Jonny Kim has achieved three American dreams – he was once a member of the Navy SEALs, graduated from Harvard Medical School, and now in April, he has embarked on his latest journey: becoming an astronaut.
When novelist Wesley Chu first heard about Kim, his initial reaction was awe. The 41-year-old father of three, who is also a Navy pilot, has garnered respect and admiration for his remarkable achievements.
His journey has inspired people worldwide, but for many who have compared their own accomplishments to his, it has also stirred feelings of discouragement.
This sentiment is particularly prevalent among the Asian American community, where Kim, as the son of Korean immigrants, is both hailed as a hero and jokingly referred to as “every Asian child’s worst nightmare.”
Kim never intentionally set out to tick off these three major milestones in life. He attributes his success to unwavering focus.
“I never intended to become a doctor or an astronaut,” Kim said on a podcast in 2020. “Even to this day, having a singular focus is very important to me because you should be fully committed to what you’re doing. You should approach it with sincerity, not for comparison or career advancement.”
According to him, his achievements stemmed from a series of unexpected events.
Kim shared that it all began from a childhood trauma in Los Angeles. He witnessed his father, who he described as an alcoholic with abusive tendencies, hold the family at gunpoint before the police fatally shot him in the attic.
To protect his mother and younger brother, he joined the Navy SEALs. However, an ankle injury sustained during extreme frisbee activity delayed his plans to enlist in the Navy as a medical officer. After recovering, a recruiter guided him to become a corpsman.
In 2005, Kim joined the SEAL Team 3, serving as a corpsman, sniper, among other roles. During two Iraq wars, he received the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his heroism in treating injured comrades, which motivated him to pursue medical school.
But his first stop was at the University of San Diego. Despite scholarships, he needed a job to pay for tuition, so he started issuing parking tickets. “Never feel too good for certain work,” he mentioned on a podcast, noting that the job taught him humility.
He later attended Harvard Medical School, where he juggled academics, fatherhood, and training by waking up at 3:30 am daily. To optimize his learning process, he employed a technique called spaced repetition learning, in which he rated flashcards from 1 (no clue) to 5 (easy answer) and the system would show the cards at varying intervals for better retention.
During his medical studies, Kim crossed paths with astronaut Scott Parazynski, a fellow physician, and sought advice on a career in space exploration.
He applied to NASA’s astronaut program and was accepted on his first attempt.
As part of NASA’s Artemis Generation, Kim is a candidate for lunar exploration missions (and possibly even Mars missions).
Around this time, he became a legendary figure within the Asian American community.
After graduating as an astronaut, Kim sought to maximize his potential and underwent cross-training with the Navy to become a licensed pilot.
On April 8, he lifted off aboard the Soyuz spacecraft, heading to the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts. At a recent press conference in Star City, Russia, he was asked about the biggest challenge of his mission.
Kim mentioned that since his space journey would not be performed in English, he spent months learning another skill. “The most challenging part was, of course, learning Russian,” he said.