Legacy Project

Lana Yu was born on March 14th, 1952, in Korea during the middle of the Korean War; after fleeing Seoul for Daegu, she and her family returned to Seoul when she was five years old. She recalls how life after the war was difficult, as food was often scarce, but she found some joy in music and singing. In 1976, she and her family immigrated to LA, where despite initial difficulties with English, Lana worked a variety jobs including at a bank, the Los Angeles City Hall, and even as a casino dealer in Las Vegas! The most formative experience of her life in the U.S., however, was when her son came out to her; tearing up at the thought that he didn’t feel like he could come to her sooner, she reminds us that “there are way people who understand you than you think,” and encourages all of us to find the people who can support us.

Kyung Wan Kim was born in 1940 in Yeondeungpo-gu, Seoul, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. When she was 2 years old, her father was offered a job in Hwanghae Province, which today is a part of North Korea. The family lived in Hwanghae Province until 1945, when Korea was liberated, after which the family moved back South to a rural part of Gyeonggi Province. She recalls how, around the age of 16, people began expressing interest in marrying her, and that because food was so scarce, her parents tried to wed her to a stranger; eventually, she ran away to her uncle who resided in Seoul. Her uncle enrolled her in school, but because of a shortage of funds Kyung Wan had to find a way to make money, which she did by offering tutoring services. She graduated with a license in typewriting, and soon began working for the National Assembly Secretariat, where she stayed until the 5.16 coup of 1961. In 1967, she married her husband who had just quit his job; with no source of income, Kyung Wan made and sold banchan for 2 years, after which she took up tutoring again. Soon thereafter, her sister—who had moved abroad to Chicago—invited Kyung Wan and her husband to come to the US, and in time the couple moved to New Jersey, where Kyung Wan became a licensed therapeutic massager, opening up her first clinic in Flushing with her husband as her assistant, and then a second one in New Jersey. Even in retirement, people still visit her at her home for her massages, sometimes bringing small gifts and fruit. Though her life has been marked by many ups and downs, she reminds us to remember that whatever happens—good and bad—will all pass one day; it’s better to find your footing in the present, and just follow the flow.

Stephanie Jang was born in South Korea the eldest of three sisters. She describes how, in the 1970s, many Koreans wanted to come to America due to political and economic turmoil; when she was 19 years old, she, alongside her parents and sisters, were one such family to immigrate to the United States after being sponsored by close relative in Massachusetts. Her life as a new “Korean American” began smoothly: she attended college, met her husband, and had a daughter. In 1994, she moved with her husband and daughter back to Korea, where she was put through a series of hardship as the sole daughter-in-law (“myeoneuri”) of her husband’s family, an unsolicited title which came replete with burdensome expectations. After having a second daughter, she decided that she did not want to raise her children in the difficult environment, and so moved back to the United States to start her life anew at the age of 39. Empowered by her education, she pursued a career in business, and then in teaching, and today works as a college counselor as well as a Councilwoman for Palisades Park, taking pride in her work to uplift the Korean American community.

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 (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 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 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 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 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.