i am from germany and my english is bad.. you have found good words to the death of james kim and my heart goes to his family..
ralf from germany.. father of two kids..

It's very sad but every parent should be protective to their kids. You can make choices, your kids have no choice. For any reasons you have to keep them safe. this is a pleasure trip on Holidays, there is no rush and emergency matter, and there is no reason for driving late at night in Winter through Oregon mountains with an infant, a 4 year old and a wife. And now a few crazy men try to climb Oregon mountains and put many lives at risk to search for them. That's foolish!!!!!!

where would be without those foolish risk takers.

Although it is a sad ending for the Kim family, I am disgusted by the media's attempt at making him a 'hero' and calling him 'superhuman'and now blaming the local Sheriff's dept. for "screwing it up". James Kim drove in heavy falling snow with his door open to see (admitted by his wife Katy)then stopped periodically to move boulders (not rocks) from the road to continue on "his" path (also admitted by his wife). He jeapordized his family's life in order to beat time because they were running late. Also, on many Oregon maps it is clearly written that the direct road he took to Gold beach from I-5 is closed during the winter. He ignored signs (admitted by his wife Katy) of dangerous weather conditions and treacherous roads. Not only did he leave the main road to take a "short cut" he also took an UNFAMILIAR road low on fuel! He then burns the shoes of his car. His only means of transportation and he burns the tires! That's like cutting off your legs. I believe that James Kim has quite a bit of fault here. I understand not wanting to make the situation worse for the family by rubbing it in or by placing blame openly but lets get real!! A 'hero' and 'superhuman'? Any man would die to save his family but I don't see the media calling them 'heros'.

If James Kim had been awaken in the middle of the night from a sound sleep and warm bed to put on over 100 lbs. of clothing and equipment to blindly save a family through thick smoke and fire or put his life on the line everyday in the line of duty with some crackhead or crazed maniac or had he been a part of the Sheriff's department that put themselves in danger to search for a lost person in the woods then the media can call him a hero!

I will wholeheartedly agree that this is a travesty for ALL persons involved, whether it be family, friends or rescuers. However, I cannot believe the outcry of armchair quarterbacks that want to condem the search or events leading to Mr. Kim's body. This completely sheds light on the fact that we live in a no-fault society. Nobody wants BIG government to lord over them in their day to day lives, but when they have exercised the freedom that they are given and are unsuccessful or tragedy has struck, its not their fault. Rather, its the goverment's fault for "Not posting enough signs" or "Not reacting fast enough." James Kim did the right thing by his family AFTER they became stuck. There were more than enough indicators-posted or natural, that should have put up a red flag and caused them to reconsider their choice BEFORE.

Superhuman? Who cares............this is a tragic story that should be remembered.......the pictures with his children........his smiling face........lit up our tv's....as we all prayed that he would be found. This is not a time to say.....what if?........not a time to armchair quarterback..........but a time to embrace and pray for the family and friends of this young man who loved his family.

It's ridiculous to say that James Kim did anything stupid by getting stuck on a BLM road off of Bear Camp Road. It's been reported that locals get stuck there all the time, including, once, Under-sherrif Anderson himself. Once the Kims figured out they were in a bad situation they tried to get to lower elevation but unknowingly took a wrong turn onto a BLM road. Considering that locals knew people often found themselves on that BLM spur road by accident, the cell phone charts showed they could very well be there, it was documented that the road had *not* been searched completely AND officials didn't use the helicopters with heat sensors when they could have, I have to say there is a lot of responsibility on the part of the officials charged with search and rescue. The woman charged with coordinating the effort, it's been reported, even asked for help when she found she was overwhelmed but no one else wanted to make this their problem. It wasn't until the weekend when the effort got any real coordination.

And for the record, it's been reported that James travelled SIXTEEN miles over TWO days.

The courage of James is not a surprise for all his friends from France. I guess katy did everything to keep him close to the car, but as a dad I guess he had no choice but to and seek for help to save his family. Friends from Bordeaux and Paris.

Just a word about the comment of Tami fom OREGON who seems to know alot about heros: .... ...!!!!!!

I have some personal experience, having been stranded in the same exact area as the Kim's about 10 years ago. My friends and I traveled 20-25 miles on foot to try to get out. Luckily we were found, but purely by accident. I'd like to state that the map we had, DID NOT say the road was closed in the winter. We inquired in Ashland if we could get to the coast using this road. We also were headed for Gold Beach. We were told, yes, you can take that road. As people told us later, yes, you did some things wrong, but you did enough of the right things to still be here. James Kim was a hero.

Tami, sounds like somebody hurt you real bad.

I do appreciate those who work as firefighters and police officers. However, they join willingly and train extensively for their jobs. It is their choice to take those jobs. Yes, hero talk is overplayed in our culture, but Tami's citings are part of the problem. Chill.