Robert Kim

Robert Wan Kim Obituary

May 5, 1936 - October 6, 2024
Robert W. Kim, beloved husband, father, brother and uncle, passed away peacefully at home in

Bethesda, Maryland on Sunday, October 6 at the age of 88 years. He died with his wife and son by his

side and the knowledge that his family loved him and that he would be reunited with his mother in the

afterlife.

Robert was born on May 5, 1936, in Seoul, Korea. He attended and graduated from Bae Jae high

school, and then joined the Korean Air Force Academy for his required military service. Afterwards, he

attended Seoul National University where he studied to become a dentist. During the Korean War, he

befriended several American soldiers who taught him about Elvis Presley and rock & roll, and instilled

in him the belief of the American dream which inspired him to want to go to the U.S. In early 1964, he

immigrated to the United States with $5 in his pocket by taking a cargo ship, and arrived in San

Francisco, California. He trekked across the U.S. by bus and eventually made his way to New York

City, worked at the Guggenheim Dental Clinic, and lived in Yorkville, Manhattan. He reunited with his

future wife, Sunnie, whom he met in Korea before he left for the U.S., in New York City. They were

married in New York City Hall on December 31, 1965.
Soon after being married, Robert continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City, and

completed his graduate degree in dentistry at Howard University in Washington, D.C. After graduating

in 1970, he practiced as a dentist in Buffalo, New York at the VA Medical Center for two years,

providing a much-needed service to the armed services whom he admired as a teenager in Korea. He

then was transferred to the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and started to teach dentistry at

Howard University. In 1975, he started his private practice. In 1985, he rejoined as a dentist for the VA

Medical Center since his heart was with the U.S. military service members whom he recalled fondly in

his youth. He retired in 1996.
In retirement, Robert found his passion in understanding his ancestry. He discovered that his

grandfather, Keun Be Kim, was one of the first Koreans to come to the United States in 1903, and that

his mother was one of the very first Catholics in Korea (her name was Maria). He received his

honorary degree from the Korean Air Force Academy in 2009. He was baptized as a Catholic in March

2016, and confirmed in November 2016.
Robert is survived by his wife Sunnie, and his children, Sandra, Joseph and Patricia, as well as his

granddaughters, Olivia, Sophia, Louisa and Akira, his brother Min Kong, and his sisters Un Soon and

Jung Soon; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents Sae Chang Kim

and Maria Yoon, and sisters Young Ja and Jung Hee.
We kindly ask that no flowers or food be sent to the family. We are in the process of setting up a

memorial fund to honor his memory to support St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church.