How do I describe our Yusang? If I brought him to the airport with me to welcome you to South Korea, he’d shout your name while waving five or six multicolored handkerchiefs to tell you – and everyone else coming out of baggage claim and customs – that you’re the best. Our son is outgoing, and he makes the people he knows feel doubly special. Each time his oldest sister, Yurim, returns home, Yusang greets her with all of the above plus kisses for both cheeks and a huge hug. Our son is loyal.

He can be really grumpy too. If he’d been planning to play his electronic drums when my wife, Eunyoung, tells him it’s time for his evening shower, Yusang refuses to budge. When he was little, I could pick him up and take him where we needed him to go. Now that he’s a teenager, we have to find other ways to convince him. Sometimes we can’t. Our son is stubborn.

Yusang has Down syndrome. He saved another child’s life.