Yumi Hogan
호건 유미
Hogan in 2022
First Lady of Maryland
In role
January 21, 2015 – January 18, 2023
GovernorLarry Hogan
Preceded byKatie O'Malley
Succeeded byDawn Moore
Personal details
Born
Yumi Kim

(1959-12-25) December 25, 1959 (age 64)
Naju, South Korea
Spouse
​
(m. 2004)​
Children3
EducationMaryland Institute College of Art (BFA)
American University (MFA)
AwardsEllis Island Medal of Honor (2017)
Birth name
Hangul
김유미
Revised RomanizationGim Yumi
McCune–ReischauerKim Yumi

Yumi Hogan (Korean: 유미 호건, née Kim; born December 25, 1959) is a Korean–American artist. She served as the first lady of Maryland as wife of Governor Larry Hogan from 2015 to 2023, and is the first Korean American first lady of a U.S. state and the first Asian American first lady in the history of Maryland.

Early life

Yumi Kim was born on December 25, 1959, in Naju, South Korea.[1][2] Kim is the youngest of eight children and grew up on a chicken farm in the rural South Jeolla Province.[3][4] Kim immigrated to the United States with her first husband while in her twenties.[5]

Career and education

Hogan is an artist. Following encouragement from her husband, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting degree from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from American University in 2010.[5][6][7]

Hogan's artwork, primarily abstract landscapes in Sumi ink on Korean Hanji paper, has been shown locally and around the world.[8][9] Twenty-seven of her abstract landscape paintings were featured at an art show at the Ocean City Center for the Arts in July 2017, with sales proceeds from her exhibit donated to art therapy programs for pediatric cancer patients.[10] In late 2017, Hogan launched an art therapy program at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital via her Yumi C.A.R.E.S Foundation.[11][12]

Her work was featured at an exhibition in May and June 2019 by the University of Maryland University College Arts Program, in which it was described as blending Maryland and Korean landscapes.[13]

While First Lady of Maryland, Hogan continued to teach as an adjunct faculty member at her alma mater, Maryland Institute College of Art.[9][7][5]

In 2016, Hogan had a gallery showing of paintings inspired by her husband's cancer diagnosis and recovery.[3]

First Lady of Maryland

Yumi with her husband Larry Hogan in 2018.
Hogan with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon in 2017

Yumi Hogan became First Lady of Maryland on January 21, 2015, when Larry Hogan was inaugurated as Governor of Maryland.[14] She is the first Korean American first lady of a U.S. state and the first Asian American first lady in the history of Maryland. Five months into her husband's term, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hogan served as her husband's caregiver and unofficial nurse. Her public initiatives shifted upon his recovery, and she began advocating the benefits of art therapy, especially for cancer patients.[3]

In 2016, Hogan received the International Leadership Foundation's Inspirational Leader Award. She is also a 2017 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.[4]

In September 2018, Hogan received the National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award for her advocacy and work to benefit victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.[15]

In April 2020, Hogan worked with her husband and South Korean Ambassador to the United States Lee Soo-hyuck to obtain 500,000 testing kits for $9.46 million during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Maryland.[3][16] However they turned out to be flawed and were never used. The Hogan administration quietly paid the same South Korean company another $2.5 million for 500,000 replacement tests.[16] According to the findings of a state audit released in April 2021, the purchase of them was based on a flawed agreement and most of the replacement tests were likely never used.[17]

Personal life

Hogan (left) with her daughter, Jaymi, on Mother's Day in 2022

Yumi Kim and her first husband had three daughters.[2][18][19] She moved to Howard County, Maryland, in 1992 after divorcing her first husband.[2][1][5] To support her daughters, she taught in her basement and worked as a cashier.[5] She became a U.S. citizen in 1994.[2][5] She met Larry Hogan at an art show in Columbia[8][9] in 2001.[20] They were married in 2004[5] at Paca House and Garden in Annapolis.[8] Self-described as "traditional", Yumi Hogan holds Presbyterian religious beliefs, was reluctant to tell her family of her divorce, and did not live with Larry Hogan until they were married.[8] In May 2018, the Hogans adopted two rescued Shih Tzu dogs.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bieniek, Matthew (December 24, 2014). "First lady had humble beginnings". Cumberland Times-News. Cumberland, Maryland. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Lee, Suevon (March 3, 2015). "Meet Yumi Hogan, Maryland's New First Lady". KoreAm. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Bennett, Kate (April 21, 2020). "Maryland's first lady capitalizes on her South Korean heritage to secure test kits". CNN. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Westman, Jonathan (July 2017). "Yumi Hogan". Artistically Speaking. Coastal Style. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rosenwald, Michael S. (January 23, 2015). "Md. Gov. Larry Hogan and his Korean-born wife, Hogan, are a historic first couple". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Souza, Gabriella (June 2015). "Inside Two Worlds". Baltimore. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Yumi Hogan". Maryland State Archives. December 26, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d Barker, Jeff (October 10, 2014). "Artist-wife Yumi Hogan strays 'outside of her normal comfort level'". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Rosenwald, Michael S. (February 27, 2015). "Md. First Lady Yumi Hogan serves her own kimchi at Lunar New Year celebration". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  10. ^ "Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan's art featured in Ocean City exhibit". The Baltimore Sun. Associated Press. July 7, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Lee, Laura (April 10, 2019). "First Lady Helping Children Heal Through Art". University of Maryland Baltimore. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  12. ^ McDaniels, Andrea K. (October 8, 2017). "Yumi Hogan launches children's hospital art therapy program". The Washington Times. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Wecker, Menachem (May 17, 2019). "Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan's Paintings Blend East and West". University of Maryland Global Campus. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Scharper, Julie (January 21, 2015). "Thousands celebrate Hogan inauguration at gala". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "First Lady Yumi Hogan Receives NASS Award". Calvert Beacon. October 2, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Hogan's first batch of coronavirus tests from South Korea were flawed, never used". Washington Post. November 21, 2020.
  17. ^ "Audit: Maryland's $9M purchase of South Korean COVID tests was made without a contract; state overpaid for shipping". Baltimore Sun. April 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Welsh, Sean (March 9, 2015). "Larry Hogan's Facebook photo is cuter than yours". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  19. ^ Alexander, Kate S. (May 21, 2014). "Hogan looks to change Maryland as governor". Maryland Gazette. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  20. ^ Butler, Paul (2015). "One-on-One with Governor Larry Hogan". WBOC. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  21. ^ "Hogan, first lady adopt 2 rescue dogs from animal shelter". WTOP-FM. Associated Press. May 18, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

Further reading

External links

Honorary titles Preceded byKatie O'Malley First Lady of Maryland 2015–2023 Succeeded byDawn Moore
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