By Hahm Hee-eun

For the first time in the U.S., a highway will be named after a Korean-American.

The Overseas Koreans Foundation announced on April 19 that the designation "Kim Young Oak Memorial Highway" will be finalized.

Last February in the California state government, Republican Assemblymember Choi Seokho and Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva made a resolution to commemorate Kim Young Oak by naming a partial section of I-5 in southern California after him.

The resolution was unanimously approved by the State Council's Transportation Commission on April 16, and it is expected to be passed by the state House of Representatives and the state Senate in September.

Colonel Kim Young Oak was born in Los Angeles County and is the son of Korean independence activist Kim Soon-kwon. Colonel Kim was an army officer during World War II and the Korean War. He was the first Asian-American U.S. military commander and has received some of the highest honors from the Korean, French and Italian governments. In particular, the U.S. government awarded him with a number of medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and two other medals.

Colonel Kim is not only respected for his service, but he was also a renowned humanitarian and a civic leader who served his community for many decades. During the Korean War, he took care of 500 war orphans, and in 1972 he established a Korean Health, Education, Information & Research Center (KHEIR) and a Korean American Coalition to support Korean-Americans and other ethnic minority groups.


hehahm@korea.kr