Letters to the Editor: An appreciation of pioneering Korean American reporter K. Connie Kang

To the editor: I was shocked and saddened to read of former L.A. Times reporter K. Connie Kang’s death.

She’s been an icon in our household for years. Her byline was always something to look forward to. Her sure prose and insight into our culture benefited not only the Korean American community but also all of her readers in Los Angeles.

Who can forget her trip to the local Korean market with host Huell Howser in 1996? She played the gracious host, explaining everything from the difference between Korean sesame seeds and those from elsewhere (“they’re more tasty,” she said with a laugh) to why Koreans commonly forego the customary “sorry” or “pardon” if accidentally bumped into (it’s understood to be unintentional, so no harm, no foul), to even why no dignified Korean man would ever say “I love you.”

In the Korean language, we often shun the word “my” or “mine” for the larger “our.” Koreans would never say “my community,” but “our community,” as we believe these aren’t things to be owned but shared.

We, the Korean American community, are heartbroken.

Lawrence Kim, Irvine