Deceased January 19, 2005
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In Memory
Byong-Kuk (born July 6, 1924) died on Jan. 19, 2005, of cardiac disease surrounded by his family. The world, Korea and Amherst College are all the lesser for his passing and the richer for his prior presence. His son Yang Kun ’83 stressed how his father’s relationship to Amherst was the greatest source of pride and joy to him. His younger brother, Byong Eun Kim ’66, and his son followed him to Amherst.
He grew up in a Japanese-occupied Korea and chose to enlist in the Japanese Army in October 1944 in hopes that he might be sent to the China Theater. He embarked on a concentrated study of English by tearing out the hearts from what English literature he could lay his hands on. At conscription, the Japanese officer kicked his pile of loose papers, demanding to know what this was. Kim responded that it was “jirikami” or toilet paper. The officer replied, “You idiot. We call it jirishi.”
“I passed the scrutiny and was assured a large supply of English papers legitimately. I had a deep faith that Heaven endowed me with a worthy mission to be fulfilled, and I was not concerned with the possibility of death.” His plan was to escape in China and join the Korean independence Army. He needed the English to communicate.
Just before the August 1945 Armistice, he received a hardship discharge and did not have to use his newly learned English. He worked as a house boy for an American family who knew Charlie Cole ’27 and was accepted with scholarship at our alma mater.
I was Dan Lee’s roommate and came to know Kim well through him. As a student, I remember the firmness of his handshake, the warmth of his smile and the volume and strength of his voice. He loved nature, and in my memory, I can hear him striding back from the ravine at our farm in Sheffield, with the woods and fields vibrating with Korean song.
When Dan Lee returned to Korea to be in charge of all economic planning, there was no one in Korea with a Ph.D. in Economics. Byong-Kuk went to the Univ. of Wisconsin for his Ph.D. in economics on an Amherst Fellowship, graduating in 1957. Amherst, through them, played a pivotal role in the vital burst that took place in the new Korea.
The managing editor of the Korean Times lauded him as an economist having taught at universities and worked at senior posts of the Korean Central Bank, the Asian Development Bank and, most recently, founding the Seoul Institute of International Economics. When Colston Warne visited Korea to set up the Korean Consumer’s Union, Byong-Kuk was the first elected president.
His daughter writes, “He was always an active man. He loved reading everything and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He always liked to share his views and correct anything that he felt was wrong.”
He had a second professional life as a newspaper columnist, working for a year in 1988 for an English newspaper called the Korean Herald, and then the Korean Times until 2004. His column was called “The New Horizon,” and he faithfully met deadlines and wrote more than 500 articles.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Yon Bok Kim, and three children: two daughters, Wan Soo Kim Ju and Wan Kyung, and one son, Yang Kyun Kim’83; a brother, Byong Eun Kim ’66; and four grandchildren.
We, as a class, wish to share our condolences and gratitude with his family for the way that Byong-Kuk touched and enriched our lives.
Willard T. Weeks ’51