Core values

This is the story of how 1-StopAsia was created and that of the the man behind it – Don Shin.

“After Don got his BA degree in Korean Language & Literature, for a few years he worked for the largest broadcasting company in the country. However, this wasn’t enough to change his life. His true desire was to create something that would leave a mark on the world.

With the experience he gained working with the English language during his time in the army, he managed to start working as a freelance translator part-time – which he eventually turned into a full-time job.

A Golden Opportunity

Due to the economic crisis in Asia, back in 1997 there was a time when Don was left struggling to feed his family. Since work was difficult to come by, he had a lot of spare time on his hands. That was when he found his golden opportunity: he discovered that since many Korean didn’t understand English, they rarely used the internet. This prompted Don to build his own website, on which he offered his translation services. By the end of the 80s, if you happened to type the words ‘English to Korean’ in Yahoo, you would see two recommended websites – one of which was www.donshin.com

And so it started…

The first milestone reached after the creation of 1-StopAsia was a peculiar one – it was earning his first 100 USD. At the time, it was illegal in Korea to possess more than 50 USD in cash, so Don was forced to open a bank account. This laid the foundation of our company.

Staying true to his dreams, the first 4000 USD he saved was used for the initial company website, www.onestoptr.com, as well as for buying license for the only CAT (Computer Aided Translation) tool that supported Korean at the time – SDL Trados Studio.

A desk and a chair

A few years passed, and in 2000, Don bought his first desk and chair. The chair was second-hand and around 60 years old. Until this very day – almost 20 years later – Don used the same desk and chair in his home office, to remind himself of his humble beginnings. 1-StopAsia’s headquarters are located in Los Angeles, USA. Don lives nearby, even though most of his time is spent traveling across the world, paying visits to our many offices throughout Asia, Europe and the United States of America.”