Honoring the Leaders
Twenty-six people will be honored as
A better life
"eminent Koreans" for accomplishments
as leaders and role models during the
past 100 years. All are deceased.
Timeline, celebrations
Family profiles
>> Chung Song Lee Ahn (1895-1989). A college graduate and teacher, she came as a bride. She was active in many Korean organizations.
>> Hyun-Kyung Ahn (1881-1957). He was president of the Korean National Association and was awarded the National Foundation Medal by the Republic of Korea.
COURTESY "THEIR FOOTSTEPS"
Pyung Yo Cho: Founding lay minister of St. Luke's Episcopal Church
>> Won-Kiu Ahn (1877-1947). A successful businessman, he played a leading role in founding the Korean National Association. Recognized by the Republic of Korea with a National Foundation Medal.
>> Robert Won Bae Chang (1923-1999). He served in the U.S. Army in World War II. Served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and as a state district and circuit judge.
>> Pyung Yo Cho (1882-1961). He was a founding lay minister of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and was active in the Korean National Association.
>> Walter Cho (1911-1985). He was one of Hawaii's first professional boxers and continued as a coach at Palama Settlement.
>> Doo Ok Chung (1889-1972). A teenager when his family emigrated to America, he supported his mother and siblings with a tailoring business. He was an activist in the Korean "freedom fighters" movement.
>> Jacob Kyuang Dunn (1897-1947). He arrived in Hawaii as a child, but taught at Ewha Woman's University in Korea. He was instrumental in getting Korea admitted to the International Olympic Committee after World War II.
>> Halla Pai Huhm (1922-1994). She founded the Halla Huhm Dance Studio soon after coming to Hawaii in 1949 and continued to teach until her death.
>> Soon Hyun (1889-1968). He arrived in March 1903, later returned to Korea for education as a Methodist minister and wrote the first Korean publication about Koreans in Hawaii in 1909. A minister at Korean Methodist churches here, he was active in nationalist organizations. The Republic of Korea awarded him the National Foundation Medal.
>> Cha Soon Lim Kim (1901-1997). Arriving as a picture bride in 1917, she was active in the Korean National Association and a founding member of the United Korean Committee in America.
>> Henry Cu Kim (1889-1967). He came to Hawaii as editor of Pacific Weekly and Korean National Herald and was a leader in Korean politics here, for which he was awarded the National Foundation Medal by the Republic of Korea.
>> Hee Kyung Lee Kwon (1894-1947). A 1912 picture bride, she was imprisoned twice by the Japanese for revolutionary activities when she returned to deliver funds collected here and to participate in the March 1, 1919, demonstration. She was a National Foundation Medal recipient.
>> Moses Lee (1912-1997). The Maui-born son of first immigrants, he fought for Korean independence under three flags.
>> Susan Chun Lee (1895-1969). A college graduate, she joined her husband here in 1916. She was a leader in organizing cultural performances and the only female editor of the Korean Pacific Weekly.
>> Tai Sung Lee (1888-1942). A 1904 arrival, he moved from plantation laborer to become a Korean translator for the Territorial courts and immigration centers. He worked with children at the Korean YMCA and the Korean Student Christian Movement of Hawaii.
>> Chan-Ho Min (1878-1954). He was pastor of the First Korean Methodist Church from 1905 to 1911 and later a minister of the Korean Christian Church, and principal of Korean Christian Institute.
>> Mollie Hong Min (1887-1979). The wife of the Rev. Chan-Ho Min, she was a teacher at the Korean Christian Institute, a Honolulu YWCA board member and a leader in Korean women's organizations.
>> Dora Kim Moon (1877-1971). A 1903 arrival, she became a charter member of the First Korean Methodist Church and helped found the Korean Ladies Relief Society. She started the Korean Missionary Society.
>> Andrew An Duk Park (1906-1963). He came to Hawaii in 1924 with the Seoul all-star baseball team. He joined the Honolulu Symphony as a violinist in 1928, and taught music and language at Korean Christian Institute.
>> Young Shin Shim (1882-1975). One of the most influential women leaders, she was an organizer of the Korean Ladies Relief Society. She was among the 1941 founders of the United Korean Committee in America.
>> Nodie Kim Sohn (1898-1972). She arrived in 1905 with her parents and later became principal of the Korean Christian Institute. Active in women's, nationalist and church groups, she also was an official of the Korean Red Cross.
>> Ha Soo Whang (1892-1984). An Athens College graduate, she was the first Korean social worker in Hawaii, and worked with the YWCA International Institute. She is credited with sustaining and promoting Korean culture before 1950.
>> Maria Whang (dates unknown). She brought her three children in 1905, began teaching Korean language and Bible studies in plantation camps, and was a founder of the Korean Women's Association.
>> You Chan Yang (1897-1975). He arrived with his parents in 1903 and later became a physician here. He served as the Republic of Korea's ambassador to the United States during the Korean War.
>> Richard W. You (1916-1996). A physician, he worked to develop amateur sports including swimming and boxing, and held national and international positions with the U.S. Olympics and Amateur Athletic Union committees. He fostered University of Hawaii football while a member of the UH Board of Regents in the 1960s.
