Federal Way residents Rev. Dr. YongChul Chung and PilKyu Kim were surrounded by friends and family as they celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary Nov. 7.

“In this day and age, it’s hard to imagine living 80 years, let alone being married for 80 years,” said the couple’s granddaughter, Erin Choi.

Chung was born in Korea on Feb. 28, 1918. Kim was born on Jan. 24, 1920. According to Choi, Chung was a young seminary student at Chosun Seminary in Korea when he met Kim, and the pair wed Nov. 7, 1936.

“In 1938, during the Japanese occupation, the seminary was forced to close and they fled to China, where my grandfather continued his studies for about three years before eventually returning,” Choi said. “After the Japanese occupation ended in 1945, Chosun Seminary re-opened in 1946 and he finished his studies there in 1948.”

Chung continued studies in practical theology at Tokyo Theological Seminary and Aoyama University from 1967-1968, and Chung and Kim emigrated to Washington, DC, in 1970. Chung served at the United Korean Presbyterian Church for 13 years before retiring, becoming a U.S. citizen in the interim in 1976. He has written several books and Korean hymns, and he established a scholarship program that’s helped 161 students. He received an honorary doctorate degree in 1978 from Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia and also received an award for ministerial success during the “Centennial of Korean Immigration to the United States” in 2003.

Chung and Kim have six children, nine grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren — with more on the way. They’ve lived in Federal Way for the last 10 years.

Federal Way residents Rev. Dr. YongChul Chung, left, and PilKyu Kim celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on Nov. 7. Photo courtesy of Erin Choi