Haan, Kilsoo Kenneth, 1900-1976

Kilsoo Kenneth Haan was born in Chang Dan, Korea, on May 31, 1900. He arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 5, and soon was working as a sugar cane laborer for the Oahu Sugar Company. After completing the 8th grade, he contracted to raise sugar cane for the Company, while training in the Hawaiian National Guard. After an honorable discharge, Haan moved to San Francisco. There he attended the Salvation Army Training College. Between 1922 and 1926 he served in the Salvation Army as an officer, reaching the rank of Captain, and was stationed back on the Hawaiian Islands. In 1926 he married Stella Yoon in Honolulu, with whom he had a son and a daughter. In 1932 he joined the Sino-Korean Peoples' League, acting as its representative in Hawaii and America, and began working to assist U.S. intelligence concerning Japan. Between 1938 and 1947 he resided in Washington, D.C., as the Washington representative of the League. He is famous for having attempted to warn various American officals shortly before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor of the impending attack. Haan became a naturalized United States citizen in 1956. He worked for the Chun King Corporation in San Jose, California, from the mid- 1950's until 1969. Upon his retirement he moved to Capitola, a seaside village near Santa Cruz, where he died in July, 1976.