An Interview with John Gonzalez

John Gonzalez was born in a small town of 12,000 people in the highlands of Mexico. At age thirteen, his family immigrated to the U.S., hoping he would forge a solid future for himself. Gonzalez always remembered why his parents decided to leave their home country and the sacrifices they made while uprooting the family. He learned English and French and earned several degrees, including a doctorate in educational leadership from UCLA. After receiving his doctorate, Gonzalez was appointed American Council on Education Fellow. He has worked in academic positions from middle to graduate school in the U.S. He lived in South Korea for five years, where he worked at an American School as a Spanish and English teacher and academic counselor. After completing his assignment, he was offered the position of school principal. While living in Korea, he immersed himself in the culture. He chose to write SOUTH KOREA: The Price of Efficiency and Success to express his gratitude to the Korean people. Gonzalez enjoys traveling, spiritual retreats, and meeting people from all walks of life. In his spare time, he volunteers to teach yoga and meditation in the community.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

On April 16, 2014, I came home to find out that a boat accident had claimed the lives of over 300 people. Most were high school students on a field trip to Jeju Island. My first thought was, “My students and I could have been among the victims!” I also thought about how devastating the accident would be for the victims’ families, the school, and the whole country. Some people were shocked;others appeared traumatized. I knew then that I would write a book about Korea. Such was my initial reaction to the sinking of the Sewol ferry, one of Korea’s worst tragedies in the recent past.

The above text is the opening paragraph of my book SOUTH KOREA: The Price of Efficiency and Success, Second Edition. I was living in Korea at the time of the Sewol ferry accident. I had retired in the U.S. three years earlier and was having difficulty adjusting to retirement. Consequently, I decided to look for a teaching job in Korea. After interviewing for and being offered a position at an American high school, I decided it was time to start a new adventure. In 2012, I moved to Korea, where I lived and practiced the profession I love—teaching—for five years.

The Sewol ferry tragedy made such an impression on me that it changed how I felt about Korea and the Korean people dramatically. Suddenly, I wanted to learn more about the country and its people to understand them better. I became an anthropologist, a sociologist, and a researcher. I began observing people’s behavior and connecting the dots between cause and effect, social expectations, and the friction between traditions and new trends. Every time I came across a behavior, I looked for patterns. My empathy for the Korean people and their human condition grew exponentially. I wanted to contribute to the country and the people who welcomed me with open arms despite our superficial differences.

I shared my desire to write a book about Korea with Young Lee, a Korean-born friend whom I had known for several years and who happened to be living in Korea then. He is a financial analyst by profession, and he, too, was eager to find out how Koreans had made such astounding progress in such a short time after the Korean War. We agreed to co-write the book. We self-published the first edition of our book in 2019 and the second in 2024. I also translated and published the book in Spanish during the pandemic.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I worked in education from middle to graduate school, in the classroom, as a counselor, and finally in administration. Something that carried over from my professional training in education to becoming an author is the ability to observe the environment and people’s behaviors. One thing my readers would not know is that I love music. Besides singing in the school choir and the men’s chorus, I was a member of a band in high school. We mainly played at birthday parties. The experience lasted only briefly since we all went our separate ways after graduation.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Coming up with a title for the book was not difficult at all. From the beginning, my co-author and I knew what we wanted the book to be about and the message we wanted to convey. The current title of the book was only our second attempt. We only had to fine-tune the original title.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

Holding my book in my hands for the first time was a fantastic feeling. I felt several mixed emotions, but most predominantly were a feeling of accomplishment. It was like the feeling I had when I completed my first marathon or received my doctoral degree. I almost felt like crying. To think that the thirteen-year-old boy who immigrated to this country and arrived here without speaking any English could one day write and publish a book and tell a story about what he experienced and learned in Korea was just amazing.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

One thing I hope my readers take away from reading my book is that there is so much to experience, especially when visiting another country. Being able to immerse yourself in a different culture and society is an enriching experience for your personal and professional growth.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

The most rewarding and meaningful part of publishing my book was the discovery process—studying and researching a subject that fascinates me and being able to share the story with other readers who have a similar interest.

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

I am currently considering writing an autobiographical book. I want to tell the fantastic story of my journey. I want my next book to be inspirational.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.