The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 22

Ahoo remembers spending Fridays-the official " weekend " in Iran-hiking with school friends.
Later, she criss-crossed the country on an eco-tour guiding certificate class.
" No matter how diverse these experiences are, they all share a common point for me: the
moment one reaches the top and is greeted by that beautiful and yet expected view, " she says.
Ahoo moved to Roanoke in 2018. Here, the mountains look different than the peaks of her
homeland. Still, they beckoned, and when shutdowns occurred in response to COVID-19,
Ahoo began hiking regularly.
" I took this picture on one of the last hikes of this summer on Flat Top Mountain at Peaks
of Otter, " she explains. " Similar to our previous hikes, this scenery was beautiful, and it was a
great day for being outdoors. There was, however, something different about this hike. Reaching
the top of the mountain, I did not just see a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I saw
the beautiful and expected view of the mountains that I hike and know. This time, I already
knew the joy that awaited me upon reaching the top. To me, this feels like home. "

Family & Friends
Sometimes, though, what keeps a
person in the Star City is the people
they love.
Take Justin Yun. When the
creative and entrepreneur heard about
the Roanoker's photo challenge, it
didn't take him long to figure out his
photograph.
" When it came down to everything,
it was really easy-it was my mom, "
Justin says. " She's been there for me for
all my other crazier ideas ... all these
different ventures that I tried to start. "
Justin-who previously launched
a downtown restaurant and a dance
studio-comes by his entrepreneurial
urges honestly. For decades, his mother
has been running Sunshine Cleaners,
a mainstay for downtown dry-cleaning
and alterations. His uncles founded
a small restaurant, Bob and Cheryl's,
on Shenandoah, and his aunt started a
sushi business, which Justin still helps
operate.
" You want to talk about work ethic? "
Justin says. " My family, they work
hard. "
But like many entrepreneurs, Justin
has seen his share of false starts ... and
surprise opportunities to pivot.

22 JAN/FEB 2021

Take his MiBr project. The sober bar
was slated to open on Church Avenue
in the summer of 2020. Justin hoped it
would offer Roanokers a comfortable spot
to connect, alcohol-free. But when the
pandemic hit, he saw the project sidelined.
So he decided to throw his creative
energies into learning portrait
photography.
" I got hooked, " says Justin, who spent
his quarantine months mastering new
equipment and learning to edit. " I went
straight down into that rabbit hole. "
To his mother's pride, he had a book
of business by summer's end. Maybe
that's why his portrait of her is such a
fitting tribute.
" Roanoke sees my mom as the
sweet Korean little lady who does the
alterations downtown, " says Justin.
" What they don't know is how hard
she works ... how much she does for
my sister and me ... She's very strong. "
Justin hopes his ventures will one
day allow her to relax, retire and
perhaps visit her native homeland.
" Roanoke has always been my home
because it's where my family is, " says
Justin. " Wherever my mom and my
family are ... it's home. "

Above:
Justin Yun with his
mother, Kyong C. Yun
At Right:
Justin Yun captures his
mother overlooking
the sky in Roanoke
Images by Justin Yun

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The Roanoker - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - January/February 2021