Romano Kim, a 70-year-old Korean American shoe repairman known throughout Garden Grove, has retired after more than three decades in the trade. On April 30, Kim closed his store at the corner of Garden Grove Boulevard and Sycamore Street, ending a career that spanned 33 years, including five years in Irvine and 28 years in Garden Grove.
Longtime customers visited on his final day, some bringing gifts to say goodbye.
From Shoe Repair to Service Beyond Work
Kim began his career in the early 1990s, supporting himself through both shoe and key repairs over the past two decades. He said demand for shoe repair has declined sharply in the Korean American community.
“These days, people replace their shoes instead of repairing them unless they’re very expensive. Naturally, work has declined,” said Kim.
He added that working on shoes taught him a lot about people.
“You can tell a lot about someone’s character by their shoes. It’s disheartening to see quality shoes bent out of shape. More people now do careless repair jobs. It bothered me when I saw poorly fixed shoes from other shops. Maybe that’s just the way things are these days.”
His clientele was diverse.
“Vietnamese customers would bring me food—they were warm, human. One even brought me boxes to help pack up when I closed the shop,” he said. “Middle Eastern customers were big spenders. Some brought sneakers worth over $1,000 or $2,000, asking for thorough cleaning down to the soles.”
Cemetery Volunteering Rooted in Personal Loss
Kim immigrated to the U.S. in 1980, living in New York and Los Angeles before settling in Orange County. He initially worked as a gardener before switching to shoe repair.
But his contributions extend beyond business. Since 1995, Kim has quietly volunteered at cemeteries, cleaning gravestones—especially those of veterans who died during overseas deployments.
A Catholic, Kim visits cemeteries across Orange County and nearby areas, scrubbing headstones and notifying families if he finds damage. He emphasized that this is not a paid or requested job—and that people often misunderstand his motives.
“People often called me crazy. I was even mistaken for a cemetery salesman many times,” said Kim.
His dedication stems partly from personal grief. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., Kim lost his younger brother in Korea to an accident but was unable to return home for the funeral.
“Maybe because I didn’t get to say goodbye, I feel at peace when I do this cemetery work,” he said.
Kim lives in Midway City with his wife, Tina Kim. While he plans to enjoy retirement, he made one thing clear:
“I plan to continue volunteering at cemeteries for the rest of my life.”
BY SANGHWAN LIM [lim.sanghwan@koreadaily.com]
