Kimchi and Eastern Kentucky soup beans: A farewell to the Shins

Mar. 30—Richmond residents Hee-Young and Un-Chol Shin are transitioning to a new stage of life, departing their long-time home of Richmond after enriching the community for nearly 50 years.

The couple were both born in what is now North Korea, with Hee-Young immigrating south before the Korean War and Un-Chol making his way south during the war, when he was only 16.

The pair met while working for the Church World Service.

Un-Chol went on to get his doctorate, attending Seoul National University on the way. Hee-Young, on the other hand, served their family as a dutiful working mother.

The couple endured a few moves before arriving in Richmond in 1977, finally making a home in Madison County with their two daughters.

Dr. Anne Brooks was the one who hired Un-Chol to teach humanities at Eastern Kentucky University.

She said, "Dr. Shin brought his exceptional personal qualities of thoughtfulness, kindness, understanding, and respect for others to all of his work at Eastern. To his teaching and professional relationships he brought his superior intellect and wisdom. Intellectually, Dr. Shin has always been a scholar, and in his heart, he was and is a poet."

Brooks quickly became friends with the family and was welcomed as a repeat dinner guest.

The Shin's daughter, Grace Geary, said, "They would dive deep into all of these philosophical conversations that my sister and I got to overhear at the dinner table. So how we think about life and all [Un-Chol] has gone through has been very influential."

Brooks recalled how beloved Un-Chol was by his students.

"These students saw his name on his door, and they loved him — he was a very popular teacher, a highly respected teacher — they called him Uncle Shin," she said.

After retiring in 2006, he went on to publish eight Korean poetry books.

Hee-Young also found herself branching out in Richmond, beginning an endeavor known as the Samaritan Singers, a volunteer group who sang a cappella to patients each Sunday morning at Pattie A. Clay Hospital.

First Presbyterian Pastor Curtis Christian also notes that Hee-Young sang "very faithfully, very religiously" in the church choir for the longest time. He said that she was also approached to sing at weddings and funerals because "her voice was so well appreciated."

According to Geary, Hee-Young always loved to sing and enjoyed using her voice to lift others.

In an interview with the Samaritan Singers, Yee-Young explained that she'd been doing so since her youth, when she would sing at hospitals in Korea.

She told the Register, "It's like these words say. 'I'm going to sing so God can use me.'"

When the group finally discontinued in 2012, Pattie A. Clay employees wrote farewell letters to the group.

Carol Rogers wrote, "Your singing was the highlight of my week. You will be missed."

Another employee, Rhonda Eden, noted, "I have always enjoyed your singing every Sunday morning over the years. I will miss all of you."

Geary expressed a similar sentiment about her mother's singing, saying, "Any way that she could help brighten somebody's somebody's day or just feel better with music...that was her intention, because that was something she felt that she could contribute."

Something she also contributed was a sense of identity to her daughters.

For example, Geary fondly recalled memories of her mother preparing large batches of kimchi and homemade tofu, as these things were not widely available in stores back then.

Hee-Young would grind the soybeans, dehydrate them, and grind them with "homemade contraptions."

Her daughter fondly said, "She was very creative and really scrappy."

These were sentiments also shared by the Shins' church family.

At their farewell party at First Presbyterian Church in Richmond, congregants affectionately and tearfully shared how "one of the nicest families they'd ever known" brought them joy.

One woman said she'll never forget Hee-Young teaching her how to make kimchi, warmly recalling how she would serve them alongside her Eastern Kentucky soup beans.

Over the years, Hee-Young kept track of congregants' birthdays so that she could call and sing happy birthday to them and Un-Chol taught an adult Sunday school program there for decades.

Pastor Christian said of the program, "It was a valued and well-appreciated element of our education program. So his departure from us...we're going to notice it greatly."

He added, "We're going to miss them greatly."

Brooks said of her friends' departure, "Now, we send [them] on a different path, a path that leads to family and another stage of retirement. They will not go without their friends, however, because we are sending with them on this new path our love and our deep appreciation for the best parts of themselves they are leaving with us."

The Richmond Register would like to wish a happy farewell to the Shinns, who are moving to Pennsylvania to be near their daughter, Joyce. Thank you for all the joy you brought to your friends in Richmond!