Jung Hoon Kim

It is with amazing grace that we send Kim Jung Hoon, also known as Mr. Martyr Kim, into Our Loving Father’s arms in heaven. Although he was in stable condition in the respiratory unit and had defied multiple doctors’ expectations that he would not survive post ICU admission in June 2025, he passed away on the afternoon of January 28th from respiratory issues.

Overcoming adversity is a quality that defined his life, grounded in his very early experiences as a young child in Korea. At the young age of just six, he joined his parents and thousands of other families who spent months walking from North to South Korea to escape the civil war. His family moved frequently during that time until his father passed away and thereafter his mother had his newborn brother, Kim Sae Hoon.

He spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years with his mother and younger brother living in local church community housing. He bravely left home to put himself through university, earning tuition money as a tutor. He later graduated from university with top honours specializing in education, while also studying music through his local churches. He went on to win a national music contest with his operatic vocal talent.

The stories of how he courted Surh Hae Suk, the neighbourhood elementary school teacher who would become the love of his life, are the stuff of legend. (But that’s for another time.) It wasn’t long before they were married and started their own family, bringing daughter Esther and son Stephen into the world.

As a young parent, he turned his focus to supporting his family. His career in Korea started with supporting roles to the then-Korean President’s Administration providing services in English translation, accounting, agriculture operations, and foreign trade negotiations.

As tenacious as ever, when he and the family arrived in Canada in 1976, Mr. Kim knocked on door after door canvassing his credentials with a goal of working for the Canadian government. Eventually he overcame the hurdles of formal government examinations and began a career as a civil servant at Revenue Canada and the Ministry of Transportation. When he retired 33 years later, he volunteered for the prison ministry, conducted his church choir, taught ESL, and performed emcee duties on behalf of the Canadian Korean Embassy.

Mr. Kim lived a life of adversity but never forgot the values that carried him through the early challenges. The family credo “Truth, Faith, and Endurance,” defined his life and continues to guide their lives to this day.

Mr. Kim is survived by his loving wife Angel, daughter Esther, son Stephen, daughter-in-law Eve-Anne, and grandson Jeremy. In Korea, he leaves behind his deceased brother’s wife Yoon Hyo-In, nephews Sang-Hyuen and Smith Min-Soo, as well as their wives Choi Eun-ae, Kong Eun-ju and four children Eun-min, Hye-min, Eun-Woo, Jin-woo.

He shared much laughter with his extended family. His sisters- and brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews across North America and Korea who will definitely miss his eccentric personality on display at family reunions.

Please join us for a celebration of his life on Thursday, February 5th at The Toronto Korean Presbyterian Church, 67 Scarsdale Road in North York. We will meet at 10:15am for the viewing, with the service following at 11am. A burial procession will follow the service, as well as a buffet lunch reception at 1:15pm.

Toronto Korean Presbyterian Church

67 Scarsdale Rd, North York, ON M3B 2R2

Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xYEz8X7ECfqxdNVg9?g_st=ic

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to (please see links below):

Diabetes Canada

Trillium Mississauga Hospital

Esther’s charity Teach to Fish Canada, providing education funds (for Esther’s friends)