The Kim Sisters

Three Korean sisters became a popular act in the early years of the Las Vegas Strip. Known as the Kim Sisters--Sook-ja, Ai-ja, and Mia - learned English by singing popular hit songs.

The sisters gained fame while singing for American GIs in war-torn Korea. They knew no English, but memorized songs phonetically and played traditional instruments. Their talented renditions of familiar songs, including Elvis’ hit songs, impressed Americans. With an orchestra leader as their father and their well-known singer mother, the girls had plenty of training in music. Unfortunately, their father, Hae Song Kim, was assassinated by North Koreans. After his death, their mother taught the children how to perform which provided the support for the family.

By chance, an American agent saw the Kim Sisters perform in Korea and booked them for a four-week engagement at the Thunderbird Hotel as part of the China Doll Revue in the main showroom in Las Vegas. This job started their successful international career. The sisters’ charisma and talent made them quick successes in the United States and they achieved nationwide fame. In 1959, the sisters reached the pinnacle of 1950s celebrity with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. They proved popular with the show’s audience and were guests on the show a total of 22 times, the most appearances of any person or group. Their popularity was at its height at the end of the 1960s, when they performed throughout the United States and Europe. Their success enabled the sisters to help more than forty family members immigrate to the United States.

All three of the sisters were married by the mid-1970s and the Kim Sisters no longer performed as a group. AiJa died in 1987 of lung cancer. Sook-Ja Kim continues to reside in Las Vegas, performing on occasion in Korea and working as a real-estate agent. She also works to improve the Korean community in Las Vegas.

Source:

• Sook-ja Kim, “An Interview with Sook-Ja Kim,” an interview by Myoung-Ja Lee Kwon [transcript], Las Vegas Women Oral History Project (1997), Special Collections, Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collections. May not be reproduced without special permission of UNLV Special Collections. Left to Right:  Min Ja, Sook Ja, Ai Ja, 1951