Kapsong Kim

Kapsong Kim (@kapsong) was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1965. He developed a social consciousness at an early age while in school, where students would be subject to perform “ceremonial marches” whenever board members visited the campus; in an effort to showcase the students’ discipline, teachers and principals would force them to march. Kim, who was the youngest and smallest of his class, would tire before the rest of his classmates and be punished by his teachers, an experience which would shape the rest of his life. In 1984, Kim came to the United States to study, and later joined the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles to pursue community advocacy and community organization. Here, he met Yoon Han Bong, a leader of the Gwangju Uprising and a storied figure of the Korean democratization movement. Weathering financial hardship, Kim then worked in community organization for ten years, moving to New York in the meantime, after which he got married and had his first child. Having worked as a reporter before, he became a full-time journalist in the city, covering news concerning the Asian and immigrant community; eventually, he became editor-in-chief. After working at the paper for 30 years, he returned to community organization work in 2019, just before the pandemic. When Covid hit, his office began receiving calls requesting translation services for unemployment insurance applications, and over the course of the next year and a half, Kim, who had made his phone number public, personally fielded 50,000 calls; today, people recognize him by the sound of his voice in Flushing and beyond. Although the work he does is difficult, he says that there’s no other sense of feeling like accomplishing something for your community.

Mee Jung

Mee Jung (who also goes by Mia) is a dancer who was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She lived with her mother and brother throughout her childhood, and recalls being doted on by her whole family; for this reason, she thinks she was a “happy girl, and a happy person.” She recalls, too, wanting to always be on stage; she loved to sing, dance, and act, so much so that even her teachers and friends called her “worldstar.” She studied both acting and dance, and decided to move to America in 2005 to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer. Arriving in New York, she continued to study dance at a ballet school for 6 years, where she would audition for placements into dance companies. Encouraged by her partner at the time to begin her own company, she founded i KADA Contemporary Dance company in 2011, through which she later created KoDaFe, standing for Korean Dance Festival, in New York. When the pandemic hit, the dance company and festival temporarily suspended their activities while Mee Jung visited her mother in Korea; tragically, her mother passed at the end of the year, and shortly thereafter her brother as well. After an emotionally grueling court trial, she adopted her niece (who had been raised by Mee Jung’s mother), and moved to New Jersey to take care of her new family. Although the past few years have been challenging, Mee Jung says that she’s excited for her future, a truth she wants others—as well as herself—to know.

NAYA: Yon Yuh Zweibon

Welcome to the whimsical world of Beyond Costumes, owned and operated by Yon Yuh Zweibon for the past 20 years in Yonkers, NY. A Wharton MBA graduate and former accountant, how did this spunky woman end up owning one of the largest independent costume collections on the east coast? In this episode of NAYA, Yon takes us through infinite rows of costumes as she shares her story and the drive behind her passion for running this magical warehouse.

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Legacy Project

To capture, create, preserve and share the stories of the Korean American experience by supporting and promoting storytelling

Kapsong Kim

Kapsong Kim (@kapsong) was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1965. He developed a social consciousness at an early age while in school, where students would be subject to perform “ceremonial marches” whenever board members visited the campus; in an effort to showcase the students’ discipline, teachers and principals would force them to march. Kim, who was the youngest and smallest of his class, would tire before the rest of his classmates and be punished by his teachers, an experience which would shape the rest of his life. In 1984, Kim came to the United States to study, and later joined the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles to pursue community advocacy and community organization. Here, he met Yoon Han Bong, a leader of the Gwangju Uprising and a storied figure of the Korean democratization movement. Weathering financial hardship, Kim then worked in community organization for ten years, moving to New York in the meantime, after which he got married and had his first child. Having worked as a reporter before, he became a full-time journalist in the city, covering news concerning the Asian and immigrant community; eventually, he became editor-in-chief. After working at the paper for 30 years, he returned to community organization work in 2019, just before the pandemic. When Covid hit, his office began receiving calls requesting translation services for unemployment insurance applications, and over the course of the next year and a half, Kim, who had made his phone number public, personally fielded 50,000 calls; today, people recognize him by the sound of his voice in Flushing and beyond. Although the work he does is difficult, he says that there’s no other sense of feeling like accomplishing something for your community.

Mee Jung

Mee Jung (who also goes by Mia) is a dancer who was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She lived with her mother and brother throughout her childhood, and recalls being doted on by her whole family; for this reason, she thinks she was a “happy girl, and a happy person.” She recalls, too, wanting to always be on stage; she loved to sing, dance, and act, so much so that even her teachers and friends called her “worldstar.” She studied both acting and dance, and decided to move to America in 2005 to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer. Arriving in New York, she continued to study dance at a ballet school for 6 years, where she would audition for placements into dance companies. Encouraged by her partner at the time to begin her own company, she founded i KADA Contemporary Dance company in 2011, through which she later created KoDaFe, standing for Korean Dance Festival, in New York. When the pandemic hit, the dance company and festival temporarily suspended their activities while Mee Jung visited her mother in Korea; tragically, her mother passed at the end of the year, and shortly thereafter her brother as well. After an emotionally grueling court trial, she adopted her niece (who had been raised by Mee Jung’s mother), and moved to New Jersey to take care of her new family. Although the past few years have been challenging, Mee Jung says that she’s excited for her future, a truth she wants others—as well as herself—to know.

Kevin Lim

Kevin Lim was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1961. The youngest of his family, he remembers being doted on by his three older brothers, three older sisters, and his mother; though he says his family was not particularly wealthy, he recalls having a rather comfortable childhood without much in the way of want or need. His family, concerned for his future, encouraged him to study something which paved the way to a stable career; although he held an interest in literature, he chose to study electrical engineering instead. During his time performing compulsory military service, he took an exam to serve as an air force officer on a whim and, upon passing the exam, spent the rest of his time in the Korean Air Force. After his service, he decided to work a corporate job as his family had envisioned for him, but he made sure to apply to a company with an overseas division. In 1992, after having worked at a trading firm, he moved to the United States to pursue business school; during this time, he also met his wife, whose family had immigrated to America in the 1980s. Though he never imagined he’d live in Palisades Park, he made himself unintentionally known to the community when one day he showed up to a school board meeting, leveraging his background in finance to ask questions about the district’s fiscal plans to renovate their schools. He now operates his own practice as a CPA in the area and is largely involved with the Korean American community of Bergen County, serving on the board of its school district. He feels that Pal Park is a unique place, comprised of over 50% Korean residents, and is eager find ways to better serve his community.

Soo Chung

Soo Chung was born in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in 1976. From an early age, she expressed a passion, as well as a natural talent, for the arts: she recalls how her mother would often have to hide her arts supplies because of how she’d scribble all over the walls and tabletops of their home. She feels fortunate that her parents encouraged her aspirations as an artist, even supporting her decisions to attend art school abroad in the United States; rather than returning back to Korea after completing her studies, she fell in love with the bustling diversity of New York and elected to stay a while longer to continue her career as an artist in America. From working at art galleries in Chelsea to promoting and selling her own artwork, she describes some of the initial difficulties she experienced as a career artist, at times feeling naïve in her endeavors. While working as a professional painter, she also began to work as a journalist for a Korean American broadcasting company which was based in New Jersey; from her apartment in Queens, she’d commute to her workplace which then sent her all around New York City to cover the news. Her work as a journalist, too, was a source of inspiration in mediating social issues through visual art, and she feels fortunate that she was able to do both. Today, she lives in Palisades Park and serves on the board of her child’s school district, and is active in other local and civic organizations while continuing her work as an artist.

Pastor Youngmin Jung

Pastor Youngmin Jung was born in Busan, South Korea, in 1965. Growing up, he wanted to become a movie star; when he got the chance, he would talk to American GIs stationed near his home about his favorite movies and actors. As a child, he enjoyed taking part in the short skits his church put on, and when it came time for him to apply to university, he expressed a desire to study film or acting. But when his Sunday school teacher suggested that he go to bible school or seminary instead, he decided to take their suggestion to heart, and after many weeks of prayer and contemplation chose to attend the largest Presbyterian seminary in Korea. After completing his undergraduate studies, he studied abroad at Yale for an MDiv, initially thinking he would go on to become a seminarian, or a seminary professor. He worked as the director of Christian education at a number of Sunday school programs at Korean churches, something he realized provided him with a different kind of scholarship, one where he learned to communicate with younger peoples. Throughout his studies, he also worked as a college admissions consultant and a standardized testing tutor. Today, Pastor Jung is continuing to work as a pastor within his church, emphasizing an approach to faith which shifts away from institutionalized religion towards cultivating personal spirituality.

Young Hee Shon

Young Hee Shon was born in 1953 in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, to parents who ran a successful business in the hospitality industry. At the time, workers who missed the last intercity bus out of the city would have nowhere to spend the night, so her parents operated a motel where late-night workers could spend the night. They also ran a restaurant directly next to their hotel called “Seong Buk Dong Gukbap,” which still exists today. Mrs. Shon immigrated to the United States with her husband and children when they were presented with the opportunity to obtain a green card. Upon hearing from her sister that L.A.’s Koreatown was a good place to find a job, the family chose to move to Los Angeles, where Mrs. Shon’s first job was in making banchan at the Korean market. From there, she switched jobs to work in the kitchen of the Palace Hotel, but after experiencing certain emotional hardships, found a job at the Rotex Hotel instead. After working there for a while, she began experiencing physical discomfort in her arms and shoulders, and so found work at a long-distance phone calling company, which she enjoyed. Yet the job she enjoyed most was in opening her own restaurant, which she named after the one her parents ran back in Korea: Seongbukdong. A beloved part of K-Town, she prepares each dish with love and care, knowing that the success of her restaurant isn’t dependent on advertisement space in newspapers, but in the reputation which is built in the mouths of her customers.

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