{"id":25962,"date":"2021-08-26T17:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000021798"},"modified":"2023-03-19T23:30:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T06:30:14","slug":"mills-shoe-repair-west-long-beach-in-the-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/in-the-studio\/mills-shoe-repair-west-long-beach-in-the-studio","title":{"rendered":"In an era of mass-production, Mills Shoe Repair hangs on to its craft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"In an era of mass-production, Long Beach&#039;s Mills Shoe Repair hangs on to its craft\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JGFEPvBUQD0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Walking into 70-year-old Kwang Nyon Kim\u2019s shoe repair shop in West Long Beach is like taking a step back in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With aged paint on the walls and old industrial machines, Mills Shoe Repair has been standing for decades. Kim took over the shop nearly 40 years ago and hasn&#8217;t retired because the labor, as he puts it, has become part of his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But nowadays, with cheaper and lower-quality shoes being mass produced, shoe repairing is a dwindling business, Kim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCheap shoes are a problem for us,\u201d he said in Korean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That, combined with the economic roller coasters ignited by the COVID-19 pandemic, has slowed down business. Luckily for Kim, customers have started returning with shoes now that they\u2019re going outside again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kim first assesses the shoes with the customer to see if they\u2019re repairable. If so, typically, he\u2019ll replace soles and heels for people\u2019s prized footwear. He\u2019ll work on anything from heels to boots to sneakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-10000050691\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/26115040\/0622-Shoe-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10000050691\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwang Nyon Kim is seen through a mirror in his shoe repair shop while he works in Long Beach Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019ll start working on an order immediately. He jokes that it\u2019s because he might not remember their names. He works so fast, sometimes he\u2019ll finish several pairs of shoes in an hour. Kim handled the physically harder work such as sanding and hammering soles, while his wife, Song Soo Kim, handled more delicate repairs, such as sewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re very excellent at what they do,\u201d Soo Yon Kim, 40, Kim\u2019s eldest daughter, said about her parents, who worked together at the shop for 30 years. \u201cIt\u2019s actually not praise, it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At his older age, Kim reads motivational quotes on Reddit, avoids getting sick, lifts weights and jogs\u2014all so he could stay fit and motivated for the strenuous shoe repair work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s the healthiest person in our family,\u201d Soo Yon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-feet-and-9-inches-is-just-right\">5 feet and 9 inches is just right<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Kim was born in Gyeongsang, South Korea and moved to the U.S. in 1982. He took on the shoe-repair profession because he spoke limited English, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A friend connected Kim to a mentor, who was a master of the craft after practicing it for 50 years in Korea and the U.S. Standing at 5 feet and 9 inches, Kim\u2019s friend, he recalled, told him his height suited the sanding machines well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He recalled words from his mentor: \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing this work, don\u2019t think of it as making money, think of it as a craft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-10000050693\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/26115047\/0622-Shoe-0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10000050693\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwang Nyon Kim works on shoes as he puts the final shine on them while in his shop in Long Beach Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While it&#8217;s never been a lucrative job, he said shoe repairing gave him a schedule that allowed him to spend time with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soo Yon recalls her and her younger sister coming to the shop from Webster Elementary School just down the street during a portion of their childhood while her parents worked in the shop. Kim and a friend built what they called a \u201ctreehouse,\u201d which is still there, inside the shop above wooden shoe molds and aprons, for the sisters to read and play. Inside the makeshift room, the sisters drowned out the sound of loud sanding and sewing machines with a television, learning English from shows like &#8220;Sesame Street.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kim\u2019s wife, Song Soo, was the face of the shop to customers, Soo Yon said, describing her as an extrovert who \u201ctried to make everyone her friend.\u201d She was \u201csomeone you want a hug from,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-10000050692\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/26115044\/0622-Shoe-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10000050692\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwang Nyon Kim applies polish to a shoe as he puts a shine on it while in his shop in Long Beach Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But in 2010, Song Soo collapsed at the shop from a brain aneurysm. She later died at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After about a month off from the shop, Kim returned to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was going to quit, but at my age, what else can I do?\u201d Kim asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His younger daughter, Linda Hwang, 40, worked with him at the shop. To be in the same place where his wife collapsed and customers asked for Song Soo, his daughter, Soo Yon, said she admired his strength to work again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have tremendous respect for him to then do all of it on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>Mills Shoe Repair is located at 2883 Santa Fe Ave.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>Korean interview translations by Soo Yon Kim.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Walking into 70-year-old Kwang Nyon Kim\u2019s shoe repair shop in West Long Beach is like taking a step back in time. With aged paint on the walls and old industrial machines, Mills Shoe Repair has been standing for decades. Kim took over the shop nearly 40 years ago and hasn&#8217;t retired because the labor, as he puts it, became part of his body.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":71687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32100],"tags":[175],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[25587],"class_list":["post-25962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-studio","tag-in-the-studio","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25962"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72586,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25962\/revisions\/72586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25962"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=25962"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}