CHARLOTTE. N.C. — A North Carolina couple originally from Korea is giving back to the community through books.
Dr. Ki-Hyun and Sunny Chun opened the Asian Herald Library in 1985
The Asian Herald Library has more than 107,000 books with the majority of them being in Asian languages
Currently, the private library is mostly used by nonprofit organizations for meetings
Dr. Ki-Hyun Chun and his wife, Sunny, opened the Asian Herald Library in Charlotte in 1985 with the goal of giving Asian immigrants a piece of home through books in their native language.
The majority of the books in this private library are in Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. The library also carries books in English about Asian countries and cultures.
"I realized a lot of Asian people here didn’t bring any books, and they didn’t read any books,” Ki-Hyun said.
Ki-Hyun said he shared this with his father, and he suggested for him to start a library.
Ki-Hyun’s connection to books goes back to his childhood in Korea. He recalls his father setting a reading goal for him of 100 books per year.
“My father asked me to read books. If I didn’t read books, I couldn’t have supper,” Ki-Hyun said.
Back then, Ki-Hyun didn’t appreciate his persistence. However, he realized the value of reading after moving to the U.S. in 1971 as a recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship.
Sunny recalls only bringing a bible to the U.S. when they emigrated from South Korea.
The Chuns started collecting books during their earlier years in the U.S.
“Sometimes, we skipped lunch to purchase the books,” Ki-Hyun said.
The Chuns, who have three children, continued investing in books when they opened their accounting firm.
They shipped the majority of their books from other parts of the U.S. and abroad. Their children also increased the collection, bringing books from their travels.
“I spent the last 50 years [collecting] the books so we decided we are going to carry the legacy,” Ki-Hyun said. “I spent the last 50 years [collecting] the books so we decided we are going to carry the legacy,” Ki-Hyun said.
The private library has 107,000 books covering anything from science-fiction, history to religion.
“As the community requested the need, we enlarged this far,” Sunny said.
The Asian Herald Library also serves as a free meeting space for nonprofit organizations. Sunny said nowadays, the library is used more often for these group gatherings.
The number of active library members is dwindling, but the Chuns plan to keep their doors open for those interested in checking out books.
You can become a lifetime library member with a one-time $10 fee, which will allow you to check out books.
Ki-Hyun also said he helped organize and found Charlotte Presbyterian Church in 1977, which according to their website, it was the first Korean church in Charlotte.
Ki-Hyun serves as an elder in the church, and Sunny is the educational director of the children’s ministry.
In 1993, Ki-Hyun started the Asian Herald newspaper, which has publications in English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
In 1999, he founded The Carolinas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce.
If you are interested in learning more about the Asian Herald Library, click here.
