HooJung Jones Kennedy
HooJung Jones Kennedy: Don’t Let Them Be Forgotten
On Christmas Eve 1950, thousands of refugees were evacuated from the northern port of Hungnam, Korea, by U.S. vessels, and settled in South Korea. One of these married a Korean soldier and later the family emigrated to Canada. With them came their daughter, HooJung.
HooJung graduated with honours from McMaster University, and has served many years as President and CEO of the Hamilton Folk Arts Heritage Council. During her tenure she organized a number of festivals and other activities that were very successful in keeping the city of Hamilton greatly “on the map.” One function was as a community partner to the highly acclaimed Hamilton Military Tattoo. Over the years, the “It’s Our Festival” was rated among the top 50 in Canada and has attracted 6.5 million attendees.
In 2002 she established the “World Cup Canada Soccer Festival” to mark the Cup appearance in her native Korea. As an author and illustrator, she produced and distributed an acclaimed book for children, O Canada, which introduced young immigrants to the Canadian way of life. The YWCA presented her with the Women of Distinction Award Certificate in 2010 and 2011, one of the many honours she has thus far received.
Her life was changed one day when she read an article in a local paper about a Korean War veteran. Like many immigrants from Korea, she and her family approached Korea veterans with gratitude and respect, and HooJung contacted the vet. It was the start of meaningful decades of dedication.
She made contact with the Hamilton unit of the Korea Veterans Association (KVA) and her organizational skills were soon put to work in helping arrange a number of commemorative and other events. She was made an honorary member of the Association, which strictly limits the numbers of non-veteran members. Her presence at KVA events across Canada was a regular occurrence — her traditional dress was a great stand out (although she also proudly wears her KVA blazer).
One of her most noteworthy achievements was co-writing the book Canadians Our Heroes: 1950-1953 Korean War. After a visit to the Hamilton Military Museum she was shocked to find that no reference was made to the Canadians who served in the Korean War, despite the fact that over 300 Hamiltonians served there.
Together with WWII and Korea veteran Tom Somers, HooJung gathered a short history of the Korean War, collected reminiscences and photographs from veterans, and produced “then and now” photos of area Korean War veterans. Then she translated the entire work into Korean. The handsome hardcover publication was distributed to libraries, schools and museums across Canada, as well as to veterans. Again, HooJung was instrumental in the raising the necessary funds to enable this project.
Soldiers were not the only veterans remembered. A steely “naval veteran” of the Korean War was another object of her more than 15,500 hours of volunteer effort. As a director and fundraiser for the Friends of HMCS Haida, she was successful in saving the renowned vessel from a scrapyard fate to its honoured place in Hamilton Harbour. As part of the Memorial Committee, she was responsible for the erection in 2014 of a Korean War naval memorial, besides the WWII memorial, in Burlington, Ontario.
HooJung is well known internationally. When wintering in Florida with her husband, Don, she is active in Royal Canadian Legion branches and the U.S. Korea Veterans chapters, where she is often called upon to make presentations on behalf of the Korean authorities. Her work for veterans has been recognized by the Minister of Veterans Affairs Award; the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation’s Legion of Honour; the Queen’s Jubilee Medal; the Republic of Korea Medal of Honor — she is one of only two Canadians to receive this award; a Special Commemoration Award Certificate from U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; and the Ontario Volunteer Award Certificate.
She is renowned for her hospitality towards veterans. Before leaving for Florida last fall, she organized and hosted a buffet luncheon to over two hundred diners in appreciation of local veterans and supporters; on another occasion she prepared and served over 300 Korean-style dinners to Canadian and U.S. veterans in Florida.
I asked HooJung Jones Kennedy if she had a message for future generations. She said simply, “We owe so much to our veterans — don’t let them be forgotten!”
