Young Ho Kim

We celebrate the life of our sweet, loving Dad, Grandad, Uncle and devoted Church Elder: Young Ho Kim. Born in Seoul, Young Ho Kim was the youngest of six sons. Together with his older brothers, Dad survived the Korean War, and went onto graduate from Kyungbock High School and Yonsei University. As a UNESCO fellow, Dad attended the University of California Los Angeles to study Broadcast Journalism. Dad returned to Seoul and embarked on a journey pioneering Korean broadcasting from 1954 to his death. He was appointed by President Park Chung Hee in 1961 to anchor KBS-TV's very first live evening newscast, as well as continuing peacetime joint broadcasts with NHK News Tokyo. In 1962, Mom & Dad, welcomed their first child, Helen Hae Sun Kim.

In 1966, the USIA's Voice of America brought Young Ho Kim & family to Washington, DC. Dad continued his work for KBS-TV as a White House Correspondent and became an official member of its Foreign Press Corps. Settling in the Maryland suburbs, Dad welcomed two more daughters, Grace and Josephine, and a son, Donald. He also welcomed countless newly immigrated Koreans and found genuine purpose in making people feel at ease in a foreign country. Dad organized countless Korean community-building events, offering cultural and practical resources, and a sense of "home" outside of Korea. Dad wanted to ease feelings of being estranged or foreign and shared his contagious confidence with all new families. With his USIA/VOA experience, in 1971 Dad launched Radio Korea - Washington DC, the first-ever F.C.C. permitted Korean language radio station, producing content as a public service that would connect Koreans to their new community in the States. Spanning more than five decades, Young Ho Kim established six radio stations in the U.S. He quickly saw the need for Koreans to hear the Sunday sermons they could not attend because of work, so he began religious programming. This led Dad to Christianity. In the early 1980s Young Ho Kim, attended the Washington Bible College, and established the Korean Christian Radio Network, in DC Metro and Baltimore, and later in New York City.

During 1980's North & South Korea's refugee reunification efforts, KBS-TV became an international media powerhouse. Dad was invited back to Seoul to host two prime time TV talk shows. Dad returned to the U.S. and founded the Korean Church Elders Association of New York and continued an integral role in developing Korean language broadcast media. In 2021 Young Ho Kim and his wife, retired back home to Montgomery County, Maryland where he returned to his beloved SehMeHahn Church in Laytonsville, Maryland.

Young Ho Kim is survived by his devoted wife of 65 years, Sook Cha Kim (née Hur) of Silver Spring, Maryland; his daughter, Helen Watkins and son-in-law Roger Watkins of Williamsburg, Virginia; daughter Grace Kim and Jonathan Disegi of New York, New York; daughter Josephine Choi and son-in-law Hojun Choi of Washington, DC; and son Donald Kim and daughter-in-law Sunjin Kim of Woodbridge, Virginia. Young Ho Kim's grandchildren, each of whom were the greatest loves of his life and brought him infinite joy: Brian Watkins & wife Abbi; Connor Watkins; Andrew Watkins & fiancée Madison; William Choi; Claire Choi; Olivia Choi; Sophia Kim.

The Kim Family will host a celebration of Young Ho Kim's life, on Sunday August 4, 2024 at 4:00 PM, at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Young Ho Kim will be laid to rest at Norbeck Judean Memorial Park.

Flower donations can be placed through Sohee Florist: (301)384-5299 http://www.soheeflorist.net/