CHILDHOOD
Michelle M. Kang was born Migyu Kang to Gideuk Kang and Gihwa Chang in Hongseong on the west coast of South Korea. She grew up in a big family consisting of her grandmother, parents, four brothers, one sister, and Michelle. She was the fifth child of six born to her parents. She lived with her parents in her hometown until junior high.
EDUCATION
Michelle earned her BA in English Language and Literature and her MA and Ph.D. in English Linguistics at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. In 2004, she received a TESOL certificate from the program that was a partnership between Hanyang University and the University of Oregon. In 2007, she earned her second MA in language teaching studies at the University of Oregon. In 2012, she received her second Ph.D. in Education with a minor in Applied Linguistics and Technology at Iowa State University.
CAREER
From the beginning of her elementary school years, Michelle showed high academic potential with excellent achievements in all subject areas. She was also acknowledged for her singing, writing, dancing, and public speech talents. Michelle wished to be an opera singer in junior high and high school.
After some family issues, Michelle studied English language and literature at university. While working on her first Ph.D. in South Korea, Michelle started her teaching career in higher education. From 1996 to 2005, Michelle taught English as a foreign language in higher education institutions in South Korea. From August 2009 until December 2012, she taught English courses in the Intensive English and Orientation Program (IEOP) at Iowa State University. From January 2013 to May 2013, she taught non-credit adult ESL courses at Iowa’s Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Urban campus. Since 2014, Michelle has served in diverse leadership positions at The Saigon International University (SIU) in Vietnam, including the Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. Then, in October 2024, she immigrated to the United States to live permanently and work with the OLOH.
FOUNDING ONE LIFE ONE HEART INTERNATIONAL
Michelle was sexually abused at the age of 4 for the first time. From her earliest memory of abuse, the sibling sexual abuse perpetrated by her own biological eldest brother became the primary cause of all issues she had to suffer for decades. She has been vulnerable to abuse. It took her 40 years to face that her heart was in trouble. She had issues with communication and relationships, which caused her many difficulties in life.
Michelle married Dr. Cho, a college professor in South Korea, in 1999. They had two sons and a daughter. Throughout the marriage, Michelle struggled with her previous issues, going through the same challenges with communication and relationships. Their relationship had fallen apart during her stay in the U.S. since 2005, and her husband took her kids with him in 2008. Being on her own in the U.S., Michelle relied heavily on alcohol to relieve the despair of not being allowed to contact her kids for about a year. Michelle divorced her husband in 2011.
Between 2012 and 2013, Michelle became more active in her faith, allowing God to be a more active part of her life. Through her prayers, Michelle realized that her heart needed to be healed. Since she had been talking to God, she was able to start sharing her own story with others gradually. This led to Michelle’s hopes that she could dedicate herself to helping victims of sexual abuse with their healing by sharing her story with them. She furthered the idea and again hoped that she could provide for sexual abuse survivors programs and services any individual could gain access to through supporting communities.
Michelle named the organization One Life One Heart based on her own experiences. Once, she did her best to erase the memories of the sexual abuse she had suffered. Michelle even wished she could lose her long-term memory. Regardless of her efforts and wishes, however, they never left her. They were always there in her heart, so vivid and clear. Michelle chose One Life One Heart to portray that one’s life goes with one heart that carries all of one’s stories, whether happy or tragic. Michelle points out that since we go with one and only one heart (the very heart that carries our stories), it is important to take care of our own and keep it functioning properly to enjoy a healthy life.