For Chul-un Park, 64, an unattended man, there were no photos of his last moments.
Father Yohan Kim (68) of St. James Episcopal Church held a small funeral for Park on December 7. He didn’t have his normal photo, so Kim used his South Korean national ID card as a funeral portrait. There were no mourners. In the funeral photo, Park’s face appeared lonelier set against the frame’s expansive white space.
Park died on the fourth floor of the Galleria Market parking garage in LA Koreatown on December 4. He took his own life by jumping. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Park’s cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma.
Park had no family. Police contacted the place where Park usually stayed. It was a shelter in LA Koreatown on 21st Street (2251 W 21st St) run by Father Yohan Kim. “He was suffering from hemiplegia, and he took his own life after leaving the shelter early that morning,” Father Kim said. “But after coming to the shelter, he received medical benefits and his life became a little better,” he added.
Park had been living at the shelter for two years since 2021. After being found collapsed near LAX, Park was treated at a hospital and handed over to the Consulate General in Los Angeles. The consulate then referred Park to Father Kim, who accepted him to the shelter.
After coming to the shelter, Park decided to live. With Father Kim’s help, he applied for caregiver benefits. Because of his extreme poverty, he received a monthly stipend of about $1,000 from the government. Still, things didn’t get easier.
“Because of his physical disability, Park didn’t get along well with people in the shelter,” Father Kim said. “He didn’t have anyone to visit and had no family, so he drank alcohol alone and stayed lonely.”
Today, Father Kim’s shelter is home to 20 unattended people. There are five rooms. Three to four people are living in each room. Park was one of them, and the people he lived with organized a tribute for Park. A bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and a bottle of soju were served.
This is nothing new for the people at the shelter. It happens often. “I’ve seen so many unattended people leave the shelter. The last thing I can do for them is a small funeral,” said Father Kim. “People here can die at any time, so I tend to not give too much love to them.”
Park died with only a few possessions. It didn’t take long for the shelter to empty the room.
To help the shelter: (323) 244-8810
BY YEOL JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
