 
Jacqueline H. Nguyen (left) and Tammy Chung Ryu are paving the way for future aspiring female APA judges.
First Vietnamese American and Korean American Women Seated on State Judiciary
By Sam Chu Lin
Special to AsianWeek
Jacqueline H. Nguyen was 9 years old when her family boarded a packed helicopter in Saigon for a flight to freedom. Gunfire could be heard in the distance as communist troops closed in on the South Vietnamese capitol.
Years later in California, she and her siblings joined their mother to clean dental offices while her father worked at night as a computer programmer and during the morning as a gas station attendant.
With that same family determination, Nguyen earned a scholarship, graduated from Occidental College and UCLA’s School of Law, and later became a federal prosecutor. On weekends, she assisted her mother at the family donut shop in North Hollywood until it was sold.
“I did a lot of my homework at the donut shop,” she recounted. “Throughout my college years, my mom was still working a lot of hours. On the weekends I would come home … to help her out for a few hours. On the weekends I would take our son Nolan there so he could spend some time with her.”
This past Monday, Nguyen’s family, colleagues and friends assembled to witness Federal District Judge Nora Manella swear her in as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, making her the first Vietnamese American woman ever to achieve such distinction. They went to a restaurant afterward to celebrate. Her husband Pio Kim, also a federal prosecutor, is planning a bigger event to commemorate this special moment and to thank the people who have helped Nguyen achieve this milestone.
Elsewhere this past weekend, a crowd of about 200 people gathered in Hancock Park for another celebration. The event was billed as a fundraiser for KoreAm Journal, a Korean American magazine published by James Ryu, but many were on hand to congratulate James’ wife, Tammy Chung Ryu, who has become the first Korean American woman to be officially sworn in as a California State Superior Court judge.
Like Nguyen, she had worked hard as a teenager at the family grocery store in West Oakland to help her parents. She graduated from UC Berkeley and the UCLA law school. She interned at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles and assisted attorneys in the effort to help win reparations for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. On the fast track, Ryu joined the state attorney general’s office in Los Angeles, where she became a supervisor in the health, education and welfare section.
Attorney Angela Oh, who once served as a member of President Clinton’s Race Initiative, has known both of these new judicial appointees of Gov. Gray Davis for many years. “Both of these candidates are very talented, very bright and have a long history of working in the organized bar,” she noted. “I know that Tammy was president of KABA [Korean American Bar Association] the year after I was, and Jacqueline has served as president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. ... It’s wonderful to see two Asian American women come on the bench at this time. ... They’re cutting the way for others to follow.”
“I still feel there are still barriers that need to be broken,” commented Nguyen. “I feel an enormous responsibility … I will have to excel not just for myself but … for others who may want to follow in my footsteps.”
Ryu echoes those feelings. “I feel I have a responsibility to do well,” she stated. “I know I will be [representing my community] when I take the bench.”
She added, “On the other hand, I’m excited because I will have the opportunity to add diversity to the bench. When the public comes into my courtroom, they’ll see a different face, a different background. I hope that will help people to be more open.”
This monumental event has given Nguyen an opportunity to look back and measure how far she and her family have come. “Looking back,” she reminisced nostalgically, “I wonder how we made it ... My parents started out with just five dollars in their pockets.”
She added, “When you’re a first of something … you’re a role model whether you like it or not. I would like to be a role model just by doing my job extremely well, by being available to mentor and guide other people who might be interested in following the same career path ...”
Ryu is happy to be a role model. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have a role model in the Korean American community. And I’m especially honored to be a role model for women, especially younger women who may feel restricted because of the culture or the community they are growing up in. Hopefully by seeing where I am now, they can be inspired and also feel they can attain something similar or even bigger.”
Ryu and Nguyen are each thankful they have supportive spouses and families.
Nguyen laughs when she thinks of the challenges she and her husband face in raising their son. She is Vietnamese and her husband is Korean. Nolan’s grandmothers help babysit.
“It’s a challenge to teach him both cultures and languages,” Nguyen stated. “I tell my mom to speak to him in Vietnamese, and I tell his paternal grandmother to speak to him in Korean. His primary language is English.”
Ryu said her husband has always been supportive of her work and her community activities. “He supports me by picking up the kids, watching [them] when I go to meetings or different events.” With a laugh she added, “He’s also a great cook. He cooks for me and the family when I can’t.”
Both women credit teamwork and a balance between their professional lives and personal lives for their success.
The new judges will begin their assignments Sept. 3.
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