Jae Min Roh

Jae Min Roh, 94, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and community and church leader, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in La Mirada, California on January 3, 2025. Mr. Roh was born on February 25, 1930 in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. 

After placing first in South Korea’s national college entrance exam, Mr. Roh received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in English from Seoul National University and continued his education in the United States with double master’s degrees in English and Library Sciences from the University of Southern California. Mr. Roh dedicated his life and career to education and teaching, starting as an English teacher at Sook Myung Girls’ High School and as a college English professor in Seoul for over a decade, including at Kyung Hee University. After he immigrated to the United States in 1970, he completed his studies and joined the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) where he served as Branch Librarian. In that capacity, he introduced Korean books to the LAPL and through the bookmobile system. He also spearheaded the renaming of the library serving the Korean community to the Pio Pico Koreatown Library, helping to establish and officially recognize Koreatown as a distinct community within Los Angeles. He also spearheaded the creation of the first public school Korean immersion programs in the United States in the 1990s through the Los Angeles Unified School District, co-founded and chaired the Korean School Association of America, and established the Korean Language Education Scholarship Foundation of USA. His contributions garnered numerous awards for his community service, including the City of Los Angeles Career Service Award awarded by Mayor Tom Bradley and The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award awarded by President Biden. 

A loving husband, father, and grandfather, he is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Chung Choon Roh, his children and their spouses Sirk and Stephanie Roh, Carolyn and Frank Summers, and Arrie Roh Park, his grandchildren Christopher Summers, Nicholas Park, Anna Yuni Park, Karinne Summers, James Park, and Katelyn Roh, and extended family in the United States and South Korea.

(Donations be made to the Korean Language Education Scholarship Foundation of USA [https://www.klesf.org/], reflecting his lifelong commitment to Korean education and the Korean community.)