Tourist ‘Lost’ in L. A. Returns to Korea

For Young Moon Kim, it was the vacation nightmares are made of.

Kim was visiting Southern California for the first time from South Korea, when $9,000 in items were stolen from the Gardena apartment where a friend had arranged for him to stay. Then Kim, 46, got lost while taking a walk May 12. Unable to speak English and afraid or unwilling to ask for help, he slept on the streets for three weeks, surviving largely on cupcakes and milk purchased from a small market in the area.

Kim’s disappearance prompted a frantic search by police and Kim’s few friends in town, who put out the word at churches, Korean organizations, community groups, even the Korean consulate.

But a few days ago, his saga came to a bizarre end when he finally remembered the telephone number for B. F. Choy, plant manager of a Rancho Dominguez textile mill and Kim’s main Los Angeles connection. Choy said Kim was near a golf course at Van Ness Avenue and El Segundo Boulevard, 50 blocks north of the apartment.

Unkempt, dazed and confused, Kim was anxious to get back to familiar ground.

Kim, who left the apartment with no identification, continued walking for more than an hour until he reached the Chester Washington Golf Course at Van Ness Avenue and El Segundo Boulevard. He told police that he decided to stay in the general area of the golf course until someone found him.

James Kim, who is not related to Young Moon Kim, served as an interpreter for him during his stay in California. He said the man simply did not know how to get help. As days passed, Young Moon Kim said people increasingly thought he was homeless. On a particularly cold night he built a fire, but firefighters arrived and quickly put it out. The tourist could not communicate to officials that he was lost, James Kim said.

Young Moon Kim found a phone booth near a fast-food restaurant and tried fruitlessly to recall Choy’s phone number, dialing many wrong combinations. On Tuesday he hit the right configuration of numbers about 9 a.m.

James Kim said he immediately drove to the 2100 block of El Segundo Boulevard to pick up the stranded tourist.

Young Moon Kim had to wait until Wednesday afternoon to head get a flight back to Seoul, where he works in a textile mill.