Sanghwan Kim

Sanghwan Kim, 81, born on March 1, 1941, in South Korea, passed away March 6, 2022. He resided in Granada Hills, CA at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California.


Eulogy by Joseph Kim, grandson


Good afternoon everyone and once again, thank you for coming to my grandfather's funeral. As much honor I would want to give to him in his passing, Kim Sang Hwan was not particularly an outstanding person from my perspective. He did not make much of a significant impact on the world and it would be a white lie to say that the world will miss him. However, there is more to a life than just what he or she contributes to the world and although the world may not miss him, we certainly will. My grandfather may not be much to the world but he is definitely significant to me.

Being a sophomore in high school means handling my grades in my classes like taking care of 7 different children. Well, I wouldn't know what that feels like… But because of my studies and the additional extracurriculars I do, I never really knew what relaxing was. I never really knew what fun was either. I was always in a cycle of worry and shut myself out of any fun activities because I had to focus on my academics. After my grandfather passed in front of me, I started to think, "what did he want for me when he left?" Then I recalled whatever experiences that I had with him. He'd jokingly hand over a shot of soju or some 막걸리 and with a comical look on his face, he'd ask me if I want some. Or if I wanted some hot spicy food with the same whimsical smile. One significant core memory you could say of my grandfather is going hiking in Limekiln Park with him when I was little. I always loved to throw rocks in the pond and me and my grandparents called this activity 퐁당퐁당. He would always gather the rocks and give me them to throw into the pond. It's like the thing that connected me and my grandfather the most is having fun. His playful personality taught me one particular lesson and a lesson I needed at the time. It's the lesson to take it easy sometimes, life where you're constantly working, or constantly worrying isn't a life worth living at all. Even, in the midst of the scolding and 잔소리 from my parents, I think I could find a reason to enjoy my life before I would one day pass.

Before I end this speech I would like to share one more lesson that I would learn from him. Before Kim Sang Hwan left for the hospital because of his critical condition, I was worried beyond comparison. I walked up to him and asked him "괜찮을거에요?" "Are you going to be okay" and he said with a calm and composed expression "걱정하지마" Don't worry about me. "How could I not worry? He was being sent to the emergency room for pneumothorax treatment…" were the first words that I thought of after he said that. I can tell by this statement that even though things were not going well with him, he would never want to see me in discomfort. Even when he got back from the hospital to our home, he would be apologizing to me for being away for so long. My grandfather had an unreal selflessness and always wanted the best for me and my family. It's really saddening for me to only feel his love after he has passed away.

Although I regret not saying that I love him or that I'm thankful for him, my grandfather would not want me to live a life full of regrets. I understand that maybe the best thing that I can do for him as a grandson, is to simply be myself. So in return, I will continue to live my life to its fullest, the life that he would want me to enjoy. The life that he wished he could watch if he stayed alive. The life and the only life that I have. My grandfather would hate it if he saw me or my mom crying over his death. He would want us to take fulfillment in the little time we have. It does not mean that he is erased from our memories, but rather he is a distant star we could always reminisce about. A star we could look back on and he'd be giving us a wink from heaven.