21-05-2025
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Sharon Chung is a musician turned politician
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — State Representative Sharon Chung is a multifaceted woman, being an elected official, mom and professional musician.
'Even though I may be Asian American, I think that, I really try to make sure I'm always trying to find common ground with everybody and anybody,' said Chung.
In 2018, Chung became the first Asian American elected in McLean County when she won a seat on the county board. In 2022, she made history again when she was elected state representative for the 91st district, becoming the first Korean American elected to the general assembly.
'I started getting involved locally here with politics maybe eight years ago. Just sort of started showing up to different events and rallies and going to my congressmen's office, all those sorts of things,' said Chung. 'And with that, I kind of got to know a lot of people here locally with politics and then some people asked me to run.'
Before becoming an elected official, the child of Korean immigrants had a professional career as a violist and violinist.
'I have two degrees in music performance. And I was a performer for many years. I still kind of play every now and then,' Chung said 'I taught lessons, performed in concerts, did all that sort of thing. I even did some arts administrations, did it all as a freelancer. It's still a big part of who I am.'
While Chung is talented with many accolades, she loves getting to introduce herself as mom to her two daughters. But it's up in the air if they will follow in their mother's footsteps.
'I think for both of them, I think they see a lot of the things I'm fighting for, a lot of the things I talk about at home. They're interested in them,' said Chung. 'I think maybe they're not as extroverted as I am so maybe they may not see themselves going into politics. But who knows. I honestly never saw myself going into this either, so we'll just see.'
And when she's not in Springfield you can find Chung at community events because connecting to people is what's important to her.
'That's really been the most rewarding part. Just being able to meet people every day, being able to talk to them, just to hear their stories, things that matter most to them.'
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