A Storyteller and a Coach: Professor Joonhee Park

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Professor Joonhee Park

Professor Joonhee Park has loved storytelling from a young age. He credits his mom as one of the main reasons he has this lifelong passion. “My mom was a great storyteller,” he said. “When my father went to work, and my sister went to kindergarten, I had my mom all to myself. She was like my personal library and movie theater.”

Park was not only interested in his mom’s stories, though. He felt drawn to books, cartoons, and martial arts films as a child. Over time, he watched and developed a liking for films in various genres. He was especially captivated by nature and science documentaries, such as those produced by National Geographic, and remembers watching nearly every documentary available on TV. “My parents believed I would become a scientist,” Park recalled. “But as I watched those documentaries, I became more intrigued by the way those stories were told through film.” 

Park received his undergraduate degree in Film Studies from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. After completing two and a half years of military service as an intelligence officer, he began his career as a producer at an advertising agency, creating television commercials. He believed this was the most realistic path toward the work he truly wanted. “At the time, documentary filmmaking was only possible at network broadcasting stations,” he said. “There were no streaming services or cable TV yet, so network stations were the only option. But there were no openings available then.”

Once he began working in the role, it didn’t live up to his expectations. “It was only skin deep,” he reflected. “I kind of brainwashed myself by trying to like what I did. I really thought I would enjoy it, but that advertising experience helped me to realize how much I love more serious, meaningful films.”

After struggling to secure a position at a network TV station, Park decided to continue his education in the United States. He didn’t plan to stay.

“My plan was to study film or media production in the U.S. and then return to Korea with my terminal degree to work at a network TV station,” he said. “But after finishing my degree, another opportunity opened up to me: academia.” 

Although returning to Korea was still on his mind, Park began to apply to various teaching positions after receiving his M.F.A. in Film Production from Ohio University in 2002. He was hired by a Christian liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.

“I had never heard of a Christian liberal arts college because we don’t have such a thing in Korea,” he said. “So, this first school was a really good learning opportunity for me.”

After two years in Pennsylvania, Park transitioned to a large state university in pursuit of a more professionally focused academic environment. He joined the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at a large Texas university that had many resources, including on-site TV studios. Despite the program’s advantages, after three years, he began to miss the values of a liberal arts education. “I missed the smaller, more intimate environment,” he recalled. “I didn’t just share my knowledge of filmmaking there. I mentored and advised students, some of whom would babysit my sons or join my family for dinner. At the state school, I never saw the same students twice because they’d take one course from me and then move on.”

In 2008, Park left Texas and joined the art department at a different Christian liberal arts institution: Wheaton.

As a professor, he sees himself as a coach. Many of his students enter college with basic knowledge of filmmaking, so Park focuses not only on delivering information but on guiding students and helping them grow. “Using tennis as an example, if you practice your serve 2,000 times without knowing the proper technique, you don’t improve—you get worse,” he explained. “My role is to guide and correct students so they can grow in the right way.”

One key way he does this is through identifying his students’ gifts. “I discover their God-given talents, develop those talents, and help them dedicate them to the Lord,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoy a small group of students because I can see their individual strengths, weaknesses, and developments.”

Park has developed close relationships with his Wheaton students like he did with students at his first liberal arts college. “I have this whole board of notes that students have given me,” he said, pointing to the board. “Students also come back to say hi after graduating and even bring their fiancés to meet me. It’s a blessing to feel such fulfillment through my work.”

Even after almost 20 years as a faculty member, Wheaton remains a special place to Park. “This is a mission field that God has given me,” he said. “I love this place.”

Learn more at wheaton.edu/art.