Edward K. Choe, Metallurgical Engineer, Watercolor Painter, 94

[DGH]

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It was reported from Seattle, Washington, that Edward Kesoon Choe, a
metallurgical engineer, watercolor painter and Korean-American community
activist, died Monday, March 10, 2003, after being hospitalized for an
infection, at the age of 94.

Choe was a former Boeing engineer who was fluent in Korean, Japanese, German and
English.

After becoming chairman of the Department of Mining at Seoul National
University, he immigrated to New York in 1948 to work as a visiting scholar at
the invitation of Princeton and Columbia universities.

Shortly after arriving he helped open South Korea's first embassy in the United
States but quit after two years. He said he would return to his homeland only
after Korea was reunified, a dream still unrealized at his death.

Choe worked for several engineering companies in New York, then moved to Seattle
to work for Boeing in 1967. He became active in the area's Korean-American
community, including a term as president of the Korean Association.

In his later years he became an accomplished watercolor landscape painter.