HooJung Jones Kennedy
WHO HooJung Jones Kennedy ROLE Project Co-ordinator of Korea Veterans Association of Canada Unit 26, Hamilton
Q: What do you do in addition to your work with veterans?
A: For 17 years I’ve been president of Websitegate, a website hosting and development company. We’ve made websites for nonprofit organizations and other companies. I have also been a presidential adviser to the Republic of South Korea president (one of 50-60 Korean-Canadians selected for the job), advising on North Korean human rights and nuclear weapons security issues. That was demanding work the last six years and sometimes I have lost a lot of sleep over it, because of the North Korean nuclear weapons testing. But I plan to retire soon, I want to take care of my husband, and mom and dad, and my son is going to university soon, hopefully McMaster, where I graduated in 1999 (and was named to their Alumni Gallery Hall of Fame last spring.)
Q: What is your greatest passion?
A: Being an advocate for veterans. My favourite thing has been to arrange to have veterans visit high schools so they can speak to students, and having our book (“Canadians Our Heroes 19501953 Korean War,” co-authored with Tom Somers) distributed to schools as well … Capturing veterans’ stories, passing them on to the next generation, is priceless. Those veterans, they were young people who went over there. They connect with students.
Q: How long have you lived in Hamilton, and what do you like most about the city?
A: I’ve lived here since 1996, and what I love most is how beautiful it is. The waterfalls, the bay, the wonderful Mountain. Not many cities have that. And it’s a big enough city, but small, too.
Q: What are the city’s greatest assets?
A: The people. Hamilton is the greatest city for volunteers. We have always defended Hamilton: the War of 1812 was fought on our soil, and we fought at the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866, the Rileys fought to defend our soil … So many veterans, and in the Second World War, the women who worked in the factories. Hamilton’s people know how to fight and how to collaborate.
Q: What is the city’s greatest challenge?
A: I ran for city council in 2010 in Ward 2 and explored a lot of issues. We need a second economic boom, through advanced technology and tourism, and then invest in our infrastructure. The sewers, pipes, are 110 years old; they don’t even know where to begin (replacing them). We need to think about 50, 100 years ahead, at a minimum, to have a vision for the next generation, and it’s a question not just for policymakers and city council, but the younger generation as well, we have to include them. And the Six Nations people as well, who are such an amazing asset.
Q: What is your favourite place to be in the city?
A: Bayfront Park. When anyone visits from Toronto, I take them on the trolley there, it starts at Williams Coffee and stops at HMCS Haida. I was fundraising director for Friends of HMCS Haida for many years; the ship was in Korea, and the Second World War as well, it has a great history. And another stop is the Warplane Heritage Museum: We have the Lancaster.
Q: Who inspires you?
A: One person who inspired me was my dear friend Tom Somers, a Second World War and Korean War veteran. He died in 2008. He was a very brave man. During the Second World War he was in a boat (adrift at sea) for two weeks. He said you can’t fall asleep in that situation, or you will die. I learned so much from him. You know, we have so many complaints about daily life, but a person goes through that, and then brings up children, and inspires others. He was the hero of heroes.