StoryCorps: Ronin Su

From: StoryCorps
Series: StoryCorps
Length: 02:23

Ronin Su remembers his uncle, who was murdered in 2005. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: StoryCorps: Ronin Su
From: StoryCorps

Su_small Jae Sang Kim was shot in the back during a robbery at the grocery store he owned. He died shortly after. Here, his nephew, Ronin Su, talks with his girlfriend about his uncle's death. Su's family worked tirelessly to find justice for Jae Sang Kim, raising a large reward for information about the crime and distributing tens of thousands of fliers to find his killer. It seems everywhere they take the fliers, somebody recognizes his photo and fondly remembers the man who owned Song's Grocery. "Only in his absence does it become revealed what an integral part [of the community] he was," Su says. Ronin Su was interviewed at a StoryCorps Mobilebooth in Los Angeles, California.

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Piece Description

Jae Sang Kim was shot in the back during a robbery at the grocery store he owned. He died shortly after. Here, his nephew, Ronin Su, talks with his girlfriend about his uncle's death. Su's family worked tirelessly to find justice for Jae Sang Kim, raising a large reward for information about the crime and distributing tens of thousands of fliers to find his killer. It seems everywhere they take the fliers, somebody recognizes his photo and fondly remembers the man who owned Song's Grocery. "Only in his absence does it become revealed what an integral part [of the community] he was," Su says. Ronin Su was interviewed at a StoryCorps Mobilebooth in Los Angeles, California.

Broadcast History

NPR's Morning Edition 6/9/06

Transcript

Ada: Ronin, can you tell me about Jae Sang Kim? Ronin: Jae Sang Kim was
my uncle. He was murdered on June 6th of 2005. He was old enough to
have been alive during the Korean War. And my mother, who is his older
sister, actually carried him in her arms while they ran for safety
behind South Korean lines. He wanted to be an artist of some kind, but I
think ultimately the demands of life caused him to have to run a grocery
store. And unfortunately, that's where he met his end. Ada: Tell me
about the day you found out? Ronin: I was actually not in the country, I
was traveling abroad and there was one email from my brother that said:
Uncle was shot and he passed away. And that's how I found out. Ada: How
did his death change the interactions between your family members?
Ronin: If you were a fly on the wall, you would have seen a lot of
grief, a lot of anger; but I think we've turned that...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

As StoryCorps criss-crosses the country, people have been talking about events that shape their lives. Today a young man reflects on one of those moments, a year after it happened. This is a story about Jae Sang <> Kim. He owned a grocery store in Atlanta. A year ago, while working at the store, he was shot in the back during a robbery and died. Kim's nephew, Ronin Su, recently talked about his uncle's death with his girlfriend, Ada Chan.

OUTRO:

Ronin Su with Ada Chan at StoryCorps. The murder of Uncle Jae Sang Kim remains unsolved. StoryCorps conversations are archived in the Library of Congress. To learn more about the project visit NPR dot org.