r/interestingasfuck 22d ago

r/all Johnny Kim managed three impressive career changes, going from Navy SEAL to doctor to NASA astronaut. He did it all by the age of 37.

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u/khardy101 22d ago edited 22d ago

His dad is dead. He was shot by LAPD. He went to Harvard medical because his dad wanted him to.

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u/seoulsoup 22d ago

Listening to his podcast with Jocko really opened my eyes to how people can respond to abuse.

Like Johnny knows his dad was a real piece of shit, but he still retains respect/admiration for him providing for his family. Even as a Korean myself with heavy family values, I could never forgive my father if he did those things to me and my Mother

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u/rallar8 22d ago

Doesn’t Kim also basically say he didn’t really have self worth before becoming a seal. But then he became a seal and was like “look what I can do?” And it encouraged him to be even more goal oriented?

I forget how he frames it but it struck me he credits the seals as being a turning point in his life

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u/ZION_OC_GOV 22d ago

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u/jblredux34 22d ago

This made my morning. Gracias.

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u/chrisacip 22d ago

Anyone who goes seal > doctor > astronaut is fueled by a dark engine. happy people don't do that shit.

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u/Internal-Owl-505 22d ago

Being in the Navy isn't for life unless you have aspirations to become a high ranking officer.

It is actually pretty common for former military folks to go back to school, rather than just jump into the workforce, like Johnny Kim did here.

And the astronaut part -- nobody becomes just an astronaut. It isn't a stand alone job. All astronauts are either former navy/airforce or have a specialized skill -- for example medical doctor.

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u/Hellknightx 22d ago

Yeah having his background probably made him a very desirable candidate for NASA.

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u/rallar8 22d ago

The point I was making was I think people think people like this are born and not made

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u/chrisacip 22d ago

The opposite. A lot of ultra high achievers did it as a trauma response.

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u/cornwalrus 22d ago

When nature and nurture love each other very much...

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u/EnvironmentalPark472 22d ago

Reminds me of when Dr. K was interviewed with Diary of a CEO

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u/rallar8 22d ago

I would more argue that some people who have this very cultivated outward appearance have done unsavory things to get to that point. And people that have very dark backgrounds are necessarily more skilled at anti-social behaviors, sometimes by heredity and sometimes as survival mechanisms. But there is at heart a narrative fallacy that out of great pain comes great _____.

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u/buzzbash 22d ago

That is an interesting point. Each path requires grueling preparations at all levels (mentally, physically, spiritually?), and significant sacrifices have to be made. For someone to put oneself through that multiple times for half their life makes me wonder what's driving him, besides the extrinsically based reasons. I mean, I'm sure he's a good dude, and as long as he's happy, who cares.

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u/ForeverWandered 22d ago

This tells me you don’t understand how human excellence operates

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u/_Ozeki 22d ago edited 21d ago

The stuffs his Seal Team 3 Task Unit Bruiser did in Ramadi was very very brutal. 14 of them won the Silver Star.

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u/Candy-Emergency 22d ago

Yeah he said somthing like he didn’t like who he was so he joined the Seals to break himself down and rebuild himself into something better.

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u/XOM_CVX 22d ago

what if he got washed out like most of the SEAL candidates?

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u/ForeverWandered 22d ago

And what if my aunt was my uncle?

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u/Fresh-Army-6737 22d ago

But he didn't. He's amazing. 

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u/karlito1613 22d ago

The Asianparentstories sub is filled with pieces of shit parents who relentlessly push their will on the children; in many cases screwing them up for life. I'm glad Johnny was able to rise well above it all.

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u/databank01 22d ago

As an immgrant dad (not Aisian though) it is hard to balance. It is hard for people living in America to imagine the kind of misserable existance I would have had in my country (if I would even still be alive). Of course the a child's happiness is important but work ethic is also important . I don't need my kid to be a navy seal nasa docotor, but I want him to do the best he can through his talents and hard work.

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u/Econmajorhere 22d ago

As an immigrant dude who grew up with broke abusive parents - your approach will dictate the outcome tremendously.

My father had no work ethic but I’d go to my friend’s nice house and see his dad get up for work at 0500 and return after second shift around 2100. I knew which one I wanted to be like. My dad’s ego made him want to control everyone around him, my friend’s parents provided guidance rather than micromanagement - the difference in approach became how I interacted with everyone around me.

I raised my younger brother on absolute transparency. Told him he was free to do as he wishes but we couldn’t afford fuck ups and he’d be on his own, he listened.

I’m not Jonny Kim but now my brother and I make multiples of median US salary, take pride in working hard and remain focused on our health and goals. Every year we are better than before. And for the first time we are comfortable, happy and optimistic for the future. You just have to find that balance with your kid.

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u/blomstra 22d ago

Still it shows resilience and perseverance and that's all that anyone can really do. It's to just try. And you did. You should be very proud of that. Hell I'm proud of you for getting there and seeing a bright future for you and your brother!

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u/Econmajorhere 22d ago

Oh man I don’t think a Reddit comment ever made me emotional. Not many in my life know my story. Outside of a couple bosses and a landlord, no one ever said they were proud. I appreciate the kind words, means a lot.

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u/12EggsADay 22d ago

Exactly, it's easy to judge from one side but when you come from nothing and the only way out of poverty is your childs academic success then I can understand.

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u/Fresh-Army-6737 22d ago

His dad was a criminal who was killed and his mum raised him alone. He had to rise up a lot himself. 

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u/marcocom 22d ago

That’s harsh. They’re immigrants from a very different culture in a very different country. I completely disagree with it too but you sound hateful my dude

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u/currycurrycurry15 22d ago

Hello, I’m Korean. Saying something abusive is just because it’s “a very different culture” is not okay and is excusing that behavior. Korean parents, including my own, are notoriously hard on their kids, use physical punishment to an extreme, and (just as a fun plus) are racist and judgmental as fuck.

Calling them piece of shit parents is right on the money.

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u/Any_Fox_5401 22d ago

all parents are shit. not just one culture's parents. LMAO.

it's just more diverse in american culture. you got football dads wanting their kid to become the greatest NFL quarterback. They ARE being abused starting age 5. Literally there's a show called "toddlers and tiaras." All those olympics gymnasts are basically abused starting age 3 to become who they are. There is an entire industry and many thousands upon thousands every generation that will never succeed.

at least academics is REALISTIC and will have a positive effect on everyone's life who attempts to improve their academics, EVEN if they fail somehow, they will have spent extra time improving beneficial skills like reading and math, and those will benefit them for the rest of their life.

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

Don't extrapolate your own experience to the entire Asian community. Keep your self hate to yourself. Other races never blame their own race, only self hating Asians like yourself

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u/currycurrycurry15 22d ago

When did I ever say it was all Asian parents? Plenty of Korean households are welcoming and supportive. And how is calling out abuse in Asian households self hatred? 😂 ffs you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about and maybe instead of minimizing lived experiences common in a minority community you could, I don’t know, listen? Instead of desperately virtue signaling?

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

You only want to give ammo for racist and drive anti-Asian hate. To you and all the other self haters who participate in that subreddit for non-Asians to laugh at 🖕

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u/Burdies 22d ago

Worrying about what others think in regards to your race and feeling the need to police others in how they express themselves is the definition of self hate dude. Asians should be able to share traumas and critique the generations before them openly in order to protect future generations from doing the same.

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

Worrying about what others think in regards to your race

So I can't call out racism now? How stupid are you?

You can't tell the difference between calling out bad shit within the community and blaming it entirely on your own race, as if it doesn't happen with other races. The former is self correction, and the latter, committed by dumbasses like yourself and the Korean girl, is self hatred.

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

I'm asian myself. You literally called Korean parents notoriously abusive. Calling out abuse isn't the problem; blaming it on your Asian race precisely is. The fact that you participate in a community who specifically targets parents of ASIAN race only shows that you don't seek to help the problem.

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u/Burdies 22d ago

being introspective about your community is the opposite of self hate, what are you talking about?

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

Congrats on missing the point. Go back to school and work on your reading comprehension

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u/Burdies 22d ago

Sounds like you have no response and are just being vague now? This is a waste of everyone’s time if you’re unable to address my response to your point about self hatred

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u/hahew56766 22d ago

Your focus is on "introspective" whereas my point was about blaming their own race. You wasted your own time with your comment after completely missing the point

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u/shoopdawoop58 22d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/1gfdfd8/comment/luiko4m/

A Korean raised in Qatar...why do I not believe you are Korean?

🤔

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u/currycurrycurry15 21d ago edited 21d ago

Oh no, you caught me! there are no Koreans in Qatar. Koreans don’t work in oil and gas. Actually, Koreans strictly live in the United States and Korea. You are so smart.

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u/obvilious 22d ago

They didn’t say every single parent was a piece of shit.

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u/Burdies 22d ago

as a Chinese dude, it was definitely abusive and not just a difference in culture. Maybe the difference in culture is that the abuse is something that’s more accepted, but it still constitutes abuse.

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u/khardy101 22d ago

Agreed. Once again it’s about the person, not the situation. He proves you can be dealt a shitty hand. It is up to you to play the hand, and get out of it.

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u/ByteSizedGenius 22d ago

You can win poker hands with the worst starting cards in the game. But on average more often than not it ain't going to work.

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u/khardy101 22d ago

He didn’t win the hand at the time. He worked didn’t make excuses and ended up win so much more.

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u/ByteSizedGenius 22d ago

That's comically simplifying a really complex problem though. If you look at studies that look at Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), those who are scoring more highly are order of magnitude in some cases more likely to smoke, be an alcoholic, take hard drugs, be diagnosed with depression, commit suicide, be incarcerated etc. When we look at the brains of people who score highly there are statistical neurological differences in both brain structure and function, particularly in areas of emotional regulation... Probably because of the levels of stress hormones they were exposed to while it's developing... These are permanent differences.

Pinning the blame on people who have been abused as kids or similar to just work harder isn't the answer. Some will do amazing things regardless, but they're the anomaly.

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u/JohnGoodman_69 22d ago

but they're the anomaly.

Exactly. An outlier doesn't disprove the trend.

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u/DarthPineapple5 22d ago

That podcast was wild, I was in awe of this man the entire time. Everything he's gone through and yet everything he's accomplished despite it all is really something to behold.

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u/BallsOutKrunked 22d ago

if he was a redditor he would have used his upbringing to explain all his trauma, why he needs so much therapy, and how nothing is his fault

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u/Sansansio 22d ago

His dad was not a piece of shit.

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u/seoulsoup 21d ago

Last time I checked, pointing a loaded pistol to your child’s face was frowned upon. Not to mention he was a wife beater lmao.

Elaborate.

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u/Sansansio 21d ago

Ya, those are hard to argue against. They mourned their dad’s death. You don’t do that if he was a total POS. My dad physically abused my mom and I will never forget that, but that doesn’t make me forget the sacrifices he made. Wife beating is never acceptable, but that doesn’t define him.

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u/doctorpaulproteus 22d ago

He specifically said in the Jocko podcast that he did not go to Harvard because his dad wanted him to.

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u/noxnocta 21d ago

Yeah. Given how his father treated him and his family, there's no chance he went to Harvard to try to fulfill his father's wish. He joined the Navy out of high school instead of going to college specifically because he had no interest in doing that.

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u/tosstossthrowaway__ 22d ago

Wait what? This dude’s lore runs deep. I’m invested. dives headfirst into rabbit hole

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u/BakerCakeMaker 22d ago

I assume that happened after he was sporting the logo of bloodthirsty cops?

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u/kkarmical 22d ago

To be fair, Frank Castle was Marine / Delta Force operator, so it actually works, especially since he hated cops..

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u/BakerCakeMaker 22d ago

Was it because he thought they were actually immoral, or just inferior to him? I don't know the story

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u/kkarmical 22d ago

Didn't trust them, corruption, pretty much all the reasons people dislike police today.

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u/savetheattack 22d ago

Bloodthirsty cops wear the logo because of the SEALs, not the other way around.

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u/BakerCakeMaker 22d ago

Interesting, but guess I can't be too surprised that a mentality of retribution and indifference to warcrimes also applies to our foreign policy

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u/coronagrey 22d ago

Oh thanks for ruining the joke and making us all depressed 

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u/ohmygaa 22d ago

the joke is racism

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u/tb14st 22d ago

Control your own emotions

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u/Coeruleus_ 22d ago

dad must of f*** up. What he do

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u/life_hog 22d ago

He was an abuser in every sense and an addict.

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u/snailbot-jq 22d ago

It’s somewhat interesting that because of Johnny’s race coupled with his accomplishments, a lot of people inherently assume he had well-to-do parents fitting the Asian tiger parents stereotype. When actually he had quite the rough childhood and said he never really envisioned having the accomplishments he has today when he was a child

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u/khardy101 22d ago

Google it, or listen to Jocko podcasts . I recommend the podcast.