William Min
Lawyer and Community Activist
“A lifetime teacher and a friend to many…”
– By Olivia Cha (15)
Mr. Min has dedicated his life to the community. Able and willing to stand up for a community that faced prejudice and discrimination, Mr. Min stood bravely to do what he was passionate about. He has taught me the importance of the passion to give back to my community and that by spending time with my community, it also widens my perspective of the world. With passion, people are able to meet their challenges head on.
Eung Hwa Kim
“A Little Angel with a Big Dream”
– By Gyubin Kim (15)
What makes Kim Eung-Hwa different is her drive. Everyone is unique; however, Kim Eung-Hwa’s drive for her teaching is like no other. She takes her job to heart and feels like she holds a sense of responsibility when teaching because she realizes that she is not just teaching how to play an instrument or dance but teaching Korean culture. Sadly, Kim Eung-Hwa did mention that she felt as if Korean dance had been changing and the roots of Korea were melting away. Like anything, things change, but something so traditional should be kept safe and treasured for many years, so it doesn’t change. Hearing this served as motivation and a wake-up call to me. I realized I should value my Korean roots because someone worked hard to teach people to connect with them.
Peter Kim
Marathon Coach
“Coaching One Mile At a Time”
– By Olivia Cha (15)
Regardless of one’s background, a marathon is for everyone and anyone who is committed to a healthier and vibrant life. Peter Kim is an inspirational runner and has been a running coach for more than three decades. He was born in South Korea in 1955 and came to America at the age of 16. He earned a business degree from USC and started his career at Bain & Company as an investment banker. He now owns an international management consulting firm.
Susan Chung
Child Psychistrist
“What is success?”
– By Diane Cho (17)
As she continued the story of her journey to become a psychiatrist, I could absorb many of her personality and characteristics: physical strength comparable to her age group, enthusiasm for mental illnesses, affection for people, and composure for her patients. Even after retiring from Kaiser Permanente, where she helped many people as a doctor for multiple decades, in 2020, she chose to work at KFAM (Korean American Family Services) with her passion for treating the hearts of Korean adults, teenagers, and children. Furthermore, she has recently started a YouTube channel to advocate for and highlight the importance of mental wellness.
Jackie Koo
Professor/Founder of Valley Youth Orchestra
“Piano is My Life”
– By Celine Hong (15)
She persevered through her love of music and continues to share that experience with our youth, only expanding upon her dream to play chamber music, accompany, and tour all around the world. With this, I realized that my violin was not just an instrument.
Hun Yun
Publisher, Sunday Journal USA
“Standing 40 Years Tall”
– By Phillip Han (17)
In his recent book, Sunday Journal 40, I noticed that he wrote, “I want to be known as a writer.” My first thought was, “who cares if you are a writer or if you are not one?” Baffled, I read more and more about him; I learned some history of what happened to him, such as how his office was burned and how he had to compete with major companies. When his office was burned, I would have quit and given up on writing, but Mr. Yeon didn’t.
Man Chul Cho
“It’s My Life”
– By Phillip Han (17)
He always thinks about the common good of the people, no matter the situation. Even now, he is attempting to file a lawsuit against the government for his PTSD patients and not supporting Koreatown during the LA riots, which is brave considering many people would not have the courage to try this. He wants to file this lawsuit so that the past is not repeated, and the Korean-American community can gain its voice.
During our meeting, I realized that my efforts were nothing compared to Dr. Cho’s work. I learned that I should not just think about myself but always think about a whole cause. It makes me consider how devastating it would feel for someone to struggle and that I should help solve that.
Ken Klein
Former Head of USC East Asia Library/Korean History Archivist
“The Big Journey”
– By Joo Won Kim (15)
His devotion and admiration of establishing one of the largest collections of Korean studies of the Korean American community helped raise cultural and heritage awareness for all generations. As a result, Dr. Klein is an unrivaled figure in the American academia in excavating and preserving materials on the history of Korean immigrants.
“Jung Duk Yoon”
Hanbok Maker
“Weaving Our Generations”
By Joy Han (14)
he considers it one of her most significant accomplishments to have worked in the 2015 runway fashion show in Irvine, which is regarded as one of her proudest works. Her clothes were classic traditional hanbok mixed with modern fashion. Using a variety of vibrant fabric colors, she exhibits her unique style. She wanted to introduce the versatility of hanbok to others so they could personalize their experience even in modern times.
Tami Cho Suzzman
“A Leader of DoVe Project Pack”
– By Celine Hong (16)
ami’s Korean heritage played a significant role in her identity, so it pained her to know that even though South Korea has developed economically in the past several years, we still eat dogs when we do not have to.
In 2016, Tami and her best friend, Claudia, learned of the horrifying truth that the old tradition of dog consumption was still present in modern Korean culture. They were being kept in mass farms, only to receive inhumane treatment with minimal living conditions. Tami and Claudia realized they had to do something about it, so they founded DoVE Project together and collaborated with others, and dedicated their time and finances to rescuing farm-bred dogs and abolishing some of the illegal farms entirely.
Kevin Lee
Floweriest and Event Planner for Hollywood
“I Have Done a Lot, But I’m Always Doing More”
– By Gyubin Kim (15)
is success didn’t stop only as a florist. His talents and reputation grew with a new identity as a wedding planner. Kevin has designed events for top Hollywood celebrities such as Barack Obama, and Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Anniston, Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson, Lisa Vanderpump, Nicolas Cage, just to name a few. He has been noted on many television stations and he is known for the most innovative designs for the Oscar’s, Grammy’s, Emmy’s, other major Hollywood premiers.
Olivia Cha (16)
Diane Cho (17)
Joy Han (14)
Phillip Han (17)
Celine Hong (16)
Gyubin Kim (16)
Joowon Kim (16)
Director: Christopher HK Lee
Producer: Jiyoung Lee
Special thanks to all our supporters for their generous contributions to our first annual Heroes and Legends: 2022 Los Angeles publication.
Gabriel Ahn
Simon P. Ahn
Angela An
SangAlex Cha
Jimmy Chai
Seungmo Cho
Stella Cho
Jennifer Chung
Hyepin Im
Bong Joo Kang
Kevin Kang
Steve Han
Yumi Paul Han
Yonah Hong
Cristina Hwang
Connie Chung Joe
Im Kang
Connie Kim
Kiyoung Kim
Kyunghee Kim
Jean Park
Jin Park
Michelle Park
Mi Sun Kim
Soohan Kim
Jae Ku
Casie Lee
Hee Lee
John Lee
Youngmi Lee
Carol Min
Jean Park
Caroline Sim
Michelle Sung
Michael Yang
Grace YooS