Past Presidents of KAFH
Edward J. Shultz | PAST PRESIDENT 2020 to 2023
Edward J. Shultz is professor emeritus at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He first went to Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966, after graduating from Union College in New York, and lived in Pusan. He received his PhD in 1976 from the University of Hawaii, and he taught at the University of Hawaii until he retired in August 2013. At the University of Hawaii he served as the director of the Center for Korean Studies and later as the dean of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies. He was secretary of the Korean Centennial Committee in 2002-2003.
-
117th Korean Immigration Anniversary Dinner
January 13, 2020President’s Remarks
Aloha Kakoū and Anyonghasimnikka?
It is a pleasure to welcome you to our anniversary dinner celebrating the 117th year since the first Korean immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
We take this time every year to think about the earliest immigrants and their legacies. To pick up and leave your homeland and venture into the unknow is not an easy task. We honor these pioneers for their perseverance and endurance. Today also gives us time to think about Koreans who came later as well, the 1.5s, issei and later generations, and their contributions to both our communities in Hawaii and the United States. Although the population of Koreans in Hawaii is not large, Koreans and Korean Americans have made countless contributions to Hawaii whether it be in academics, medicine, law, art, cuisine, or one of many other areas. Without a Korean presence in Hawaii, we would be a far less vibrant community.
This is the story that the Korean American Foundation, Hawaii tries to tell throughout the year. We fund projects that tell the Korean story in Hawaii and let the world know that Koreans are more than just people who prepare kimchee, delicious though it may be.
So as we celebrate this day, we give thanks to those who went before us, and let us build on their foundation toward still a better future for those who will come after.
Kamsahapnida.
Edward J. Shultz
president
Daniel J. Y. Pyun | PAST PRESIDENT 2017 to 2019
Daniel J. Y. Pyun immigrated to Hawaii from Korea, at the age of seven, armed with two English words, “Rawhide” and “Giddy up”. While he did not grow up to be a cowboy, he did retire as a lawyer. He has served on various boards and committees in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. He was the founding president of the Korean American Bar Association Hawaii and has served multiple terms as president of the Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce. A strong proponent of “working together”, he established the Quad Chambers, a partnership consisting of the Korean, Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese chambers of commerce.
Don D K Kim (김동균) | PAST PRESIDENT 2014 to 2016
Educations/ Experience:
February 1968 : Graduated from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Korea: BA, Economics.
March 1968-November 1969 : working for Whashin Industry Co.
December 1969 : Move to Japan for study
July 1970 : Joined Sony Corporation in Tokyo, Japan
July 1972 : Transferred to Sony Hawaii Company.
April 1986: Director and Controller of Sony Hawaii Co.
April 1989: Vice President of Sony Hawaii Company
April 2000: Sr. Vice President of Sony Hawaii Company
November 2004: President of Sony Hawaii Company
June 2008: Retired from Sony Hawaii Company
Social Activities:
1963 - 1965 : Korean Military Service -Army in Korea
1975 - 1985 : Deacon of Korean Honolulu Baptist Church
1985 - Current : Deacon/Elder of Agape Mission Baptist Church
1991 - Current : Member of Waialae Country Club
1999 - Current : Executive Committee, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc.(Sony Open in Hawaii-PGA)
2004 - 2008 : President of GCS Int'l-Hawaii Club
2003 - 2009 : Board of Director of East West Center Foundation.
2006 - 2012 : Board of Director of Hawaii Baptist Academy School.
2012 - 2015 : President of GCS Int'l.-Hawaii Club
2006 - Current : Board of Director of Kuakini Health Systems.
2014 - Current : Board of Director of Hawaii Baptist Foundation
2014 - 2016 : President/Director of Korean American Foundation, Hawaii
2017 - Current : Director of Korean American Foundation, Hawaii
7/2015 - 6/2017 : President of The National Unification Advisory Council, Hawaii Chapter.
9/2017 - Current: Advisor of The National Unification Advisory Council, Hawaii Chapter.
7/2017 - Current : President/Director of Founding President Syngman Rhee Society
Award:
May 1998 : Norio Ohga, Chairman Of Sony Corporation, Japan
December 2012 : Myung Bak Lee, President of Republic of Korea.
Family: Wife Carolyn and three daughters and son.
Duk Hee Lee Murabayashi | PAST PRESIDENT 2010 to 2013
Mrs. Murabayashi is a retired urban planner who has worked in private consulting and research as well as for the State and City governments in Hawaii, and currently heads the Korean Immigration Research Institute in Hawaii. For the past 20 years, Mrs. Murabayashi has devoted full time to researching Korean immigration history in Hawaii and published four books including, One Hundred Years of Korean Immigration in Hawaii and History of Korean Christian Church.
Her community activities range from the President of the Korean Chamber of Commerce, Korean Centennial Committee’s General Vice Chair to the Hawaii Tokai International College Board of Regents, Vice Chair to the Trustee of the University of Hawaii Foundation. In 1990, Mrs. Murabayashi received a Presidential Citation from the President of the Republic of Korea for outstanding contribution to the Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce and received the U.S. President's (Obama) Volunteer Service Award in 2014. In 2019, Mrs. Murabayashi was awarded the Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal from the Republic of Korea.
Taeyong Kim | PAST PRESIDENT 2007 to 2009
Taeyong M. Kim is the President and Principal Planner of Environmental Communications, Inc., a land use planning company that serves government, institutional and commercial clients. Mr. Kim is a graduate of the University of Hawaii where he conducted his undergraduate, graduate and MBA studies.
Outside of his professional career, he has long served the community through his work with non-profit organizations including the Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce where he served as Director and Officer, the Korean American Coalition Hawaii serving as President and National Secretary, and as the second President of the Korean American Foundation Hawaii. Mr. Kim is also a Pacific Century Fellow and has been a member of other professional and civic organizations since his collegiate years.