Yong-jeung Kim papers, 1906-1994, bulk 1940-1975
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Collection context
- Creator:
- Kim, Yong-jung, 1898-1975
- Extent:
- 6 linear feet 12 boxes, 1 mapcase folder
- Language:
- English , Korean .
- Scope and content:
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Correspondence, manuscripts, speeches, documents, news releases, printed materials, audio recordings, and motion picture film. Of interest in the correspondence are letters from John Foster Dulles, Lieut. Gen. John R. Hodge and Maj. Gen. Archer L. Lerch, the first two U.S. military governors of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Kim Il Sung. His correspondence deals mainly with the issue of reunification. The manuscript series includes articles and speeches by Kim as well as unpublished manuscripts by others assigned to him. The documents are mainly those related to the Korean Affairs Institute. The press clippings and printed materials cover Korean problems from 1945 to 1975 and include Korean language newspapers and periodicals. Thera are also some books and pamphlets from his library, including printed volumes of Korean government documents and other books on Korea from the first two decades of the twentieth century, six electrical transcriptions of radio programs in which Kim was interviewed, and one motion picture film "Liberation of Korea."
- Biographical / historical:
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Kim, Yong-jeung (김용중, 金龍中, 1898-1975) was a crusader for the reunification of North and South Korea and the founder and president of the Korean Affairs Institute, Washington, D.C., 1943-1975, a lobbying organization dedicated to the reunification of Korea.
Yong-jeung Kim was born in Keum San, North Chulla province, Korea on April 2, 1898. He left Korea in 1916 under the Japanese occupation, crossing borders heading to Manchuria, Shanghai, and arrived in San Francisco. At the age of 22, Kim attended grammar school in San Francisco. He studied political science at Harvard University, University of Southern California, Columbia University, and George Washington University. He served as a member of the Executive Committee and Director of Public Relations for the Korean National Association of North America, as well as the United Korean Committee in America from 1941 to 1943. He married Harry S. Kim (Kim, Hyung-soon)'s daughter Mary Ann Kim. The couple had two daughters.
He founded the Korean Affairs Institute in 1943, a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in Washington D.C. devoted solely to the dissemination of information about Korea to promote friendly understanding between Korea and the world. He wrote and published articles in the Voice of Korea, an organ of the Korean Affairs Institute with the support of the in-laws. He also occasionally made broadcasts to Korea for the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II and contributed to the American Annual from 1951 to 1966. He also unofficially observed UNRRA Conference at Montreal, Canada, in 1944 and the Third Session of the UN General Assembly in 1948. He was also a member of the National Press Club and the International Club of Washington. In the summer of 1947, he made a six-week survey trip to South Korea. Throughout his life, he worked for the reunification of Korea.
The Kim family moved to Reedley, California in 1973. Kim died in 1975 at the age of 77 in Los Angeles, California.
For more information about his life, see the Korean Alumni Biographies Project by the Korea Institute at Harvard Univerity.
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/koreanalumnibiographiesproject/people/yong-jeung-kim
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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The following boxes are located off-site: 10-12. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.
- Terms of access:
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Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
- Preferred citation:
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Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Yong-jeung Kim papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu