Paull Shin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paull Shin (Shin, Ho Bom, Korean: 신호범) (1935 - ) is a Korean American member of the Washington State Senate, the first Korean American ever elected to the Washington State Legislature. He is a member of the Democratic Party, elected from the 21st Legislative District, which includes Woodway, Edmonds, Mukilteo, and portions of Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace, Washington. Senator Shin currently serves on the Senate committees for International Trade & Economic Development (Chair), Agriculture & Rural Economic Development (Vice Chair), and Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education.

Shin was born in Korea in 1935. Orphaned at the age of four, he lived on the streets of Seoul begging for food until the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, at which point he became a houseboy to a group of U.S. Army officers. In 1954, one of them, a dentist named Ray Paull, adopted Shin and took him home to Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite never having been educated in Korea, and knowing little English, Shin completed a GED in 18 months. Shin went on to earn a BA in political science from Brigham Young University, an MPIA from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MA and PhD from the University of Washington.

After being elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1992, Shin ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1994 and for Washington lieutenant governor in 1996, losing by a thin margin in each race. He was elected to the Washington State Senate in 1998.

Despite his Mormon upbringing, Shin has since left the Mormon church and is currently an elder at a Pentecostal church. Shin and his wife Donna have two children.