K. Connie Kang

Kyonshill Kang (later known as K. Connie Kang) was born November 11, 1942, in Hamheung, Korea (now North Korea).[1] Her father, Joo Han, was a language teacher, and he began teaching her English when she was three years old. His family was known for their early embrace of Christianity around 1900.[1] In 1946, after Korea had been divided up by opposing world powers, Christian families were threatened with persecution in North Korea. Kang and her parents fled to safety in South Korea. Her grandmother guided them across the 38th parallel, along with many other relatives.[2]

In 1950, Kang's father received the opportunity to study in the United States as a Fulbright scholar.[1] Kang, her mother and grandmother stayed behind in Seoul, South Korea. Although at first their new home seemed secure, the outbreak of the Korean War meant that the women were eventually forced to flee again, abandoning most of their possessions and travelling by train and fishing boat to Tokyo, Japan, where they met up with Joo Han again in 1952.[2] They moved to Okinawa, and Kang attended an international school.[3] She became fluent in English and Japanese as well as Korean.[4]

As a young adult, Kang moved to the United States and studied journalism at the University of Missouri, finishing her BA in 1963. She subsequently completed a Master of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University.[1] She was the first woman of Korean heritage to graduate with journalism degrees from these schools.[4] In 1975, Kang's parents joined her in the United States and settled in San Francisco, California.[2]

Kang began her reporting career in 1964[1] as a writer for the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, New York.[5] She went on to write for publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and Koreatown Weekly, an early Korean American newspaper founded by K.W. Lee.[3] Kang is considered to be the first female Korean American journalist.[1][3][5]

In 1982, Kang co-founded the Korean American Journalists Association. The organization aimed to support journalists of recent immigrant descent and help improve the accuracy of media coverage around non-English-speaking immigrants.[4]

In early 1992, a series of riots occurred in Los Angeles that resulted in heavy property damage in many Korean American neighbourhoods,[4] but a widespread lack of Korean-speaking reporters at local publications meant that the media struggled to cover the story accurately. The Korean American Journalists Association encouraged the Los Angeles Times to help address this gap in coverage by hiring Kang. Beginning work there soon after, Kang became known for providing a rare outlet for Korean American communities and their stories in mainstream media.[3]

Over the course of her career, Kang received more than 30 professional awards for her work covering the California Supreme Court system.[1] She was named a joint recipient of awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors in 1985[6] and 1996.[7] Alongside her work in American media, Kang contributed to Asian publications as a writer, editor and foreign correspondent.[1] In 1995, she published a memoir entitled Home Was the Land of Morning Calm: A Saga of a Korean-American Family, which Kirkus Reviews called "a masterful blend of personal, family, and national history".[8] Kang was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Asian American Journalists Association in 1997.[5]

Kang's grandfather had been known for building Christian churches in what is now North Korea. Kang's mother had dreamed of building Christian schools there, although she never had the chance, and this lost dream left an impact on Kang.[4] In 2008, Kang left the Los Angeles Times and decided to pursue a new career as a Christian minister, eventually graduating from the Fuller Theological Seminary in 2017. She had plans to return to North Korea and establish a Christian school,[3] but never completed the journey.[4]

Kang died in August 2019, aged 76, from pancreatic cancer. She was buried in San Francisco.[3] Reflecting on Kang's legacy, K.W. Lee wrote that Kang's reporting career "was a quiet, almost divine mission to give a clear voice to those who aren’t heard and can’t speak English," and that her death was "mourned by thousands in the Korean community and beyond."[4]