Star actress donates for Korean War memorial in California

Kim Ji-mee, right, poses with Joseph Pak, the secretary-general of the Orange County Korean War Memorial Committee, at the planned site for the memorial in Fullerton, Calif., in this photo provided by the committee. Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Kim Ji-mee, one of Korea's most prolific actresses of all time, has donated $20,000 (22 million won) for the construction of a Korean War Memorial in California, according to the Orange County Korean War Memorial Committee.

The committee said, Tuesday (local time), Kim, 80, who is now living in the United States, visited Orange County, where the monument will be set up in Fullerton, and gave the money to the organization.

According to the committee, the current estimate for the project is $720,000 and they broke ground last August, with the building to be completed by September. The monument carries extra significance as it will display the name of all 36,492 American soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War, including 2,611 from the state of California.

“I am honored to participate in a patriotic project to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives during the Korean War for the freedom and democracy of Korea,” Kim said.

“As a citizen of Korea, whenever I think about the tragedy of the war, I have respect and appreciation for war veterans.”

Kim began her acting career in 1957, starring in hundreds of movies and was sometimes referred to as “Korea's Elizabeth Taylor” for her looks and popularity as well as a succession of marriages and divorces.

Along with her acting roles, she also worked as a producer and film planner. She retired from the film industry in 2000 after leading an organization of those involved in it. Since 2002, she has stayed in Pasadena, Calif.

According to the committee in charge of designing, constructing, and overseeing the memorial, it will consist of five stars, each inscribed with about 7,500 names.

“The Korean War is known as the forgotten war, but for the families, friends and communities that lost loved ones, the Korean War is never a forgotten war,” Joseph Pak, the committee secretary-general, said in his fundraising post for the memorial, last year.