Obituary of Hai Joon Chung

Hai Joon Chung was born in Seocheon, South Korea in 1936 and worked in his family hardware store business as a teenager.  A proud graduate and active alumna of Sung Kyun Kwan University (Seoul, South Korea), Mr. Chung served in the Korean marine corps.  He came to the United States in the 1960’s to study for his master’s degree in political science at the University of Southern Mississippi.  He spent a summer in New York City working as a short order cook, fell in love with the Big Apple, and has lived here ever since.  

In the early 1970’s, he worked at Chase Manhattan Bank (now known as JP Morgan Chase). He is a co-founder of Cici Pharmacy and Cici Department Store, one of the first Korean-American businesses on 32^ndStreet in New York City, which is now known as K-Town. Over the years, Mr. Chung founded multiple businesses, including KBS television studio.  Broadcast on UHF TV, it was the first Korean news program in the city and was the precursor to the Korean news channels that we see streaming today. Later in his career, Mr. Chung founded and operated retail shops in the East Village and Times Square. In 1986, he was recognized by the NYC Police Department Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Community Affairs for his service on the NYPD’s Asian American Advisory Council.

In his retirement, he actively participated in the Korean American Senior Center programs in Queens, NY.  He enjoyed annual sightseeing trips to South Korea and other countries around the world.  He was fiercely independent throughout his life and passed peacefully and painlessly in his sleep with his family and loved ones nearby. \

고 정해준님께서 

2024년 4월 2일 화요일 오전 6시 30분 

별세 하셨기에 삼가 알려 드립니다.

장례식: 2024년 4월 4일 목 오전 10시