Sang Whang

Sang Whang (October 16, 1931 – January 24, 2011) was a Korean American church leader and community advocate in Florida.

Sang Whang
Alma materPolytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationHwang Sang-yeon
McCune–ReischauerHwang Sang'yŏn

Personal life

The eldest of four children, Whang emigrated to the United States in December 1951 at the age of 20, arriving at San Francisco, California by ship.[2] After arriving, he enrolled in the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn to study electrical engineering; he received his bachelor's degree in 1956, and his master's from the same school in 1966.[3] He met his wife Mary, who was born in Pyongyang, while a student there; she had emigrated to the States along with her father, who worked with the U.S. army in South Korea.[4] His wife died in 1995 after a ten-year battle with lung disease.[4]

Political and religious activities

Whang was the founder and first president of the Korean Association of Greater Miami.[1] In 1976, he became an elder at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Miami.[5] In 1998, he received the Essie Silva Community Builder Award from the United Way of America's Miami-Dade branch.[6] In 1999, he became the first Asian American to serve as chairman of the county Community Relations Board, which was established in 1963.[7] He was especially interested in promoting better relations between the Korean American and African American communities, an issue which became of greater concern to him in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.[2]

Alternative health

Apart from his political activities, Whang ran his own business, Alkalife, which promotes alternative health practices such as the use of far infrared radiation to promote growth and health of living cells.[8] He self-published a book entitled Aging and Reverse Aging, about the alleged health benefits of high-alkaline water and other alternative health practices.[9] After his death, his son Peter Whang took over as Alkalife's head of research and development.[10]

References
  1. "한인회 조직". Korean Association of Greater Miami. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  2. Lawrence, David (5 March 1995). "A little thing ... to encourage more unity". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  3. Suarez, Yellini (2 November 2002). "Three Asian Americans lauded for community work". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  4. Strouse, Charles (8 April 1995). "Mary Whang, cooked for neighbours after hurricane". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  5. Green, Amy (25 July 1985). "Korean church works to communicate ideals". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  6. "5 volunteers get United Way awards". Miami Herald. 26 June 1998. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  7. Robinson, Andrea (30 October 1999). "Relations board gets new leader". Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  8. "FIR treatment". New Straits Times. December 5, 2002. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  9. "Reverse Aging". Alkalife. Archived from the original on 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  10. "Son of Alkaline Water Pioneer Sang Whang Joins Alkalife to Lead R&D (Press Release)". Reuters. 2012-02-01. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
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