Sun Ae Kim

*March 14, 1930 – November 4, 2024*

Sun Ae Kim was born in Geochang, South Korea, on March 14, 1930, as the youngest daughter of Joong Mok Shin, who served as the 7th Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and a member of the National Assembly in South Korea. She began her career as an elementary school teacher and later married her first husband, Han Joon Lee, who passed away in 1975. Together, they had three daughters: Yoenmi, Yoenkyung, and Yoenjin. Sun Ae showed tremendous resilience as she raised her young children on her own.

In January 1995, during a visit to Virginia to see her older brother, Sun Ae met the love of her life, Chae Kol Kim. They married and enjoyed nearly 30 years of happiness together. Her youngest daughter and grandchildren recently visited her from Korea to bid her farewell. She passed peacefully at her home in McLean on November 4, 2024, surrounded by her beloved husband, Chae Kol Kim, and her first and second daughters.

She is survived by her husband, Chae Kol Kim; sons, Yongtaek Kim and Yongjo Kim; daughters, Yoenmi Lee, Yoenkyung Lee, Yoenjin Lee, Namsook Kim, Jungsook Kim, Myungok Kim, Myungsook Kim, and Myungsik Kim; 6 children-in-law; 23 grandchildren; 13 grandchildren-in-law; and 15 great-grandchildren.

Sun Ae enjoyed cultivating indoor plants, cooking, and sharing food with loved ones. She also loved watching tennis, was an avid tennis player in her teenage years, and later enjoyed dancing regularly with her husband until August of this year.

In addition to her personal joys, she dedicated a decade starting in 1980 as a volunteer teacher at a senior school in Seoul, where she served the elderly with warmth and dedication.

For nearly 30 years, Sun Ae and her husband, Chae Kol Kim, served as leaders in the Washington DC-based Peace Sharing Community (APPA Urban Mission), advocating for the hungry, needy, and politically underrepresented. They volunteered every Sunday afternoon in DC, offering both meals and worship services for the homeless. In recognition of their dedicated service, Sun Ae and Chae Kol were honored with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award by President Obama on November 28, 2010.

Despite the hardships of the Korean War, personal loss, and the challenges of immigration, Sun Ae was known for her unwavering kindness, love, and optimism. Family, friends, neighbors, church members, nieces, and nephews who knew her remember her as everyone’s beloved mother and grandmother. Like the countless bottles of homemade soy milk she lovingly made and shared each week, her kindness nourished all who knew her, and her legacy flows through those memories with abundance and warmth.

Through her dignified manner, generosity, and heart that saw only the best in others, she inspired her daughters, stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, leaving a lasting legacy they will carry forward. Her values continue to nurture these young generations, who are growing up to become treasured members of the Korean and American communities.

Sun Ae attended her final communion service on the first Sunday of October, alongside her husband, who served as an elder for 30 years at the Korean United Methodist Church of Greater Washington.

Her funeral will be held as a private family service at the Korean United Methodist Church of Greater Washington, 1219 Swinks Mill Rd, McLean, VA 22102, on Friday, November 8, 2024, at 5 o'clock.