SEATTLE — When it comes to airing personal pains in public, or the family’s “dirty laundry,” most Koreans would rather eat a tub of gochujang. But for Elisa Hahn, a reporter for KING 5 News, personal disclosure is a doorway to healing.

Over the course of a year, Elisa has reported on two crimes within the local Korean American community. These include a murder-suicide, in which a Korean man stabbed his wife at his sushi restaurant and then killed himself. The other involved a well-known Korean American lawyer who was shot in the head by an opposing prosecuting attorney.

In each of those events, “it was hard to find anyone in the Korean American community who was willing to step forward to speak out about the injustice,” says the 36-year-old Elisa. Citing accent or language barrier, fear of embarrassment for airing out that so called “dirty laundry,” and cultural and generational differences, Elisa believes Korean Americans have a hard time speaking to a larger American audience on these and similar crimes.

“People of my generation have been taught by society to share our pain because it’ll help us get through it. Many of my parents’ generation were taught to not talk about it. Perhaps they believed ignoring it would make the pain disappear,” says Elisa.

The death of Heja Hahn, who was struck in a hit-and-run accident on Dec. 7 in Seattle, has her family reflecting on what should be private and what should be public.

It was not until Elisa experienced her own tragedy with her mother’s death late last year that she understood how difficult it was to be public about things that were very personal and private.

On the rainy night of Dec. 7, 2004, Heja Hahn was taking a walk in her South Seattle neighborhood. As she crossed the busy Martin Luther King Jr. Way, a red sport utility vehicle struck her and knocked her into another lane. Witnesses said that the car (possibly a Ford Bronco) had gray trim. The driver cut through the parking lot of a 7-11 and fled northbound. A second vehicle (a red Buick) hit Heja and also failed to stop. Then, a third vehicle swerved to avoid hitting her, but never bothered to stop to provide aid. Finally, a fourth driver stopped and called for help.

As the magazine went to print, no one has come forward to claim responsibility for her death. According to the King County Sheriff’s office, one “person of interest” has been identified. Police have also found the number 5 imprinted in the leg of Heja’s pants, which is “consistent with the size and width of a license plate number,” says Detective Steve Hager.

Heja dedicated herself to making life good for her daughters, Elisa and Eleanor. Heja is pictured here with Elisa (center) and Elisa’s husband, Justin Alfstad, on their wedding day in 2002.

Police say that the first and third driver would likely not face charges; that their only real chance of prosecuting anyone is if someone identifies the second driver, the one who is believed to have run Heja over. The first driver may have just grazed her, enough to knock her into the other lane.

To this day, Elisa does not want to waste time laying blame. Instead, she tries to be sympathetic. She pictures herself in the drivers’ seats on that dark, rainy night. She knows that her mother wore a black jacket that Elisa bought her for Christmas. She has learned that her mother was not in a crosswalk when the first car struck her. She remembers instances where she herself has run over or around debris on the road and continued to drive. It is possible, Elisa says, that the first driver thought he or she might have hit something, but for whatever reason chose to drive on.