Hang Jin Chun was born in Wonsan, North Korea on October 28, 1935. During the Korean War, his older brother and father emigrated to South Korea, leaving him, his mother, and other siblings in North Korea. In a dream, his grandfather told him to go to South Korea. Obedient to his elders, he stowed onto the SS Meredith, a cargo ship that abandoned all military supplies to evacuate 16,000 North Korean refugees.
He attended Dong-A University in Busan, South Korea, where he received his engineering degree. He met his wife, Pan Lei Yang in Busan. They had two daughters, Jung and Anne before he emigrated to the United States. Although he was educated and a polyglot (Korean, English, Russian, German, Japanese, and maybe Chinese, too), his English wasn’t good enough to be an engineer in the US. Most of his life, he owned grocery or carryout stores with his wife, working long hours, 364 days a year, without weekends off or vacations.
In his quest for a son, he ended up with three more daughters, Linda, Jeana, and Lilly. Due to his long work hours, he was an absentee father, but upon retirement, he was able to lavish his time and love on his grandchildren: Sophia and Daniel Longo, Leo and Calvin Matthes, Colin and Colton Staneart, and Mila Chun. He enjoyed his grandchildren and reading. He was an avid fisherman and tennis fan. He would want to be remembered as a smart, fun and funny guy.
Although his hearing was shot and his memory was suspect at times, he lived at home until the end with the care of his daughter Lilly and his granddaughter Mila. He had a massive brain bleed in his sleep and was transported to AdventHealth Orlando, where he died peacefully a day later on April 28, 2023. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, and his sister Hannah, all who will remember him fondly.
A graveside service will be at 11 am on May 20th at Highland Memory Gardens on 3329 East Semoran Boulevard, Apopka, Florida, followed by a reception at 12:30 pm at the Beautiful Church of Orlando on 7850 Bates Road, Orlando, Florida.
