Fifty years ago, a high school student spent his days counting quarters collected from newspaper stands across Los Angeles.
For Kenneth Han, now 66 and CEO of Mirae CPA, Korea Daily was more than his first workplace. It was where, at age 15, he first learned the value of earning his own paycheck — and where a young immigrant began discovering the world around him.
Han remembers his connection with Korea Daily as “a precious relationship that opened my eyes to the world.”
His story with the newspaper began in 1976, three years after immigrating to the United States with his parents. After spending a year in Seattle, his family moved to Los Angeles.
During summer break, Han joined a youth internship program run by the nonprofit Oriental Service Center and landed a part-time job at Korea Daily.
His main task was counting coins collected from newspaper stands.
A copy of the newspaper cost 25 cents at the time, and between $400 and $500 in coins passed through his hands each day. He also picked up printed materials, organized freshly published newspapers and collected and stacked old editions.
The work was simple, but for Han, it was his first taste of working life.
He worked three to four hours each weekday and earned about $2 an hour. After roughly two months, he had saved enough to buy a pair of white Converse sneakers that were popular at the time.
They were more than just shoes. They were the first thing he had bought with money he earned himself rather than an allowance from his parents.
For Han, Korea Daily quickly became more than a summer job.
In an era before smartphones and the internet, newspapers served as a critical connection for immigrants seeking news about both American society and their homeland.
During breaks and lunchtime, Han would pick up that day’s newspaper and start reading.
“Without Korea Daily, it was difficult back then to even know what was happening in the community where I lived, much less what was happening back in Korea,” Han recalled. “Reading the newspaper taught me how the world was changing and what issues people were talking about.”
One chapter of that history remains particularly vivid in his memory: the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
At the time, Han was serving as an executive officer of the Korean American Certified Public Accountants Society. He witnessed burning buildings and chaotic streets firsthand in Koreatown.
Seeing those same scenes later documented through photographs and reporting in the newspaper gave him a renewed appreciation for the responsibility carried by journalists and the press.
A ‘First Love’ That Lasted 50 Years
Han describes Korea Daily as his “first love.”
His actual employment lasted only about two months, but his connection to the newspaper has continued for half a century.
“Even now, if I see newspapers on the street or at a restaurant, Korea Daily is the first one I reach for,” Han said. “It has grown alongside the Korean American community and remains a source of strength for Korean Americans.”
As Korea Daily marks its 52nd anniversary, Han hopes the newspaper that once introduced a 15-year-old immigrant to the wider world will continue playing that role for future generations.
“For the next 50 years and beyond, I hope Korea Daily will remain firmly committed to fairness and continue serving as a ‘window of the times,’ accurately capturing the changes taking place in the world,” Han said.
