The WSASP community is saddened to learn about the death of Yeojin Chung-Jones, age 37. Yeojin died on Sunday June 2nd after a sudden illness. She leaves behind her husband, CJ, two daughters, Juniper (Juni), aged 3, and Maple, aged 8 months and numerous other family members, friends, co-workers and students.
Yeojin was an active member in WSASP, serving as web master during the 2020-2021 school year. As a school psychologist in the Mount Vernon School District, Yeojin earned the respect of her co-workers and students as she promoted inclusivity and equity- two values she held close to her heart. She was dedicated to social justice and spent her life helping others.
Yeojin was born on June 10th, 1986 in Seoul, South Korea. She showed immense intelligence and care from a young age. When she entered junior high, she decided to drop out to continue schooling on her own. Her parents permitted her leaving school because she argued that school got in the way of her well-thought-out blueprint of learning and life. She used these teenage years to learn on her own and became a published writer and reviewer of theater productions. She also volunteered time for the Anti-Miss Korea Pageant because she found it an opportunity to practice her belief that women should not be objectified, commercialized, and judged only by their looks. In addition, she was funded by UNICEF Korea to travel to Japan and Thailand to build connections between youths promoting cross-cultural friendship beyond borders. She always endeavored to walk out of her comfort zone, break down barriers, and sow seeds of healing and peace.
In 2001, Yeojin visited the Pacific Northwest with her family and fell in love with the region. At age 17, she moved with her family to Hawaii and attended Leeward Community College, where she attracted the attention of her Physics teacher, who encouraged her to pursue a career in Physics. Yeojin's response, however, was that she only did Physics for fun. Eventually, she chose the University of Washington, where she graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's in Drama. Her degree led her to work for the Washington National Opera where she worked under the leadership of Placido Domingo. She also worked for the Denver Children's Theater and Seattle Children's Theater. She wanted to make the arts more accessible to the general public, especially people of lower income. She went back to school in pursuit of her Master’s in New York University’s Tisch School of Arts for in-depth understanding of arts through diverse angles such as socio-economics, politics, and multi-cultural harmony and cacophony. One of her projects was, “Don’t Ni Hao Me.” Given her Asian looks, random strangers in New York City sometimes "Ni-Haoed" her (assumed she was Chinese and greeted her with the Chinese word for hello). They often were abrupt, blunt, and even rude in the approach. She interpreted it as one of many examples of stereotyping based on racism. She made name tags of her own name in about 30 different languages and did a presentation wearing all the name tags. “No matter where I am, Whatever language my name is in, I am Yeojin Chung. I should be respected for who I am, and not stereotyped or disparaged for how I look,” was her message.
Eventually she entered the IT field and worked for Microsoft before going back to school again to pursue a degree in School Psychology. Yeojin graduated from Seattle University with her second Master's in School Psychology in 2019 and immediately entered the workforce.
During her time at Seattle University Yeojin met her husband CJ. In 2020 the two moved to Mount Vernon Washington to begin their lives, getting married the same year. In 2021 Yeojin gave birth to her daughter Juniper and in 2023 she gave birth to Maple.
Yeojin had an array of interests that reflected her vibrant spirit. She was an avid hiker and kickboxer. She loved the thrill of bouldering, and she appreciated eating delicious food and preparing meals for her family. Above all, Yeojin’s greatest joy was being a mother to Juni and Maple. Her sense of humor was often found in her amusing observations on motherhood which will be especially missed.
Though Yeojin’s time with us has ended, her memory will forever inspire those who were touched by her kindness, warmth and sense of humor. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and the community she served.
Please consider sharing or donating to the GoFundMe that has been set up to benefit Juni, Maple and CJ.
