Young Cho, a Korean American business leader, is credited with reviving Big Yank, a once-declining company that employed thousands, leaving a lasting mark on the U.S. fashion distribution industry. Having endured the Korean War, he went on to study in Japan and earned a master’s degree in economics from Waseda University. He also made history as Korea’s first Olympic alpine skier, competing in the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
After completing his studies in Japan and his career as a competitive skier, he traveled across 75 countries on a backpacking journey and, along the way, became one of the first ski patrol members at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico. In 1966, it was there that he met his future wife, Carolyn, and began his life in the United States.
Cho has remained deeply engaged in the community, serving as a recipient of the Denver Rotary Club’s “Rotarian of the Year,” the longest-serving board member of the Colorado Symphony, and a board member of the Denver YMCA. Throughout a turbulent century, he has interacted with prominent figures such as former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Christopher Hill, former Colorado Governor Bill Owens, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, and Dwight Hamilton, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Korea in Denver. Through these connections, Cho has served as a vital bridge between American and Korean communities, leaving a meaningful footprint in U.S. history.
Sales Lessons Learned from Delivering Newspapers in Japan
Cho describes himself simply as “someone who doesn’t speak English well, but has been very lucky.” Was his realization of the American Dream truly a matter of luck? His sales journey traces back to his graduate years at Waseda University.
In the late 1950s, when Cho was studying in Japan, the country was going through a difficult period of post-war reconstruction. At the time, newspaper delivery in Tokyo was largely handled by poor college students who lived in newspaper dormitories, trying to pay for their tuition and living expenses through the work.
Unable to receive sufficient financial support due to Korea’s post-war hardship, Cho worked as a deliveryman for the Asahi Shimbun(Asahi Newspaper), earning both tuition and living costs. In exchange for room and board, he was paid $10 per month—at a time when the starting salary for Japanese college graduates ranged from $40 to $50. While this was not a bad income for a student, Cho sought to expand his earnings through sales.
Emphasizing that “First impressions last forever,” Cho dressed sharply in formal attire—unusual for a student delivery worker. He delivered newspapers to 100 households daily, with 3 to 5 customers consistently falling behind on payments. To recover these outstanding balances, he requested five additional copies from his supervisor and aggressively pursued new customers each day. He would identify households that did not subscribe to Asahi and quietly leave newspapers at their doors.
To persuade reluctant customers to settle overdue payments, Cho made use of discarded weekly magazines piled in a corner of the office. Though they were a week old, these Asahi weekly magazines were very popular at the time. Customers who received them for free were pleased and often paid their overdue subscriptions. Word spread, leading to new subscription requests, while those who had been receiving complimentary copies eventually signed up for regular service.
Most student delivery workers, after several years, expanded their territories and earned around $50 per month by the time they graduated. Cho, steadily broadening his sales reach, was earning $200 per month upon graduation—about four times the average starting salary for college graduates. His experience in newspaper delivery and sales during his university years became the foundation of his lifelong sales expertise and gave him enduring confidence.
Korea’s First Olympic Alpine Skier Observes the World Through Travel
The considerable income he earned from newspaper delivery during his university years became the financial foundation that enabled his time as a member of the Waseda University ski team, his participation in the 1964 Winter Olympics, and his backpacking journey across 75 countries.
As Korea’s first Olympic alpine skier, he gained international recognition. At the Olympics, he exchanged commemorative pins with athletes from around the world, developing a global perspective through sports that transcended language barriers.
Driven by a desire to see a wider world with his own eyes, he set out to travel across the globe. In the 1960s, when airfare was prohibitively expensive and there were neither the internet nor translation tools, such a backpacking journey was no easy undertaking. He began in Asia, traveled through Europe and South America, and eventually arrived in the United States.
Even during his travels, Cho’s sales instincts remained active. In each new city, he contacted local newspaper reporters, offering them a story—“Korea’s first Olympic skier arrives in your city”—in exchange for small compensation and valuable local information. By the end of his journey, his initial $1,000 budget had grown to $1,300.
By Susan Lee | Colorado Times
