Hi Duk Lee

Hi Duk Lee (July 29, 1939 – March 7, 2019) was a Korean-born American businessman. He owned more than 40 businesses in Koreatown, Los Angeles, including Korean grocery stores, restaurants and a hotel. He became known as the "pioneer" of Koreatown.[2]

Hi Duk Lee
Born(1939-07-29)July 29, 1939[1]
South Korea
DiedMarch 7, 2019(2019-03-07) (aged 79)
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Kil Ja Lee
Children1 son, 2 daughters

Life

Lee was born in 1939 in Korea,[2] where his parents were farmers.[3] He studied engineering in Korea and worked in West Germany in 1966–1968.[3] Lee emigrated to the United States in 1968, settling in Los Angeles, California.[2][4][5]

Lee developed what came to be known as Koreatown, or "Second Seoul", in Los Angeles.[5] As early as 1971, he built the Olympic Market, "one of the first Korean-owned groceries in Los Angeles", at Olympic Boulevard and Normandie Avenue.[4] He subsequently built over 40 grocery stores and restaurants in Korean Village, as well as the VIP Hotel at 3000 West Olympic Boulevard, but he went bankrupt in 1982.[4]

With his wife Kil Ja, Lee had a son, Roger, and a daughter, Helen. He died of colon cancer on March 7, 2019 in Silver Lake, at age 79.[4][5]

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References
  2. Lam, Charles (March 21, 2019). "Hi Duk Lee, Los Angeles Koreatown pioneer, dead at 79". NBC News. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  3. Quinones, Sam (December 4, 2015). "How Three Pioneering Immigrants Forever Changed the Course—and the Culture—of L.A." Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  4. Reyes-Velarde, Alejandra (March 21, 2019). "Hi Duk Lee, visionary who founded Los Angeles' Koreatown, dies at 79". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  5. "Hi Duk Lee, Koreatown leader, dies at 79". ABC7. March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
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