June 17, 2003

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

$30,000 gift from KC businessman to help build Korean war memorial at KU

Yong Kim will meet with Chancellor Robert Hemenway on Wednesday, June 18, at the future site of the Korean War Memorial. An electronic file of a preliminary sketch of the memorial is available. Contact kunews@ku.edu.

LAWRENCE -- Thanks to a $30,000 gift from a Korean-American businessman, plans are moving forward to create a University of Kansas memorial to people who were killed in the Korean War.

Yong L. Kim, who came to the Kansas City area as a student from the Republic of Korea in 1962, will present the gift to KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway on campus. They will meet at about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, June 18, at the future site of the memorial, which is on the hill above Potter Lake along KU's Memorial Drive, west of the Memorial Campanile.

Kim's gift to the Kansas University Endowment Association will help fund construction. The memorial, which could cost up to $300,000, will honor those who died in the Korean War and will include a tablet describing the war. About 60 alumni, students and faculty died in war, which lasted from 1950 to 1953.

"To the thousands of people who visit this campus each year, this project will serve as a living reminder of the important history we share with our Korean friends and allies," Hemenway said. "It will honor those who gave their lives in defense of freedom and liberty."

Kim was 12 years old in 1950 when military forces from the People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea, crossed the border into the Republic of Korea. He said he feels an obligation to honor the U.S. soldiers killed in the war.

"There are other memorials at KU, but there isn't yet one for Korea," he said. "I feel really obligated to do something because as a Korean, I appreciate those who defended Korea against communism."

KU's existing memorials include the Kansas Memorial Union and Memorial Stadium for World War I; the campanile for World War II; and the Vietnam Memorial, which is the only memorial requested and funded by KU students. Although a Korean War memorial has been discussed by university officials for several years, private financial support never has been adequate to establish one, said Jeff Weinberg, special assistant to the chancellor.

KU Endowment and university officials are continuing to raise money for the project. This week KU Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David Shulenburger is meeting with Korean alumni in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The alumni are expected to present a gift in support of the memorial.

Kim, who is active in the Korean-American community of greater Kansas City, said about 5,000 Koreans live in Kansas City and the surrounding area.

"It would be great news to Koreans in the area to hear of the completion of the memorial," he said. "We would like to see it built."

Kim is the founder and chairman of QMD International in Kansas City, Mo., an international trading company and manufacturer of steel components for household goods manufacturers. He also is chairman of Alterna-Med.com, an alternative health Web site.

Following two years of military service for the Republic of Korea, Kim came to the United States to study at Park College in Parkville, Mo. From 1963 until 1967, he attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo., where he studied marketing. He founded QMD International in 1968.

Kim is a founding member of the Kansas Mission Church and the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of greater Kansas City. He is an adviser to the Korean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation of the United States and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council to the President on Democratic and Peaceful Unification of Korea. He also is a member of Kansas City Rotary Club 13 and is a Paul Harris fellow.

He and his wife, June, live in Leawood. They have three children, Jay, biology '89 and pharmacy '90, Jane and Kay.

For more information about supporting the memorial, please contact Jerome Davies, vice president for development at KU Endowment, (785) 832-7460.

Kim's gift counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.