Personal Background
Young Woo Kang was born in a small village near Seoul in South Korea. Kang's father died when he was 13 years old. The following year, Kang lost his eyesight in a sporting accident. At the time, there was widespread discrimination against disabled individuals. It was a common belief that seeing a blind person would bring bad luck. Blind individuals were literally spit upon and treated as outcasts. When Kang's mother learned that her son would be permanently blind, she died of a heart attack that same day, while walking home from the hospital. At that time, Kang's 17-year-old sister dropped out of high school and took a sewing job to support her younger brother. The pressure was too great for her, and she died 16 months later. In the span of just four years, Kang lost his eyesight, his parents, and his sister.
Kang is married to Kyoung, also known as Kay. Together, they have two sons, Paul and Christopher. Kyoung was a teacher for almost 30 years, working with visually impaired students in Gary, Indiana public schools. Kang's older son, Paul, is an ophthalmologist in Washington, D.C., while his younger son, Christopher, serves as Special Assistant to President Obama for Legislative Affairs. Christopher Kang formerly served as Senate Floor Counsel to Assistant U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Richard Durbin, overseeing constitutional, criminal justice, and labor issues.
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