Sohn Kee-Chung of Korea, not Son Kitei of Japan

February 20, 2013July 29, 2024 Jae-Ha Kim

Growing up, I had heard my father talk about Sohn Kee-Chung (손기정). Sohn was the first Korean to win an Olympic medal, and it was gold. At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, he set a world record in the marathon. So it wasn’t surprising that when the 1988 Games were held in South Korea, Sohn had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch into the Seoul Olympic Stadium.

Protected: Letting go

February 11, 2012August 16, 2023 Jae-Ha Kim

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

My father’s death — and life

October 13, 2011June 16, 2024 Jae-Ha Kim

Our father’s goal in bringing his family from South Korea to the United States was to ensure that his children would receive a good education. He and our mother instilled in us the idea that studying hard would be our ticket to having a better life than they had. And they were right. But while the three of us are well educated, we lack our father’s endless thirst for knowledge.