1950
Kyong
2017
Kyong Chai
September 1, 1950 — July 18, 2017
Dr. Kyong Suk "Ken" Chai died peacefully at his home on his 58th wedding anniversary, July 18, 2017, surrounded by his family. His assigned birth date was December 30, 1928, in Hwasung, South Choongchung province, South Korea, during the Japanese Occupation. His actual date of birth is unknown because this information wasn’t promptly recorded for many peasant families in rural Korea at that time; the family only recalled that he had been born on Lunar New Year.
He was the youngest of five children born to Chai (Chae) Kyu Man and Jeon Bun Ja. His father died from injuries incurred from an accident before he was born, so Kyong Suk was raised by his mother and older siblings. His two oldest brothers made many sacrifices to provide for their younger siblings, enabling the third brother to go to University and Kyong Suk to attend medical school. During his medical studies at Severance Union Medical College in Seoul, his education was interrupted when the Korean War broke out and North Korean communists conscripted his entire class. He was held captive by the North Korean army from June to September, 1950, but regained his freedom when United Nations forces decimated the North Korean unit he was held by during a bloody battle at the Naktong River. He hit the dirt along with everyone else during the battle, but when the bullets finally quit flying, he arose to find all his captors dead. He then made his way home and joined the South Korean Army. He graduated from medical school in 1954 and, with the help of a Canadian lady missionary doctor and financial support from his brothers, he left war-torn Korea in 1955. Assuming that the kind doctor who helped him emigrate was American, he was, to say the least, surprised to find himself bound for Canada instead of the United States. He spent several years there doing rotating internships in various locations, starting in rural Alberta. He was only the second Korean doctor to practice medicine in Canada.
It was during one of these internships in Calgary, Alberta, that he met an attractive hospital dietician named Shirley Patricia Bullock. They were married on July 18, 1959 and eventually had three children, K. Stuart Chai (Oklahoma City, OK), Dr. Sandra Chai and Denise Chai (both of Little Rock). Kyong Suk finally realized his dream of immigration to the United States in 1968, when he was accepted to the radiology residency program at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey. He was board-certified in radiology and nuclear medicine, and he practiced radiology for many years in several locations, largely in the Veterans Administration system, finally retiring at age 78. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having served as a Lieutenant Colonel at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK.
About ten years ago, after moving to Little Rock, he began attending First Korean Presbyterian Church, where he encountered a warm Korean community and made many dear friends. He also enjoyed wonderful Korean lunches made by the women parishioners after services. Although he came for the lunches, he listened to the sermons and eventually came to faith in Jesus Christ. We will be forever grateful to the "Lunch Angels" of First Korean Presbyterian Church for wooing him into the kingdom of heaven through his stomach! After becoming a believer, he looked back and saw God’s "invisible hands" at work throughout his life, most notably during the terrible battle at the Naktong River, when he asked God to take his life but spare his family’s. It was there that he had a vision of a large white cross and a man dressed in white who beckoned for him to follow him. In retrospect, he believed this was Jesus. His new faith transformed him into a happier and more peaceful person than he had ever been, and his last decade was his best. Aside from his family, his post-retirement passions included Korean dramas, St. Louis Cardinals baseball and eating astounding quantities of good food.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Chae In Suk (killed in the Korean War), Chae Eui Suk, Chae Eun Suk and Chae Jung Hee. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, his children and their spouses (Dana Chai, Dr. John Brineman and Mark Mulkerin), ten grand children and three great grandchildren. He has also remained close to his extended Korean family, both in Korea and the United States.
The funeral service and reception will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 12415 Cantrell Road in Little Rock at 10:30 am on Saturday, July 29. Kyong Suk’s ashes will be interred in the columbarium there as well.
We are deeply indebted to Hospice Home Care for their professional and compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Korean Presbyterian Church (4821 S. University Ave., Little Rock, AR 72209) or Hospice Home Care (https://www.tributeoflife.org/donate/).
To hear Kyong Suk’s stories in his own words, please click the link below to find a series of videotaped interviews created by his daughter Denise and son-in-law, Mark Mulkerin.
https://youtu.be/WbirJOOH3Qo
He was the youngest of five children born to Chai (Chae) Kyu Man and Jeon Bun Ja. His father died from injuries incurred from an accident before he was born, so Kyong Suk was raised by his mother and older siblings. His two oldest brothers made many sacrifices to provide for their younger siblings, enabling the third brother to go to University and Kyong Suk to attend medical school. During his medical studies at Severance Union Medical College in Seoul, his education was interrupted when the Korean War broke out and North Korean communists conscripted his entire class. He was held captive by the North Korean army from June to September, 1950, but regained his freedom when United Nations forces decimated the North Korean unit he was held by during a bloody battle at the Naktong River. He hit the dirt along with everyone else during the battle, but when the bullets finally quit flying, he arose to find all his captors dead. He then made his way home and joined the South Korean Army. He graduated from medical school in 1954 and, with the help of a Canadian lady missionary doctor and financial support from his brothers, he left war-torn Korea in 1955. Assuming that the kind doctor who helped him emigrate was American, he was, to say the least, surprised to find himself bound for Canada instead of the United States. He spent several years there doing rotating internships in various locations, starting in rural Alberta. He was only the second Korean doctor to practice medicine in Canada.
It was during one of these internships in Calgary, Alberta, that he met an attractive hospital dietician named Shirley Patricia Bullock. They were married on July 18, 1959 and eventually had three children, K. Stuart Chai (Oklahoma City, OK), Dr. Sandra Chai and Denise Chai (both of Little Rock). Kyong Suk finally realized his dream of immigration to the United States in 1968, when he was accepted to the radiology residency program at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey. He was board-certified in radiology and nuclear medicine, and he practiced radiology for many years in several locations, largely in the Veterans Administration system, finally retiring at age 78. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having served as a Lieutenant Colonel at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK.
About ten years ago, after moving to Little Rock, he began attending First Korean Presbyterian Church, where he encountered a warm Korean community and made many dear friends. He also enjoyed wonderful Korean lunches made by the women parishioners after services. Although he came for the lunches, he listened to the sermons and eventually came to faith in Jesus Christ. We will be forever grateful to the "Lunch Angels" of First Korean Presbyterian Church for wooing him into the kingdom of heaven through his stomach! After becoming a believer, he looked back and saw God’s "invisible hands" at work throughout his life, most notably during the terrible battle at the Naktong River, when he asked God to take his life but spare his family’s. It was there that he had a vision of a large white cross and a man dressed in white who beckoned for him to follow him. In retrospect, he believed this was Jesus. His new faith transformed him into a happier and more peaceful person than he had ever been, and his last decade was his best. Aside from his family, his post-retirement passions included Korean dramas, St. Louis Cardinals baseball and eating astounding quantities of good food.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Chae In Suk (killed in the Korean War), Chae Eui Suk, Chae Eun Suk and Chae Jung Hee. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, his children and their spouses (Dana Chai, Dr. John Brineman and Mark Mulkerin), ten grand children and three great grandchildren. He has also remained close to his extended Korean family, both in Korea and the United States.
The funeral service and reception will be held at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 12415 Cantrell Road in Little Rock at 10:30 am on Saturday, July 29. Kyong Suk’s ashes will be interred in the columbarium there as well.
We are deeply indebted to Hospice Home Care for their professional and compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Korean Presbyterian Church (4821 S. University Ave., Little Rock, AR 72209) or Hospice Home Care (https://www.tributeoflife.org/donate/).
To hear Kyong Suk’s stories in his own words, please click the link below to find a series of videotaped interviews created by his daughter Denise and son-in-law, Mark Mulkerin.
https://youtu.be/WbirJOOH3Qo
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