Legacy Project

Born in 1935 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Choong Shik Cho recalls constantly struggling and facing hunger. When the Korean War broke out, he was 16 years old and spent the first three months hiding in a dark basement because his family feared he would be drafted. Although his family didn’t have much, he remembers his parents’ deep devotion to providing him and his seven siblings with food and support.

Katheryn Kim was born in 1940 into a yangban, or a noble, family in Gyeongju City and grew up in a strict and traditional home. Her father was not like most men of his generation and did not want Katheryn to marry until she completed college. Katheryn completed school but refused to get married. She ran away from home and hid from her family, but life had other plans. Katheryn, to her surprise, found a match on a blind date her parents had set up and soon got married.

Mila Konomos was born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted into a white American military family stationed in Japan at six months old. As an infant, Mila would cry and screech nonstop. It wasn’t until her adoptive mother was flipping through tv channels she immediately stopped crying when she heard something familiar, Korean. This story was often humorously shared with Mila but for her, it’s a story about grief and severance.

Amanda Assalone was born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted into a white family in Tulsa, OK. She always believed she was given up for adoption because her birth mother was young and could not financially raise a child. Amanda never intended to search for her family and always wished them well. So when she received an email saying they’d been found, she quickly learned the truth. Her story had been fabricated and she was given up for adoption because she was not a boy.

James “Uzuhan” Han was born and raised in Washington, DC, and often worked at his family’s dry cleaning business. As a child, witnessing his parents interact with customers gave James insight into how the world viewed them and a desire to protect his family. It wasn’t until middle school that he discovered hip hop, allowing him to channel those feelings and connect with himself and his peers in a new way.

Hee Shin Suh was born to a noble, or yangban, family in 1924 in Jangsu, Jeollabuk-do. Mrs. Suh grew up with hired help and openly shares she wasn’t familiar with household chores when she immigrated to Ohio. She even recalls giving her kids under or overcooked rice multiple times and struggling to cook Korean dishes. Seeing her neighbors working and feeling unproductive at home, she found work as a seamstress and continued to work there for the next 20 years.

Dr. Kee Ok Cho’s father firmly believed that women should have access to education. While attending vocational school, Dr. Cho knew she had to go to school in Japan like her sister in order to get the best education possible. Plans quickly changed when Japan began to lose the war. She instead had to attend school in Korea to reduce the chances of being taken to become a comfort woman. Soon after, the Korean War breaks out.

Now as a student at the University of Houston, Kwon Teimchaiyapoom recalls her childhood as a restaurant kid. Kwon being half Thai / half Korean, was brought up in a Western household; never feeling connected to either culture except through the food her family served in their restaurant. It wasn’t until recently, when her parents’ divorce became finalized, that Kwon began to see a shift in her mother, who began to immerse herself into the Korean community of Houston. Seeing her mother make kimchi every week and watching more Korean television sparked a reflection within Kwon herself, to begin her own search for identity. As Kwon continues navigating her place in the world, she hopes to unravel more about herself and her roots.

Susan Jhin became her mother’s primary caregiver after enduring multiple fractures from a serious fall. Providing her with constant care in her home in Houston, Susan began to see hope for her mother’s health. However, after three months of progress, her mother suddenly stopped eating. After a doctor’s visit, Susan was given the difficult task of telling her mother that she had pancreatic cancer with not much time left.