- California Assembly OKs highest minimum wage in nation
- S. Korea unveils first graphic cigarette warnings
- US joins with South Korea, Japan in bid to deter North Korea
- LPGA golfer Chun In-gee finally back in action
- S. Korea won’t be top seed in final World Cup qualification round
- US men’s soccer misses 2nd straight Olympics
- US back on track in qualifying with 4-0 win over Guatemala
- High-intensity workout injuries spawn cottage industry
- CDC expands range of Zika mosquitoes into parts of Northeast
- Who knew? ‘The Walking Dead’ is helping families connect
Memorial for late Korean American politician installed in Koreatown
The 111th anniversary of Korean immigration to America was celebrated with the installation of a memorial honoring a late Korean American politician at Wilshire-Western Metro station in Koreatown Friday.
About 100 attended the unveiling ceremony for the memorial of Alfred H. Song, the first Asian American elected to California’s state legislature in the 1960s.
Others who helped celebrate included University of Southern California President Max Nikias, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles Korean Consul General Kim Hyun-myung and Song’s USC law school classmate and attorney Min Byung-soo.
Ten members of Song’s family, including his children Leslie and Mark Song, were also present.
“I’m happy,” said Leslie Song, who headed the two-year effort of the committee for the memorial’s installation.
She thanked the Metro board, the Korean American community, USC and Korean American attorneys for their support and donations.
Her father jumped into politics during the civil rights movement and worked to advance California despite there not being many Asian voters in Monterey Park, where he got his political start as a city councilman, she said.
Located in the northwest corner of the station, the memorial measures 6 feet across and 10 feet tall and details Song’s life through photos and quotes inscribed in both Korean and English.
Song was a World War II veteran and USC graduate who became the first Asian American in the California state assembly and, in 1966, the state senate.
Pingback: October 2014 – Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas
Pingback: Early Korean immigrant letters donated to Hangeul museum – The Korea Times