List of Korean Americans

The following is a list of notable Korean Americans, including original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Korean American or must have references showing they are Korean American and are notable.

Lists of Americans
By U.S. state
By ethnicity
  • Venezuelan
  • Vietnamese
  • Vincentian
  • Virgin Islander
  • Welsh
  • Category

Art and design

Business

Community leaders and activists

Criminals and murderers

Culinary arts

  • Danny Bowien, chef and owner of Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and New York
  • David Chang, chef, owner of Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ko and Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York City
  • Roy Choi, co-founder and head chef of Kogi Korean BBQ food trucks and restaurants in Los Angeles
  • Judy Joo, chef, owner of Jinjuu Restaurant (London and Hong Kong) Iron Chef on Iron Chef UK; judge on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef; host of Korean Food Made Simple Cooking Channel; judge on Kitchen Inferno
  • Ann Kim, chef and co-owner of Young Joni and popular pizzerias in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Beverly Kim, finalist on Top Chef (Season 9); first winner of Top Chef Last Chance Kitchen; chef-owner of Parachute, Chicago, Illinois
  • Kristen Kish, winner of Top Chef (Season 10); chef at Stir, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Corey Lee, chef-owner of Michelin-starred Benu in San Francisco; former head chef at The French Laundry
  • Edward Lee, contestant on Top Chef (season 9); host of television show Culinary Genius
  • Maangchi (Emily Kim, 김광숙), author, popularizer of Korean cuisine and its preparation

Entertainment

  • Charlyne Yi, actress

Journalism

Law and government

Elected officials

Literature

See Korean American writers for a more extensive list.

  • Matthew J. Baek, illustrator, children's book author, and graphic designer
  • Steph Cha, novelist
  • Leonard Chang, novelist, short story and TV writer
  • Alexander Chee, fiction writer, poet, journalist, and reviewer
  • Julia Cho, playwright and television writer
  • Kah Kyung Cho, philosopher and writer
  • Franny Choi, poet
  • Mary H.K. Choi, author
  • Sook Nyul Choi, children's storybook writer
  • Susan Choi, novelist
  • Heinz Insu Fenkl, novelist, folklorist, and translator
  • Jenny Han, author of children's and young adult novels, including the 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series'
  • Lee Herrick, poet
  • Euny Hong, journalist and author of The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World through Pop Culture
  • Hyun Yi Kang, scholar and writer
  • Minsoo Kang, historian and writer
  • Younghill Kang, early Asian American writer; has been called "the father of Korean American literature"
  • Crystal Hana Kim, author
  • Elaine H. Kim, writer, editor and professor in Asian American Studies
  • Elizabeth Kim, journalist and novelist
  • Eugenia Kim, author
  • Mike Kim, author
  • Myung Mi Kim, poet
  • Nancy Kim, author, lawyer
  • Richard E. Kim, author, professor of literature
  • Suki Kim, author, investigative journalist, novelist
  • Suji Kwock Kim, poet, playwright, author of Notes From The Divided Country
  • Corina Knoll, editor, journalist
  • Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, writer and artist
  • R. O. Kwon, author
  • Don Lee, author, editor
  • Ed Bok Lee, poet, writer
  • Min Jin Lee, novelist
  • Mary Paik Lee, author of Quiet Odyssey(1990)
  • Walter K. Lew, poet and scholar
  • Nami Mun, novelist
  • Gary Pak, writer, editor and professor of English, noted as one of the most important Asian Hawaiian writers
  • Linda Sue Park, American-born writer
  • Ronyoung Kim, novelist
  • T. K. Seung, philosopher and literary critic
  • Cathy Song, poet
  • Jane Jeong Trenka, author of The Language of Blood
  • Monica Youn, poet, National Book Award finalist
  • Young Jean Lee, playwright and director
  • Ji-Yeon Yuh, reporter, writer, editor and professor in Asian American history

Military

  • JoAnne S. Bass, 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, first female senior enlisted service member of any United States military branch, first Asian American to hold the senior enlisted position in the Air Force
  • Daniel Choi, U.S. Army officer and gay rights activist
  • Susan Ahn Cuddy, first female gunnery officer in the United States Navy
  • Major Gen. Sharon K.G. Dunbar, Commander of the Air Force District of Washington (AFDW); Commander of the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
  • Jeff Hwang, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and 1999 winner of Mackay Trophy
  • Andrew Kim, former head of CIA's Korea Mission Center
  • Richard C. Kim, U.S. Army brigadier general, Deputy Commander of United States Army North
  • Colonel Young-Oak Kim, highly decorated U.S. Army combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War; first non-white to command an Army combat battalion in US history
  • Fred Ohr, World War II ace fighter pilot
  • Peter M. Rhee, trauma surgeon and military veteran[13]
  • Sue Mi Terry, CIA intelligence analyst specializing in East Asia

Music

Religion

Science, technology and education

Sports

  • Kenny Allen Former NFL player; Father is from Korea
  • Darwin Barney, MLB player; grandfather is from Korea and grandmother is from Japan
  • Marissa Brandt, Olympic ice hockey player
  • Eugene Chung, former NFL player, first Korean American to be drafted in the 1st round, played offensive line
  • Rich Cho, NBA executive, Vice President of Basketball Strategy of Memphis Grizzlies
  • Simon Cho, Olympic speed skater; won the bronze medal in men's 5000 meter relay at the 2010 Vancouver Games
  • John Choi, e-sports player
  • Scott Coker, former mixed martial arts founder and businessman for Strikeforce and Bellator MMA
  • Hank Conger, MLB player
  • Emily Cross, Olympic fencer; won the silver medal in foil team at the 2008 Beijing Games
  • Toby Dawson, Olympic skier, won the bronze medal in men's freestyle skiing at the 2006 Torino Games
  • Bill Demong, Olympic skier; mother is half Korean[27]
  • Marcus Demps, American football player
  • Will Demps, American football player
  • Dane Dunning, MLB Player
  • Jake Dunning, MLB player
  • Tommy Edman, MLB player, mother is from Korea.
  • Tom Farden, head coach of the Utah Red Rocks
  • Marcus Freeman, head coach of Notre Dame Football, former NFL player
  • James Hahn, professional golfer
  • Kyle Hamilton, First-team All-American Notre Dame football player
  • Benson Henderson, mixed martial artist, former UFC lightweight champion
  • Sam Howell, American football quarterback
  • John Huh, professional golfer
  • Vicky Hurst, professional golfer
  • Anthony Kim, professional golfer
  • Chloe Kim, elite snowboarder, Winter X Games gold medalist (superpipe, 2015) Olympic gold medalist (halfpipe, 2018)[28]
  • Christina Kim, professional golfer
  • Kevin Kim, tennis player
  • Jessica Pegula, tennis player; daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula
  • Kim Pegula, businesswoman and co-owner of Pegula Sports and Entertainment (Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, and other teams) alongside her husband Terry; born in Seoul and adopted by an American family at age 5
  • Younghoe Koo, American football player
  • Tae Man Kwon, Hapkido Grand Master; 9th degree Black Belt
  • Alison Lee, professional golfer
  • Brandun Lee, professional boxer
  • Jeanette Lee, pool player, nicknamed "The Black Widow" for her tendency to wear black[29]
  • John Lee, former football player
  • Sammy Lee, diver, first American-born male Asian Olympic gold medalist
  • David Lipsky, professional golfer; mother is from Korea
  • Moon Tae-jong, professional basketball player
  • Kyler Murray, NFL quarterback
  • Kevin Na, professional golfer
  • Naomi Nari Nam, figure skater
  • Jim Paek, NHL hockey player
  • Angela Park, professional golfer
  • Jane Park, professional golfer
  • Richard Park, NHL player
  • B.J. Penn, mixed martial artist and former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion
  • Casey Phair, South Korean professional footballer
  • Rob Refsnyder, MLB player; born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted by a couple from Southern California when he was five months old.
  • Jhoon Rhee, taekwondo master and entrepreneur
  • Terrmel Sledge, MLB player
  • Daewon Song, professional skateboarder
  • Sonya Thomas, aka "Black Widow," competitive eater, holder of 29 world titles
  • Hines Ward, football player, MVP of Super Bowl XL
  • Michelle Wie West, professional golfer
  • Alex Yi, soccer player
  • Ariane Andrew also known as Cameron, professional wrestler
  • Mia Yim also known as Jade, professional wrestler
  • James Yun, professional wrestler
  • Ben Leber, NFL Linebacker

Other

References

  1. ^ a b Lela Lee – [1] "I am Korean American. My parents immigrated and I was born here. I was actually the only daughter to be born in the U.S. I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, an hour east of Los Angeles. When I grew up, there were probably two other Asian families and we were made fun of. They would say, "Oh are you Chinese?" And I would say, "No." And they would say, "Are you Japanese?" And I would say, "No." And they would say, "Well, what are you then?" I would say, "I'm Korean" and they would say, "Where is that?" My parents were probably part of the first influx of Koreans to come to the U.S. at that time in the early 70s."
  2. ^ "Myartspace>blog: Art Space Talk: Amy Sol". Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  3. ^ "Turning Adversity into Opportunity - YPO". Ypo.org. October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "Thai Lee Owns America's Largest Woman-Owned Business: Forbes". KoreAm. Archived from the original on June 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Jane Park Co Founder (Julep)". Startupgrind.com. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Fitbit's launch in Korea a big step for company". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 22, 2014.
  7. ^ ""Dr. Chef" Jay Lee hopes his Ribsticks BBQ restaurant smokes the competition". Cleveland.com. December 27, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  8. ^ Solis, Jacob (July 29, 2019). "Former Miss Nevada enters race for 4th Congressional District". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  9. ^ Fouriezos, Nick (January 27, 2020). "FROM SIN CITY MODEL TO GOP CONGRESSWOMAN?". OZY. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  10. ^ Sung-Hi Lee – [2] Archived August 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine "Korean hottie Sung Hi Lee"
  11. ^ "Eun Yang". NBC4 Washington. October 13, 2008.
  12. ^ Kristie Cattafi (January 3, 2019). "Palisades Park makes history in Bergen County, swears in first Korean-American mayor". NorthJersey.com - part of the USA Today network. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  13. ^ "The Making of Peter Rhee". KoreAm. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015.
  14. ^ "AskMen.com - Amerie". Archived from the original on May 10, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2006.
  15. ^ "[v.5] SM CLUB USA". Archived from the original on April 28, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2006. "Meanwhile, under the subtitle “Becoming a World-Famous Violinist,” the unit also pays tribute to Korean-American violinist Sarah Chang..."
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Hahn, a Korean American..."
  17. ^ "Sound Decision - Greeting(s)". Animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  18. ^ "MetaKorean » Korean American Community » Interview with John Myung, Korean Poker Pro". January 18, 2006. Archived from the original on January 18, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  19. ^ "Home". Kaffeinebuzz.com.
  20. ^ "San Francisco Observer:For Emerging Korean-American Singer Susie Suh, Songs are Like Tattoos". Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2006. "For Emerging Korean-American Singer Susie Suh, Songs are Like Tattoos"
  21. ^ Walsh, Paul (July 18, 2013). "Obituary: John Chun, design wizard behind the Mustang Shelby sports car". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  22. ^ "Dr. Dennis Hong - RoMeLa". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  23. ^ "In Remembrance of Dr. Waun Ki Hong". National Foundation for Cancer Research. January 4, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  24. ^ Chu, Marian (May 23, 2018). "Korean-American oncologist offers valuable advice for physicians". Korea Biomedical Review. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "Larry Kwak M.D., Ph.D., oncologist and researcher - City of Hope". Cityofhope.org. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  26. ^ "David Oh, NASA Engineer, Switches Family to Mars Time After Curiosity Landing". HuffPost. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  27. ^ "Helen Demong: an Adirondack woman who opens doors". Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  28. ^ "Snowboarder Chloe Kim is a triumph for asian-americans". www.outsideonline.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  29. ^ Jeanette Lee – "Jeanette Lee". Archived from the original on August 24, 2000. Retrieved September 2, 2006. "As a first generation Korean American, Jeanette was raised in a bilingual household which stressed both Korean traditional values and the American ideal of opportunity."
  30. ^ Thiessen, Mark (December 17, 2021). "New Miss America first Alaskan, Korean American title holder". AP NEWS. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
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