Chosun Ilbo Profiles Hannah Kim

Miss Kim is the very young woman I wrote about the other day who single-handedly obtained a presidential proclamation thanking Korean War vets for their service and honoring the sacrifices of those who died in the war.  The picture accompanying the Chosun’s article confirms that the creator of the proclamation is the same woman I briefly met at a function in Washington about a year ago (also the only time I’ve met Jodi in person).

Kim established a group called Remember July 27 to help Americans recognize the significance of the Korean War and to remember the sacrifices of American soldiers who fought in it. The group has been promoting the cause in the U.S. administration and the Congress for the last year. Kim persuaded White House officials using her connections from her days in the U.S. Peace Corps Headquarters and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Along with Remember July 27, she visited the offices of all 435 congressmen to ask for their support for the act.  [Chosun Ilbo]

That’s more than an impressive accomplishment; it’s a demonstration of physical courage.

“It’s important because additional measures have been announced to recognize the sacrifices of Korean War veterans, although it has been 56 years since the ceasefire,” she says.

Moving to the U.S. as a six-year old, Kim graduated from high school in California and earned a degree from Seoul National University. During her time in Korea, she was able to understand the significance of the Korean War and realized the need to treat war veterans with respect, she says.

Among other things Miss Kim teaches us is to guard against our own preconceptions — in person, Miss Kim appears to be in her early 20’s, has a demure yet quietly determined manner, and looks like she walked out of a photo shoot for a magazine cover … and I don’t mean behind the camera.  Gorgeous young girls don’t just take up lobbying Congress and the White House out of a sense of personal mission, do they?  Apparently, they do!   And while it’s superficial and more than a little unfair to make an issue of appearance, I’d bet that politicians and staffers who are too often beleaguered by pesky wild-eyed guys like me are less likely to deploy their shields when the lobbyist looks as disarming as Miss Kim does.

I suspect there are more than a few issues on which Miss Kim and I would not agree politically, but this isn’t one of them, and clearly, here is a young woman with a great future.  Congratulations to Miss Kim.