Ronko Yamada

Chol Soo Lee's story resonated with K.W.

Lee, who both have the same last name because they both immigrated from Korea.

K.W.

was a generation older, though.

And before we go any further, there's something you need to know about K.W.

KW is one of those people you remember meeting.

Sojin is one of KW's unofficial biographers.

KW had a reputation for absolutely hating corruption and wrongdoing.

For him, it was personal.

See, K.W.

Lee had left Korea for the United States in 1950.

KW despised the political corruption that had taken hold in his native South Korea.

His plan was to get a degree in the United States and then return to Korea to speak out against authoritarianism.

But he soon found himself in Tennessee, writing about lunch counter sit-ins and protests of racial segregation.

Then he moved to West Virginia, the heart of coal country.

Whether it was coal miners struggling to put food on the table, politicians personally profiting from their office, or entire systems that seemed to favor the powerful over the vulnerable.

In 1970, K.W.

left Appalachia and headed to California to work for the Sacramento Union.

It was 1977 when K.W.

Lee heard of Chol Soo Lee.