# Joungwon Alex Kim Harvard College (1956–1957); B.S. (1962) from Columbia University; M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1967) from Johns Hopkins University; J.D. (1973) from Harvard Law School ![Kim portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/2025-08/Kim%20portrait.jpeg?h=3d8c420c&itok=zwzIw9U_) Joungwon Alex Kim (Kim Chŏng-wŏn, 김정원, 金正源, meaning “Correct Origin,” 1936-2023)[\[1\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn1) was one of the first Koreans to receive a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and practice as an attorney on Wall Street. Kim was born on December 13, 1936, in Seoul, Korea, to Kim In-ch’o (김인초 1916–1999) and Kim Sun-hyŏn (김순현 1910–1982).[\[2\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn2) He was the eldest son in a family of seven children. Kim initially attended Kyodong Elementary School during the Japanese occupation of Korea but later transferred to Ch’angsin Elementary School following Korea’s liberation from Japan in August 1945. Kim developed a passion for public speaking and sports at a young age. He participated in his first speech contest while in sixth grade of elementary school, and joined the soccer, handball, and ice-skating teams upon entering Kyŏnggi Middle School (Kyŏnggi Chunghakkyo), one of the oldest and most prestigious middle schools in Korea, in 1949. The Korean War broke out, however, during Kim’s second year of middle school, and the school closed. Kim’s father, who was then working as the vice-president of a news agency called Chungang T’ongsinsa, left for Pusan for work while Kim, his mother, and his siblings stayed in Seoul. They initially remained there throughout the North Korean occupation of Seoul and the first recapture of Seoul by U.S. and its allies in September 1950 but later evacuated to Taegu in April 1951 as the war dragged on. In Taegu, Kim began attending United Middle School in Taegu for Seoul Refugees (Taegu Yŏnhap Chunghakkyo), where he became student council president. Kim was also selected as the local battalion leader of the Korean National Defense Student Defense Corps.[\[3\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn3) ![Joungwon Kim Family photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-08/37%20%EA%B0%80%EC%A1%B1%EC%82%AC%EC%A7%84.jpg?itok=fIYxeB7V) The Kim Family (from left to right: sister Kim Sŏng-hŭi, mother Kim In-ch'o, Joungwon Kim, and father Kim Sun-hyŏn). Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion.Following the end of the war, Kim and his family returned to Seoul where Kim attended Kyŏnggi High School. While in high school, Kim was selected to compete in the 1954 National Speech Competition for Students, where he gave a winning speech on democratization. This attracted the attention of then-assemblyman and future-president Kim Young Sam (1929–2015), who met with Kim and encouraged him in his studies. Years later, the two became in-laws when Joungwon Kim’s younger brother married Kim Young Sam’s youngest sister. As a high school student, Kim also came to befriend a Canadian journalist named Bill Boss (1917–2007) while working part-time at Boss’s office. During his interactions with Boss, Kim learned Harvard was the “best university in the United States” and that attending a private prep school such as Phillips Exeter would help his likelihood of admission.[\[4\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn4) Determined to receive a Harvard education, Kim applied to Phillips Exeter Academy while in junior year of high school; Baik Nak-Joon (Paek Nak-chun, 1895–1985), then president of Yonsei University, administered an exam and conducted an interview on behalf of Phillips Exeter. Kim received an acceptance letter a few months later from the school offering him a full scholarship. Thus, Kim became the first Korean to enter Phillips Exeter Academy.[\[5\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn5) On June 18, 1955, Kim boarded a Northwest Airlines flight that took off from an airfield in Yŏŭido. He stopped in Tokyo, Honolulu, San Francisco, Chicago, and Newark, before finally arriving in Boston on July 6 for summer school. Less than a year later, in March 1956, Kim was accepted into both Harvard and Yale. Despite Yale offering him a four-year scholarship, Kim chose to enroll at Harvard that fall, where he was assigned a first-year dorm on the third floor of Hollis Hall.[\[6\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn6) In the spring semester, Kim was elected to the student council.[\[7\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn7) This news reached Korea and was proudly mentioned in a June 1957 letter sent by Francesca Donner Rhee, then-first lady of Korea, to Mrs. Walter Dowling, the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Korea. After completing his first year at Harvard, Kim spent the following summer working as an intern at *The Boston Globe*. While working that summer, Kim was shocked to read an article published by Ray Falk titled, “Korea a Costly Den of Thieves, Yanks Discover,” which characterized Koreans as an immoral, lawless people.[\[8\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn8) As a rebuttal, Kim published a 1200-word piece in the July 15 issue of *The Boston Globe*, titled, “Korean at Harvard Asks Fair Play, Upholds Honesty of His Countrymen.”[\[9\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn9) This exchange became widely covered by the media back in Korea,[\[10\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn10) and Kim began receiving various telegrams and letters from Koreans including You Chan Yang (Yang Yu-ch’an, 1897–1975), then Korea’s ambassador to the United States, who informed Kim President Syngman Rhee had taken an interest in Kim’s rebuttal and requested that Kim make a visit to Washington D.C.[\[11\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn11) To satisfy this request, Kim borrowed a friend’s car and began a drive to Washington D.C. on August 28. Kim, however, encountered heavy rain and poor visibility due to fog that day and got into a serious car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike that led to fractures in his skull, spine, and shoulders and Kim entering a coma for a week. ![Kim in his Dorm Room](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-08/Kim%20in%20his%20Dorm%20Room.jpg?itok=v-QLboYb) Kim in his dorm room with posters for his student council campaign in 1956. Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion. ![Kim student council](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-08/Kim%20student%20council.jpg?itok=SWTC6hIB) Kim's plans for improving student government during his campaign. Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion.Kim was transported to Elizabeth General Hospital, where he was visited by his mother and younger brother Changwon (Kim Ch’ang-wŏn) who flew in from Korea thanks to support from President Rhee. Given the significant injuries he suffered, Kim did not fully recover in time to resume his studies at Harvard. While recuperating in New York, Kim was introduced to a philosophy major at Barnard College named Carolyn Campbell who aided Kim in his recovery. Campbell later proposed to Kim and, despite vehement opposition from her mother, the two got married at a Korean church in Manhattan in 1960. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was born a year after in 1961 at Cornell Hospital. While living in New York, Kim began taking courses at Columbia University, from which he eventually graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1962. While Kim and Campbell got divorced more than two decades later, Kim always regarded Campbell as a “great human being” and a savior in his life who remained an “irreplaceable close friend” to him.[\[12\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn12) ![Kim and his family](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-08/Kim%20and%20his%20family.jpeg?itok=v36IsWiB) Kim with his daughter, Elizabeth, and wife, Carolyn Campbell. Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion. In 1963, Kim was accepted into the master’s program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, where he worked as a research assistant to Professor Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (1923–1966) and taught first-year students as a lecturer.[\[13\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn13) After earning his master’s degree from Johns Hopkins in 1965, he pursued his Ph.D. in political science at the same institution. In his June 1966 letter to Mr. Gregory Henderson (1922–1988), Kim reported that he had just finished his written comprehensive exams in five fields: International Politics; Comparative Politics; International Organization; American Diplomacy; and Asian Area Studies. In the same letter, he expressed his intention to write his dissertation on leadership techniques in developing countries.[\[14\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn14) He completed his dissertation in 1967, titled “A Comparative Study of the Role of a Leader in Political Development: Syngman Rhee in South Korea and Kim Il-Sung in North Korea,” which reflects this research trajectory. After receiving his Ph.D., Kim went on to work brief stints as an assistant professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and an associate professor at Finch College and Rutgers University. In 1969, Kim applied to Harvard Law School after learning about the lack of Korean lawyers familiar with American corporate and investment law. Upon being accepted, he left his professorship to pursue a legal education. While attending law school in 1971, Kim helped a future-president of Korea, Kim Dae-jung (1924–2009), with a visit to the United States by serving as his personal interpreter and arranging for him to meet influential figures in Boston and Washington D.C. Also, as a law student and a senior fellow of Harvard University East Asian Research Center, Kimpublished a book titled, *Divided Korea: The Politics of Development, 1945-1972* (Harvard University Asia Center, 1975),which analyzed North-South relations in Korea based on sources he collected from the Library of Congress and Japan over the years. While the work was originally written in English, it was translated into Korean with the help of Professor Kim Ke Soo (Kim Kye-su) from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and published by Ilchogak Publishers in 1976 with a somewhat ambiguous title *Han’guk chŏngch’i palchŏnnon* (*Political Development in Korea*). While initially banned from distribution in Korea during the military dictatorship, the same book with a different title, *Pundan Han’guksa* (*Divided Korea*), was republished in Korea in 1985, which was well received. ![1971 Kennedy and Kim](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-08/1971%20Kennedy%20and%20Kim.jpg?itok=lAzlN28d) Kim and Edward M. Kennedy in 1971. Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion.Kim graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1973 and joined the Wall Street law firm Mudge Rose Guthrie & Alexander in September of that same year; the U.S. edition of *The Korea Times* labeled Kim as “the first Asian lawyer of the major law firm.”[\[15\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn15) Kim’s wife Carolyn likewise attended and graduated from Harvard Law School herself, and began practicing as an attorney at a New York law firm. At his firm, Kim advised Korean businesses’ joint ventures in the United States in industries such as steel, food, and cosmetics, as well as Korean construction companies seeking to secure construction projects in the Middle East. Kim passed the bar, and was licensed to practice law, in New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania. After gaining experience working at his prior firm, Kim co-founded a law firm with close friends and often took on cases involving Korean immigrants. The democratization movement in Korea during the late 1980s prompted Kim to return to Korea, where he was appointed as a Special Adviser to Kim Young Sam. Being a proficient English speaker, Kim was able to assist Korea’s opposition parties coalition in engaging with international media outlets by serving as an interpreter and spokesperson to foreign journalists. Kim also went on a multi-month campaign for democratization with Kim Young Sam throughout Korea, visiting cities including Kwangju, Kunsan, Pusan, Taejŏn, and Taegu. He renounced his U.S. citizenship and regained Korean nationality when he returned to Korea in 1987. Following Kim Young Sam’s election to the presidency in 1992, Kim was appointed as deputy director of international affairs for the Agency for National Security Planning on March 4, 1993. On March 6, however, the *Chosun Ilbo* ran a front page story raising issues with Kim’s nationality and appointment to the position.[\[16\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn16) Concerned that fighting over the allegation could potentially harm Kim Young Sam’s new administration, Kim resigned from his first post.[\[17\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn17) Public opinion, however, eventually quieted down, and Kim became appointed as the Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January of 1994. As ambassador, Kim visited Palau in March of 1995 on behalf of Korea and established diplomatic relations between the two countries. Kim also served as president of the Korea Foundation beginning in 1995 and led efforts to establish Korean galleries in museums around the world. Kim retired from public service in February 1998 and became a professor in the Department of Public Administration at Sejong University. Kim went on to serve as an arbitrator for the International Court of Arbitration and the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. From 1992 to 1998, Kim served as the president of the Harvard Club of Korea. Kim always considered Harvard his “spiritual home” and liked to wear a crimson scarf in winter as it reminded him of the university.[\[18\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn18) He established the “Joungwon A. Kim, JD’73 Endowed Scholarship Fund” at the Harvard Law School to provide financial assistance to students. He passed away on January 25, 2023, leaving behind a legacy of service to the Korean American community and to the Republic of Korea. Born during the colonial period when his homeland was “so small and so impoverished that everyone thought it was hopeless,” Kim in his life witnessed Korea rise to become “one of the top ten economic powers in the world and… a liberal democracy”; for Kim, this was truly “a dream come true.”[\[19\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_edn19) ![Harvard College Alumni Meeting 1997](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-08/214%20%ED%95%98%EB%B2%84%EB%93%9C%EB%8F%99%EC%B0%BD%ED%9A%8C%20%EC%A1%B0%EC%B0%AC%20%EB%AA%A8%EC%9E%84.jpg?itok=xdagywxN) Kim giving a speech at the Harvard Club of Korea in 1997. Courtesy of Elizabeth Kim Mannion. Written by Andrew Young Jun Kim, 8/1/2025 [\[1\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref1) This biography is largely based on Joungwon Alex Kim’s autobiography titled *My Dearest Dreams: A Luminous Chronicle of a Life’s Contributions to the History of modern Korea* (Carlsbad, CA: Hollym International Corp., 2025). For a Korean version of this autobiography, see Kim Chŏng-wŏn, *Kŭt’orok irugo sip’ŭn kkum: kkŭnim ŏmnŭn paeum kwa tojŏn ŭro chŭngmyŏnghan sidae ŭi kirok* (Seoul: Hallim ch’ulp’ansa, 2025). All references in this essay are from the English edition. We would like to thank Dr. Myungshin Hong, president of the Aging Communication Center in South Korea for providing us with copies of these books. The photos in this biography were provided by Elizabeth Kim Mannion. We are grateful for her assistance, as well as for Dr. Hong’s help in facilitating the process. [\[2\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref2) Kim’s father was a journalist, publisher, and poet. For more information about his father, see Kim Chŏng-wŏn, “Kunbu tokchae wihae ilhanŭn kŭ nalbut’ŏ nŏ nŭn nae adŭl i anida” \[You Are Not My Son from the Day You Work for the Military Dictatorial Government\], in *Sindonga*, July 2, 2004. . [\[3\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref3) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 20. Kwangjai Park, a member of Harvard College class of 1958, also attended Kyŏnggi Middle School from 1948. See Park’s biography for more information about the militarized nature of the school during this time period. “Kwangjai Park” in Korean Alumni Biographies Project: . [\[4\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref4) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 33. [\[5\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref5) Ibid, p. 40. Kim recalls that, due to the poor educational conditions in postwar Korea, about 250 of the 470 classmates at Kyŏnggi High School studied abroad, either before or after completing their high school education in Korea. [\[6\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref6) Ibid, p. 57. Kim recalls that there were less than five students from Korea at Harvard when he attended there. The Harvard Korean Alumni biographies Project has identified several Korean and Korean American students at Harvard College in the late 1950s, including Jong Wook Ra (‘1957), Kwangjai Park (‘1958), Young-il Lim (‘1958), Samuel H. Kim (‘1958), Yersu Kim (‘1959), and Jae C. Park (‘1959). [\[7\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref7) “Freshman Elections,” in the *Harvard Crimson*, May 14, 1957. . [\[8\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref8) Ray Falk, “Korea a Costly Den of Thieves, Yanks Discover,” *The Boston Globe*, July 10, 1957. [\[9\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref9) Joungwon Kim, “Korean at Harvard Asks Fair Play, Upholds Honesty of His Countrymen,” *The Boston Globe*, July 15, 1957. [\[10\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref10) “Korean Student Rebuts NANA ‘Thieves’ Charge,” in *The Korea* Times, August 1, 1957 (page 2 of 4). (1957, Aug 01). Retrieved from *The Korea Times* *(1950-2016)*: [http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/historical-newspap…](http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/historical-newspapers/august-1-1957-page-2-4/docview/1902466775/se-2) [\[11\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref11) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 78 [\[12\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref12) Ibid, p. 149. [\[13\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref13) Linebarger was one of the founding members of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. For more information about Linebarger, see “Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger” in *Duke 100*: . [\[14\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref14) “Joungwon A. Kim’s Letter to Gregory Henderson,” June 20, 1966, in Gregory Henderson, *Papers on Korea*, [Box: 7, Folder: IJ (Mixed Materials)](https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/25/top_containers/264120), Harvard-Yenching Library. Hendersen was Senior Training Officer of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research at the time. [\[15\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref15) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 129. [\[16\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref16) Ibid, p. 151. See also, “Kim Chŏng-wŏn An’gibu Ch’ajang / Kukchŏk kusŏlsu” \[Controversy over Nationality of Joungwon Kim, deputy director of international affairs for the Agency for National Security Planning\], in *Chosŏn ilbo*, March 6, 1993. [https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html\_dir/1993/03/06/1993030670303.html](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/1993/03/06/1993030670303.html). [\[17\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref17) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 153. See also, “Kim Chŏng-won An’gibu ch’ajang wae ot pŏsŏtna” \[Why Deputy Director Joungwon Kim Step Down\], in *Sisa chŏnŏl* 1865 (July 12, 1993). . [\[18\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref18) Kim, *My Dearest Dreams*, p. 173. [\[19\]](//F24747BC-5D5E-433C-88E4-9587A32C2054#_ednref19) Ibid, p. 213. In recognition of Kim’s historical role in modern Korea, his family has donated 682 items, including various documents, books, and photographs, to several libraries and museums in Korea. --- **Bibliography** Falk, Ray. “Korea a Costly Den of Thieves, Yanks Discover.” *The Boston Globe*, July 10, 1957. “Freshman Elections.” *Harvard Crimson*, May 14, 1957. . “Joungwon A. Kim’s Letter to Gregory Henderson,” June 20, 1966. Gregory Henderson, *Papers on Korea*, [Box: 7, Folder: IJ (Mixed Materials)](https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/25/top_containers/264120), Harvard-Yenching Library. Kim Chŏng-wŏn. “Kunbu tokchae wihae ilhanŭn kŭ nalbut’ŏ nŏ nŭn nae adŭl i anida” \[You Are Not My Son from the Day You Work for the Military Dictatorial Government\]. *Sindonga*, July 2, 2004. . Kim Chŏng-wŏn. *Kŭt’orok irugo sip’ŭn kkum: kkŭnim ŏmnŭn paeum kwa tojŏn ŭro chŭngmyŏnghan sidae ŭi kirok*. Seoul: Hallim ch’ulp’ansa, 2025. “Kim Chŏng-wŏn An’gibu Ch’ajang / Kukchŏk kusŏlsu” \[Controversy over Nationality of Joungwon Kim, deputy director of international affairs for the Agency for National Security Planning\]. *Chosŏn ilbo*, March 6, 1993.[https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html\_dir/1993/03/06/1993030670303.html](https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/1993/03/06/1993030670303.html). “Kim Chŏng-won An’gibu ch’ajang wae ot pŏsŏtna” \[Why Deputy Director Joungwon Kim Step Down\]. *Sisa chŏnŏl*, July 12, 1993. . Kim, Joungwon Alex. *My Dearest Dreams: A Luminous Chronicle of a Life’s Contributions to the History of Modern Korea*. Carlsbad, CA: Hollym International Corp., 2025. Kim, Joungwon. “Korean at Harvard Asks Fair Play, Upholds Honesty of His Countrymen.” *The Boston Globe,* July 15, 1957. “Korean Student Rebuts NANA ‘Thieves’ Charge.” *The Korea Times*, August 1, 1957, . “Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger.” *Duke 100*. *The Harvard Korean Alumni Biographies Project and the Project website are copyright © 2024 President and Fellows of Harvard College and/or its licensors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is not permitted.* *Please contact Executive Director Susan Laurence (*[*susan\_laurence@harvard.edu*](mailto:susan_laurence@harvard.edu)*) for any concerns or questions*. - ## Decade [1950-1960](/decade/1950-1960) [1970-1980](/decade/1970-1980) - ## Korean Alumni [Harvard College](/korean-alumni-decade/harvardcollege) [Graduate School of Arts and Sciences](/korean-alumni-decade/gsas)