Before committing to dry-cleaning, Jay owned a fishing store in New Jersey, sold clothing, attended two different colleges, and fought in the South Korean Army.

For the last 22 years, Jay has been operating the same dry-cleaning business in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 6 days a week. Jay found the location through his sister-in-law who owned the business before Jay. At the time Jay needed a job and was happy when the opportunity came along. Jay has watched the Boerum Hill community evolve as new families come and go, but he values the people who have been around for a long time. Jay has also watched as different laws come into place. For example, Jay used to have a special machine inside the basement of his shop but he had to move it to New Jersey because the government made new environmental laws that banned certain chemicals.

From working in New York City for so long Jay has watched his English improve majorly and has gone from knowing nearly no English to being fluent. Jay loves how the business keeps him on his feet and he is always active doing something. He also loves seeing his hard, laborious, work turn into profits and feels very fortunate to work in a lovely community like Boerum Hill, something he didn’t feel at his previous jobs. The work is very taxing, however, and has taken a toll on Jay’s body and he has begun to look ahead to retirement in the years ahead. In 10 years' time, Jay hopes to change to a much more relaxing lifestyle as a farmer, and finally live out a lifelong dream of harvesting crops back in Korea.

Every year I get to make a personal connection to Jay when he contributes to the block party with a delicious dish of Galbi (Korean Short Ribs) that he spends the week before marinating.