ORAL HISTORY: Kurtis Dinner   INTERPRETIVE TEAM: Tanya McCullough, Julia Zungri

Paying it Forward

Suyeon Jin was born in Yeosu, South Korea, in 1955. Throughout her life, Suyeon has showed a love of learning as well as a desire to help people. Having earned a Master in Divinity and a Master in Social Work in Korea, Suyeon came to Canada in 1991 to further her education. Upon graduation with a Master of Divinity from the Tyndale Seminary, and a Certificate for Ordination from Knox College in Toronto, Suyeon saw a need in the Korean community for counseling services and volunteerism. In 1999, she established the “Korean Canadian Telecare Life Line” whose name changed to “For You Telecare Family Service (FUTFS)” in 2003, and she has not looked back since. Although the hours are long and she has often not been paid for her services, the agency is “her child,” and she wants to continue as a Clinical and Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Psychotherapist after her retirement in order to help Korean-Canadians in the community.