Surrounded by her family, the former elementary school teacher passed away June 5 in Newport Beach at 104 years of age."She was always warm and lighthearted," said Marco Boyce, Kim's grandson. "It's just amazing that after what she had been through, she was always smiling."
Born in the Korean Empire in 1908, Kim was witness to 35 years of the Japanese occupation of her country. Kim's mother was also an active leader in the Korean Independence Movement during that time. In the 1930s and 1940s, Kim also worked as an elementary school teacher in her native Korea.
When World War II erupted, Kim and her husband fled to Beijing. They returned in 1945 after an arduous journey where they were detained and searched by Russian troops. Upon their return to Korea, the country was in the midst of violent political turmoil and was on the brink of a bloody civil war that would eventually send communist troops into the country, forcing Kim and her family to flee once again. But before they were able to leave, the communists interrogated Kim to try and determine the whereabouts of her husband, a government prosecutor who was working in another province.
After two of her daughters came to the United States in the 1960s and her husband passed away, Kim and her other daughter and son followed in 1975, originally settling in Los Angeles and later moving to Irvine and eventually Newport Beach.
Even after escaping the tumultuous years in Korea, Kim battled breast cancer when she came to the United States, but was able to recover following a mastectomy.
"My mother went through a lot but never complained," said Seonglan Boyce, Kim's daughter. She also explained that her mother's Christian faith helped to give her inner strength.
"She just handled things very quietly," she said.
Many years after her time in Korea, Kim detailed memories of her childhood in a diary, which offered her family a glimpse into her personal life after she passed away.
A lover of music, Kim loved to play the piano and did so until she was 99 years old. She was also an avid tennis player and spoke three languages.
Kim was preceded in death by her husband, Gahng Kim and her son, Kwang Yup Kim. She is survived by her son, Kwang Min Kim; and daughters Seong Lan Kim Boyce; Younglan Kim Ewing and Kyung Lan Kim Huh, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
RIP
RIP. She certainly doesn’t have to see what’s coming. I wonder what she thought of witnessing the USA’s moral slide . . .
Thank you to all to those who served during World War II and the Korean War. You changed history for millions of people and families. My grandmother, who witnessed much of it, “was always thankful” and was “proud of being an American citizen” after immigrating to the United States from South Korea in 1975.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/orangecounty/obituary.aspx?n=nah-mi-kim-oh&pid=165313410
RIP.