Lee, K. W. (Kyung Won), 1928-

K.W. Lee worked 40 years as an investigative reporter for several mainstream newspapes, most notably, the Sacramento Union. He founded and edited Koreatown, the first national English language Korean American newspaper (1979-1982) and edited The Korea Times English Edition in Los Angeles (1990-1992). In 1978, K.W. Lee galvanized the Asian American community with his investigative series on the Chol Soo Lee case in the Sacramento Union.

From the description of Papers, 1973-1983. (University of California, Davis). WorldCat record id: 54672265

Biography

Biographical Narrative

K. W. Lee was born in Kaesong, Korea in 1928. He came to the United States as a student in 1950 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from West Virginia University in 1953. He continued his education at the University of Illinois, Urbana, where he earned an MA in Journalism in 1955. In his first professional job, Lee served as the City Hall reporter with the Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News from 1956 to 1957. He became a staff reporter for the Charleston (WV) Gazette from 1958 to 1970.

In 1970, K.W. Lee moved to Sacramento, California to become an investigative reporter for the Sacramento Union . For the next two decades Lee's investigations included corruption in the Sacramento Housing Authority, benefits given to legislators and other state officials, welfare reform, the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant, poverty, and the prison system. His reporting led to new legislation and numerous civic and political reforms. In 1977, he gained national recognition for his investigation into the wrongful conviction of Chol Soo Lee. His articles sparked the first successful pan-Asian political movement and ultimately led to Chol Soo Lee's retrial and full acquittal. K.W. Lee retired from the Sacramento Union in 1990.

In 1979, K.W. Lee founded the first national English-language Korean American newspaper, Koreatown, which lasted until 1982. In 1990, at a time of rising tension between the African American and Korean American communities in Los Angeles and other cities, he launched and edited the Korea Times English Edition, based in Los Angeles. He received the John Anson Ford Award, for print media, by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission for his outstanding coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and "for promoting racial harmony...through journalism and community involvement." Though semi-retired, Lee continued to write for the Korean American community as a columnist for the Korea Times (English daily from 1995 to 1998 and Bi-lingual Edition from 2000 to 2001), Currents: Asian Pacific American newspaper serving Sacramento and Yolo Counties (2000 to 2003), and the KoreAm Journal (2002 to 2003).

K.W. Lee began teaching journalism while still in West Virginia at West Virginia State College in 1969. He became a part-time journalism lecturer at California State University, Sacramento from 1974 to 1979. In 1998, Lee taught investigative writing at UC Davis. He taught investigative journalism at UCLA in 2000 and 2001, and in 2001 he taught investigative journalism at UC Santa Barbara and interethnic studies at UC Riverside. And throughout his career, Lee devoted countless hours to mentoring hundreds of Korean Americans.

Over the course of his career, K.W. Lee received numerous regional and national awards for his work. These include the Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism (1982), the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Journalists Association (1987), and the Free Spirit Award from the Freedom Forum (1994). In 1997, he was inducted into the Newseum's News History Gallery.

• 1928: Born in Kaesong, Korea
• 1946 - 1949 : Major in English Literature, Korea University, Seoul
• 1950: Came to USA
• 1951 - 1955 : Editor, The Korean Messenger, an English language periodical for Korean students
• 1953: BS Journalism, West Virginia University, Morgantown News Editor, The Daily Athenaeum, the WVU student newspaper Research Assistant, Institute of Communications, University of Illinois, Urbana
• 1955: MS Journalism, University of Illinois, Urbana
• 1956 - 1957 : City Hall Reporter, The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News
• 1958 - 1970 : Staff Reporter, The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette
• 1960: Married, Peggy N. Flowers of Bluefield, VA
• 1966 - 1967 : Mark Ethridge Fellowship, Ford Foundation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• 1968: Urban Service Award, U. S. Office of Economic Opportunity, for outstanding coverage of the poor.
• 1969 - 1970 : Part-time journalism instructor, West Virginia State College Institute faculty advisor to The Yellow Jacket, WVSC student newspaper
• 1970: Investigative Reporter, Sacramento Union Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for outstanding community service Editorial Citation, California Newspaper Publishers Association, Best Article or Best Series, for "Welfare Mess."
• 1971: First Place, Enterprise Category, California-Nevada AP Writing Contest Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for outstanding initiative and originality in reporting.
• 1972: Second Place, Enterprise Category, California-Nevada AP Writing Contest Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for outstanding initiative and originality in reporting Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for best spot news coverage Certificate of Merit, American Bar Association Gavel Award, for a series of investigative articles
• 1973: Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for outstanding community service Editorial Citation, California Newspaper Publishers Association, for community service
• 1974: Part-time journalism lecturer, California State University, Sacramento Faculty advisor to The State Hornet, CSUS student newspaper Ring of Truth Award, Copley Newspapers, for a series of investigative articles Special Merit Award, California Taxpayers Association, for a series of investigative articles entitled, "The Golden Dome." National Headliners Award, National Headliners Club, for outstanding news reporting
• 1976: Editorial Citation, California Newspaper Publishers Association, for best series of articles
• 1977: Contacts Chol Soo Lee and begins working for his release.
• 1978: Mark Twain Sweepstakes Award, Associated Press News Executives Council (APNEC), for "The Americanization of Chol Soo Lee."
• 1979: Starts editing and publishing Koreatown. Gavel Award, American Bar Association, for yearlong investigative series that resulted in the overturning of Chol Soo Lee's murder conviction. First Place, Best Series of Articles, California Newspaper Publishers Association's Better Newspaper Contest Honorable Mention, Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, for investigative coverage of Chol Soo Lee case.
• 1981: Top Honors, News Division, California State Fair, for his series, "People's Revolt Against Crime."
• 1982: Second place, investigative reporting, San Francisco Press Club Writing Contest
• 1983: Chol Soo Lee released. National Headliners Award, National Headliners Club, for outstanding news reporting American Legion Fourth Estate Award Second Place, Writing Contest, California-Nevada Associated Press News Executive Council
• 1986: Finalist, Roy W. Howard Award for Public Service, Scripps-Howard Foundation
• 1987: Lifetime Achievement Award, Asian American Journalists Association
• 1990: Editor, Korea Times English Edition Retires from Sacramento Union
• 1992: John Anson Ford Award, Los Angeles Human Relations Commission for journalistic efforts to promote racial harmony before, during, and after the 1992 LA Riots. Retires from Korea Times English Edition Received liver transplant.
• 1993: Investigative reporter/internship program coordinator, Sacramento Union
• 1994: Free Spirit Award, Freedom Forum National Award for Outstanding Service, Association of Asian American Studies
• 1995: Special projects consultant to KCRA-TV in Sacramento Columnist, The Korea Times (English daily), Seoul
• 1997: Inducted into the Journalism History Gallery of the Newseum in Arlington, VA.
• 1998: Retired from The Korea Times
• 2000: Columnist, Currents Columnist, The Korea Times Bi-Lingual Edition, Los Angeles Retires from KCRA-TV
• 2001: Columnist, KorAm Journal

From the guide to the K.W. (Kyung Won) Lee Papers, 1972-1998, (University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special Collections.)