By Lee Jong-hwan
Seoul, June 8(World Korean News)= When people ride bikes, they seem to want to get together like motorcycle gangs and ride on the street. The movie "Romantic Crown," starring Tom Hanks, features a scooter gang. The main character who lost his job enters a community college with a scooter he bought at a used store. He hangs out with the school's scooter riders, experiencing a new world.
It was Choi Ju-hwan from whom I heard about the Harley-Davidson riders, not scooters, in Atlanta. He is the head of the American corporation of Jangsoo Stone Bed Company. He, who runs the corporation in Atlanta, is currently serving a second term as the chairman of the Atlanta Georgia Korean Chamber of Commerce.
"There is a Korean Motorcycle Club(KMCG) in Georgia. It's a social gathering of Harley-Davidson riders."
Choi Ju-hwan added that he also served as the president of the club for a year in 2019. It had 25 members at the time. In addition to regular meetings once a month, sudden meetings were often held on weekends.
"We get together at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and leave, because there's not much traffic at that time. About 20 people gather and ride about 250-300 miles along interstate 85."
If the Harley-Davidson bikes run on the highway, the vehicles have no choice but to yield. The loud sound of bikes and long zigzag line of bikes one after another attracts people's attention.
"In Georgia, you have to wear safety helmets. However, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina don't have a mandatory safety helmet."
Bikes line up in two rows in zigzag on a single lane. It runs 3-4 meters next to the bikes and 6-7 meters back and forth. Compared to the American bikers running close to a distance of 5m, it is relatively safe.
When Choi Ju-hwan was president of the "Harley Club", he formed a group to visit Daytona Beach in Florida and also went to Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
Going to the motorcycle rally in South Dakota in July is also a dream event for the people of Harley Club. It is a spectacular event place where Harley riders gather from all over the United States, some people riding for 14 nights and 15 days just to get there.
Choi Ju-hwan has owned three Harley-Davidson bikes. However, he has recently disposed one and has left only two. They are one large Ultra Limited bike and one Fat Boy Chopper with a large front wheel and a small rear wheel.
"I go for a drive each time with different bike. I can't have my bikes parked at home for long time."
"I also have a Porsche convertible at home," he said. He added, "I'm too busy alternating the machines."
He is the younger brother of Choi Chang-hwan, chairman of a Jangsoo Stone Bed Company in Korea. He came to Atlanta in 2009 as a pioneer in the U.S. market. Currently, there are 17 Jangsoo Stone Bed branches in the United States.
** (This translation was sponsored by Dokko Youngsik, the president of the Midwest Korean American Association.)
