Unarmored Talk

From Korean Hikes to Passing the Bar: Legacy Over Ego

• Mario P. Fields - Sergeant Major (Ret.) • Episode 166

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Ever wonder how a Republic of Korea Recon Marine ends up passing the bar in the U.S.?

Minjoon Kim’s journey—from freezing Korean night hikes to earning his place at a California law firm—proves that grit and legacy outlast hardship. His path shows how discipline, humility, and a deep respect for family history can reshape an entire trajectory.

He brings us into recon life: brutal weather, relentless training, and the humor that kept both ROK and U.S. Marines pushing forward. The rations may have been questionable, but the standard never was.

Off the battlefield, Minjoon reflects on leading with kindness, tuning out the noise, and why the strongest Marines never start with “I.” Legacy—Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm—became his compass more than rank ever could.

Stay unarmored, stay authentic, and stay mentally fit. And as always — I’m praying for you all. God bless.

Key Takeaways

🔥 Key 1: Hardship Builds Strength - Cold hikes, harsh summers, and Recon training shaped a resilient mindset.

💡 Key 2: Lead Without Ego - Tune out the noise, avoid politics, and focus on controllables.

🌱 Key 3: Legacy Drives Purpose - Family history and shared service fuel discipline and direction.

Watch: 👉https://youtu.be/79pvrw99X1

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Mario P. Fields:

Welcome back to the Unarmor Talk Podcast. Everyone, I'm your host, Mario P Fields, and I have an amazing guest today. Um, coming out of South Korea. His name is Minjoon Kim. And let me tell you a little bit about Minjoon before I let him introduce himself to the listeners and viewers. He is, let me let me go to the veteran stuff first. He's a veteran of the Republic of Korea Rock Marines. He was recon when he was on uh serving his time in the Rock Marine Corps, Rock Marines. But in his private sector, check this out in the legal space. Ming Jun started off as an intern, then he went to Paralegal, and now he is an attorney. He passed the bar. He passed the bar. And he's an attorney. He also speaks three different languages: French, English, and Korean. Jim Appel, Jean-Pierre Ming Jun. Yes, sir. We. And we, we, Monsieur. Welcome to the Unarmo Talk podcast from South Korea. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself, man?

Minjoon Kim:

All right. My name is Minjoon Kim. I'm currently a uh attorney working online from Korea at a California law firm. And I also teach English uh at Mujaq School in Busan, South Korea. Uh I uh found Sergeant Major's uh Sergeant Major Fields' uh podcast and videos when I was at a really low point in my life, man. Like I was eating one ramen a day, you know, sleeping on the cold floor, zero friends, right? Uh and I was I was interning actually at my first workplace, uh first workplace in Seoul. And I'll be honest with you, it was around Christmas. It was uh, I still remember it was Christmas of uh uh 2021. It was Christmas of 2021. Uh, you guys all probably remember COVID, right? So you can't really go out. It's Christmas of 2021. And uh I was absolutely miserable, right? I was in this new city, I had zero friends. Uh and on top of that, I'll be very honest, like my coworkers, they they didn't really like me that much, right? So I didn't really have people to talk to at work, right? I go, I go home. What do I have? I have Sergeant Major Fields, right? So I'm feeling terrible about myself, but I'm looking at my smartphone and I see you, and you're more you're you're you're you're you're very confident about yourself. And I that all your videos really made me laugh, right? When you you go up to all the Marines and you're like, he's five three, he's shorter than me, right? That's that really put like a smile on my face, so I could get through those hard times. So thank you, Sergeant Major Fields.

Mario P. Fields:

Man, everyone in Mean June is being generous. He's he's being, I won't say generous, I'll say he's being humble about it. What it was is he was like, Look, man, this guy's five foot nothing, and he's full of dynamite. If if he could be that confident as a United States Marine at five foot three, I've shrunk now. The VA said I'm at five foot two and a half, me June. But like me June said, he can do anything. That is awesome. I I have a permanent tan, so you can't see me blushing, so I'm gonna blush with with my eyes. But that is cool, and I have the utmost respect for the rock marines. When I was in South Korea training in January, good gosh, the ability to train in that cold weather, man, with our allied partners in South Korea, it just gave me a newfound respect. Have you ever, well, you have during some of your experience as a rock marine? Can you share a couple of stories of being partnered with Marines and are like, what the?

Minjoon Kim:

Well, one thing that I would say about uh the first thing that I would like to point out uh for uh our viewers out there is I'm sure you're aware of MREs, right? Uh MREs, meals ready to eat. That's what we call them in America. In Korean, we still call them combat rations. That's literally what we call them combat rations. So in Korean, in Korea, we have three combat rations, but they kind of taste edible, right? You guys have 21 flavors and they all taste like for us, like we've only had three, we only we only have three types, but the rice actually tastes like rice. You know, like the the chocolate tastes like chocolate. Like the kimchi tastes like kimchi. But uh the American MREs, like you eat it, and it's like, is this vegan? Is this vegetarian or seafood? They taste exactly the same. All right, is this poison?

Mario P. Fields:

Yeah, so hey, me Joo, you're like, no wonder why y'all so great. Why y'all so horrible?

Minjoon Kim:

Yeah. Here's a good story for you. Yeah. Um I think I I had a I had a rocked weekon Marine, and uh again, like most Koreans, as you know, haven't been exposed to you know the US culture as much as I have, right? So uh it was there was Thanksgiving. We were training in Pyonchang, and then he was eating like a Thanksgiving MRE, like a like a turkey MRE. And he was he was asking me, man, Americans eat this every year? Yeah, some terrible traditions. And I was like, not all turkey tastes like this, man. If you eat it like in an in a normal household, it tastes pretty good. Not if it comes out of a can.

Mario P. Fields:

The few, the proud, the marines. Would you I mean June? People were like, Well, what makes Marines different from everybody? Well, let's start off with their nutrition in the in the field. When we're not deployed, we eat pretty good. And shout out to our I salute our army soldiers, you know, United States Army, they get the MREs too. Oh man, so I'll never forget when when myself and now Lieutenant General Dave Odom, you know, back then it was Carl Odom, and uh we were I was a regimental sergeant major, he was a regimental commander for fourth marines, and we went to South Korea to train, and it was like December, January, and and I'm from Michigan, mean June. So I grew up in a code, but that's a different code, yeah. Yeah, it really is. To the point it starts to make humans shut down, it just starts to make it shut down. So, what were some of your ways when you partnered with Marines that you know maybe were from the south? There's some Marines that are from like Florida or Georgia, and they get deployed to you know, Okinawa, and then they get deployed to South Korea in the winter time. What what were some of the things when your partner you helped them get through the cold weather, man?

Minjoon Kim:

Yeah, I I'm I'm I'm sorry. I wish I could like make myself out to be some the only thing that I taught them was how to cook ramen properly. That's like the only thing that I could really help them with. Uh that and and feel sorry for them, I guess. Like because me, I I grew up like I I didn't even grow up near the north where it's really cold, right? I grew up, I grew up in Busan, which is uh it's pretty warm, but it it does get pretty windy. So I think the the uh really it's the wind that kills a lot of foreigners that are like non-Koreans that that come here uh to to teach or to train or whatnot. Uh but uh yeah, one I felt really sorry. I had I think in in my in our like uh sister platoon of like US Marines, there was like a bunch of dudes from Georgia and Florida. And that was that was that was about it. And those dudes, they just died on the hikes. And like me, me, like the the hikes that we went on, I was like, damn, uh I walked like taller mountains as a kid growing up. Yeah, so this is like a walk in the park for me, but they were they were dying, and I felt really bad for them.

Mario P. Fields:

Yeah, you know, that's why it is so critical of the partnerships we have, because there's there's training in the states, like you said, there's areas in the north and south that we grew up in and we're used to the humidity, you know, or you know, you got 100 pounds on your back, and it's you know, it's 100 degrees, and we're like, Yeah, this is this is North Carolina. But but to be able to to go overseas and do training and build character with our partners to build that resilience is critical, man. And and my hats off to to the rock marines, and and you know, and being able to to do that, because you never know when you deploy, you never know what environment you're gonna be in. Absolutely, and and and the motivation, honestly, is this if I see a rock marine going, This sucks, then good lord, you know, if I'm in South Korea, which that general did, you know, the you know, before the show, everyone, we had a uh you know, two-star general that coined myself and Colonel now General Odom, and and he looked at us like you guys have no cold weather gear, you're hard as nails. He was like, 'Us it's cold, and when you go, it's cold, it's gotta be cold. But now what about the heat? Because it gets pretty humid in South Korea, man.

Minjoon Kim:

Oh yeah, the the summers are are are disgusting. Like like the I I'm not I'm not I'm not trying to be funny, like when I when I finished my my summer cycle of training, like I I I had darker skin than you, man.

Mario P. Fields:

Like I was hey, we're gonna change your name from Mean Jun to Charles. Or yeah, everybody on this is an armored talk, by the way. Discussions without without army, so so you know the deal. Uh yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna change your name to to Charles. Hey, we Mario. I mean, I'm African-American. Mario Kim, and you're gonna change your name to Mario Kim from April to September.

Minjoon Kim:

All right, sounds great. Yeah, Mario Kim. But uh yeah, uh the summers. I mean, I went through boot camp and my recon training school, my reconnaissance school, both in the summer. So they were kind of brutal, but well, you see, this is this is my motto. The winter you have to worry about the cold, but in the summer, you gotta worry about the heat and the the mosquitoes, right? It's the heat and the mosquitoes and the flies. So I honestly think that the summer, I personally think that summer training is easy because you've got guys collapse from dehydration, uh, dehydration. But it was uh very honestly, it was a very good productive uh time, I think winter and summer. But yeah, neither are they're like the the worst seasons to fight. They're the worst seasons to to do stuff in.

Mario P. Fields:

That that is very true, my friend. And you, you know, as you mentioned earlier in this this wonderful show, uh, and I mean not wonderful that of Unarmor Talk podcast, but having wonderful guests like you on the show, you mentioned how it was a YouTube channel, and there was videos that connected a guy from North Carolina who did eight million years in the United States Marine Corps. If you guys get on my TikTok, you'll see I'm like the most interesting sergeant major alive. That's the brand on TikTok, that's the comedy. But that YouTube channel, this is my YouTube channel, connects this guy to a wonderful guy in South Korea and didn't even know you were in challenging moments um during that time. It's just amazing. If you could do your reconnaissance training um all over again, um, what would you do different if you had a chance to go back and do it all over again?

Minjoon Kim:

Um what would I do different is I I would try to get less caught up in the politics, uh to be quite honest. I I think as a sergeant major, you you you you know this uh better than myself, but when you get to a certain rank or you have a certain number of years in service, it stops being uh like a military thing and it starts being a political thing. Almost you have to play the politics game. Uh and very honestly, I was uh I was disappointed by the poly watched the the the the TV show The Wire? Yes, yeah. It's it's honestly like being in the Marines was like being in the wire, but it's all Koreans. Yeah, that's that's that's that's honestly what it was like. Uh and there's a lot of politics, there's there is uh backstabbing, there is bad mouthing. But in and when you're when you're 21, 22, you're very sensitive to that kind of stuff. All right. Uh now I've grown a much thicker skin, but back then I was quite sensitive uh to that kind of stuff. So I honestly would have focused less less on the the the the the small stuff, the the people around me who make noise, and I really would have focused more on myself, uh becoming a better, fitter, quicker marine. Right? Instead of yeah, I was that I wish I could say when I was an E4, I wish I could say I was like super, super buffed, super ripped, super motivated. I was not that. I was that dude sitting in his barracks room eating cocoa puffs and watching Spongebob's square pants. And I I wish looking back that I hadn't done that. I really do. I wish I'd got to the gym and you know been a nicer, uh been a nicer sergeant uh instead of sitting in my barracks eating cocoa puffs watching Spongebob.

Mario P. Fields:

Wow. Well, thanks for sharing that self-reflection moment. And uh you know, uh and it is a balance as you get promoted and you have to deal with policy and admin and things that nature. But you but you know is the cons the the um the consistency of that is leading humans, and um, and that's the beauty of when you genuinely care is you you can still lead mentor and uh you know lead humans and prepare them in case they have to deploy. It it and I love how you mentioned how if if you could go back and do things differently, it would have been to become a healthier, more physically fit Marine. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, to remove some of those things out of your uh you know, out of your uh discipline or lack thereof. Before I let you go, because you know, man, I will have fun with you all day, um hosting you on the show. What is one of your most memorable moments? I'm gonna share you mine, I'm gonna share with you mine, but what is one of your most memorable moments with the United States Marines doing joint operations?

Minjoon Kim:

Well, the the the most memorable moment that I can share on a podcast that I had. Keep it keep it PG. Yeah, uh with United States Marines was I feel like everybody joined for exactly the same reason. So, for example, I talked to uh there was a Korean recon Marine that I knew. He was in another company, and I honestly I was quite curious. I I asked people these things. I asked, why did you join and why did you become a recon Marine? Well, basically, why did you volunteer for extra punishment, right? When you didn't he didn't say I, right? He said, this Korean guy, he said, Oh, my my grandfather, he was in the Korean War, and I think he was uh he lost his fingers and toes to frostbite. So his grandfather was a Korean War veteran. Uh, and then he said something about uh going on to protect his country. Uh and I talked to an American recon Marine and I asked him uh later on, this was like a year later. I a year later, I asked an American Recon Marine, I said, Well, why did you join? Why did you become a recon Marine? And he also didn't start off by saying I. He said, My grandfather was a recon marine in Vietnam, and he was like, My father was in Desert Storm, and now I'm here. So I think that a lot of the recon Marines that I met in the US or in Korea, it was not about them. Like it's not about me or I. It's about uh legacy, country, something bigger than themselves. I I think that was really memorable for me because every time I met a stand-up recon Marine and I asked them, Why are you doing this? It was never, they never said I joined because of this. It always was like my father, my grandfather, my uncle. So that was really memorable.

Mario P. Fields:

Man, powerful. Boy, just listening to you, it brought chills to me because that is in line with my most memorable experience in South Korea, and really specifically working with rock marines, I felt like we had known each other for years, and I didn't feel like there we I we were from America as American Marines, these are rock marines. I felt like we were all Marines, and the one thing I'll never forget is although we had you know some challenges because we spoke English, we spoke Korean, and you know, we sometimes we had to have a translator, we all were there for the same purpose, and that is that is if called to to to protect legacy of family, friends, and nation, we all were joined in suffering in December and January, but we all didn't seek our own you know emotions and our own how do we feel we're hungry, the MREs are wonderful. It was all about let's continue to work together for the greater good of other people and not ourselves, dude. And so that is so powerful. And to hear you say that, man, it just it almost made me want to do a push-up, just one after the show, just one push-up.

Minjoon Kim:

All right, sounds good.

Mario P. Fields:

Well, as I get ready to let you go, my friend, is there any piece of advice um that you would love to leave the listeners and viewers?

Minjoon Kim:

Uh I would I would always recommend uh our viewers and listeners to focus on your goal, really. Uh, one thing I learned uh studying for the bar, passing the bar, interning, becoming a paralegal, becoming an attorney, is that uh no matter what you do, there will be people who badmouth you, right? And there will be people who worship you, but you should not listen to either. Uh really you have to listen, listen to your yourself, listen to uh rely on a higher power, uh, but really focus on your goal. Uh and try to please don't get distracted by the small stuff. Uh and I think that's the one thing that has helped me become uh that has led me to where I am right now. So if you want to be uh, let's say you want you're a Marine, right? Let's say you're a Marine and uh you want to be uh sergeant major, right? You want to become an NCO, you want to become sergeant major, then you can't really be uh peeved off. You can't really get angry about every small little thing. What you should Be focusing on is every small little thing about yourself, right? Is my uniform in order in order? Is my is my haircut in order, right? Or is my uh PFT score in order? Uh instead of focusing too much on other people around you, right? Why is he a dirt bag? Why does he shave like why does he not shave? Right? That kind of stuff. So I would say focus on yourself first and foremost, uh, instead of getting uh angry or critical of other people. That's what I would say.

Mario P. Fields:

Everybody, you heard it from Mean June, Kim. What amazing tips, insights from this wonderful episode. Mean Jun, this has been wonderful. And you guys heard it. I'm not even going to repeat some of the tips. Self-awareness, focus on yourself. You know, make sure you know who you are. And more from Republic of Korea Marine with that reconnaissance tab all the way to an attorney. Thank you so much for being on the show, man.

Minjoon Kim:

Thank you for the time and effort, Sergeant Major.

Mario P. Fields:

I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. What everyone you guys know to do until the next episode, I will continue to pray for you, the listener and viewers, your family, friends, and all living beings around you. Take care.

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Mario P. Fields

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