinence and leg pain her entire life. I NEVER worried before I became a mom. I was always a go-with-the-flow kind of person. But the constant worry that came with this new role sometimes became overwhelming. The thought that someone’s life and well being are in your hands, is a heavy, sobering realization.
When Sydney was diagnosed, I was pregnant with our second child, our son Isaiah. Again, I was so sick my doctor put me on Zofran (anti-nausea medicine they usually prescribe for chemo patients). We had to get extra tests and ultrasounds to make sure he didn’t have any spinal defects. It was nerve-wracking. Isaiah was born April 21, 2009. Thank God he was born completely healthy, without the same condition as his sister. He was an easy baby too. But people don’t tell you how the second child doesn’t just double the work, it quadruples it. It’s like there were exponentially more things to do. My daughter, the center of our worlds, suddenly was competing for attention and she didn’t like it one bit. I remember distinctly wondering, how am I going to do this? How do I balance everything, without dropping the ball on something? This time, I was NOT ready to go back to work, but I had an amazing support network: my husband, my mom, and our Korean nanny, Kona, who make day to day sanity a possibility.
In July of this year, Sydney had surgery at UCLA to de-tether her spinal cord and close up her spinal column. I would say it was one of the most frightening times of my life. I had to be strong, but there was one moment of weakness, when I left her in the operating room as they were putting her under anesthesia, and I was escorted to the waiting area. I lost it. I just started bawling. I had absolutely no control. The surgery went well, but there were a lot of complications during recovery. Sydney’s bladder stopped working and she developed an infection. We were in the hospital for 7 days. People kept telling me how hard it must be for me. But all I could think of was how hard it must be on Syd. She was such a little trooper, and she had to face a lot of her fears, including blood draws, catheterization, horrible medication. But she made it through, and she is recovering well today.
Share a story of a daily happening.
I would say my work and sleep schedule are pretty unusual. I wake up at 2:30am to be at work by 3:30am. Our morning show is on the air from 4:30am to 7am. By 7:30am I am eating a full lunch. I anchor an 11am show then I’m off by noon. Meanwhile, my husband is taking Sydney to preschool then heads to work as a medical device sales rep and my nanny is watching the baby. Once I get home, I eat another lunch, then the nanny leaves by 1pm. If I’m lucky, both kids will nap from 2-4pm. If I’m extra tired, I will nap too. I literally go into a coma. If I’m feeling ambitious, I will work on my blog, read a book or magazine, catch up on my shows on the DVR, or get in a yoga/pilates DVD workout. Then once the three of us get up, the kids play or watch cartoons while I cook dinner. Usually my husband is home by then and we can all sit down for a family meal. Then there’s Sydney’s dance class some nights or bible study or gym. It’s an inexact science, but we have a somewhat regular schedule. Then the kids and I have essentially the same bedtime: 8:30pm.
What are some places you love taking your kids?
Fresno has some great little kid-friendly spots around town. During the summer we have a mini water park right at our neighborhood park, they also love the Chaffee Zoo and Rotary Playland, which is a small amusement park. My daughter asks to go to Chuck E Cheese every now and then, but I avoid it on the weekends like the plague. Believe it or not Syd also LOVES going to the gym with me because the daycare has an awesome play area. For a weekly treat, the kids LOVE frozen yogurt. It’s always the same: strawberry or tart yogurt, with mochi, strawberries and fruity pebbles. But our absolute favorite place to go as a family is Disneyland. We go about three times a year. This year, we splurged and took a family vacation to Disney World. It was a lot of work, but totally amazing.
What are your hopes and desires for your children?
I hope my children turn out to be better than I could raise them on my own, meaning, I leave a lot up to God. I would be proud if they respected their culture, their elders, had a strong faith and principles, found spouses they loved, and pursued lives and careers that gave them joy and satisfaction. My parents raised me that way. All three of us kids have unconventional careers – I’m a TV journalist, my brother worked for the Secret Service and now NASA, and my sister is a graphic design artist. Not a doctor or lawyer among us!
Tell us more about your career and what you've been doing these days.
My husband asked me the other day, “Do you ever wake up and dread going to work?” I told him, “Honestly, no.” He said, “You’re lucky.” And he’s right. I love what I do, and I consider it a privilege. I get to tell people’s stories for a living. I’ve been on the front lines of devastating wildfires, I’ve been on board an aircraft carrier returning from Iraq, I’ve recovered thousands of lost wedding pictures from photographers who cheated their clients. There are few jobs, I feel, that can have such an impact. That said, being in the news business is not easy. It is not usually family friendly, and you really have to work your way up from the bottom. I’ve worked every holiday, nights, weekends, you name it. I’ve ripped scripts, gotten coffee, broken my ankle, been cursed at, peed in bushes in the middle of nowhere, been ankle deep in cow manure. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s a heck of a ride. Every day is different.
What is your favorite part about being a reporter?
Access. People will let you into their lives and places where normal people couldn’t go. For example, I rode in the cockpit with the Blue Angels. I don’t know anyone else who’s been in a fighter jet going 7G’s. (I totally passed out, by the way, and it’s all on tape) I’ve interviewed celebrities, and average people with extraordinary stories. Something so private, or painful, or amazing, they open themselves up to you.
What are some of the perks when working in your field?
People will bend over backward to help you out when they know who you are. This applies both to work and my personal life. Appointments, reservations, concert tickets, you name it. But you can’t abuse it. You have to approach it with appreciation and humility, knowing these people are your viewers, your fans, and they are going out of their way to help you. I also love being approached by viewers when I’m out and about. The feedback is almost always positive and it reaffirms what we do every single morning at the crack of dawn. Fresno has an unusually loyal, avid TV audience. They tell me they feel like they know me, and it motivates me to keep doing what I do. But it also means I can’t ever leave the house without makeup! LOL
What is your favorite Korean food?
Naeng-myun and galbi. Bibimbap. Soon Tofu. I could eat those things every single day.
What is your favorite Movie? Color? Restaurant?
Favorite Movie: Love Actually
Color: Fuschia
Restaurant: Ruth’s Chris. Can’t go wrong with a piece of meat sizzling on a plate of butter.
What is your favorite Korean Drama?
Korean dramas are an addiction I gave up in college.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I will be 43, my kids will be teenagers (Lord! Help me!). I see myself as a part-time news anchor, part-time journalism instructor, and part-time blogger and internet based journalist. I taught broadcast writing for several semesters at Fresno State after I got my master’s there, and I loved it. My instructors in college were more academic-based, and I feel like students really benefit from professors who actually have practical, day-to-day experience in the field. That said, I really feel like the future of journalism is going to be on the web, not television. Or more like a fusion of both, like Google TV. I’m trying to figure out how to tap into that, where people will get their news and information on demand. I started www.tvnewsmom.blogspot.com as a way to keep my friends up-to-date on stuff that affects us specifically as moms. A lot of information I want to pass on never makes it on the air. We simply don’t have the time. But the blog and Facebook are a great way to do that.
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Christine! We wish you tons of success in your carreer and much blessings for your family!
