Jonny Kim’s life sounds like three superhero stories in one. He served as a Navy SEAL. He studied medicine at Harvard. He also became an astronaut. His childhood was tough, but it shaped his future. The hard times gave him strength and purpose. Kim set out to leave a positive mark on the world. Now he is preparing for NASA’s next lunar landing. He may even be one of the first humans to travel to Mars. Jonny Kim is a true hero whose journey reaches far beyond Earth.

A scared little boy

Jonny Kim was born in 1984 in Los Angeles. His parents were first-generation immigrants from Korea. They ran a small liquor store. His mother also worked as a nurse. Life at home was hard. Jonny’s father was an alcoholic. He was abusive, mainly toward Jonny’s mother. Because she stayed strong, he often turned his anger on Jonny and his brother. Jonny later spoke about the fear he felt at night. He was scared to fall asleep. His father sometimes woke him by throwing water in his face. Then he forced Jonny to pick which of his toys should be broken.

A Turning Point in Jonny’s Life

Jonny was a straight-A student. But his troubled home life hurt every other part of his world. He later shared his feelings on the Jocko Podcast with his former SEAL commander, Jocko Wilkin. Jonny said, “I was a scared little boy. Scared of the world.  Scared of relationships. Scared of talking to people. Scared of school. Scared of having my own opinions. Scared of speaking up or fighting for what I believed was right. I was so scared, deathly scared of my father.”

Everything began to change in 1999. Jonny was 16 when a friend told him about the Navy SEALs. Right away, he knew this was his path. He told his mother about his plan. She was shocked and wanted him to go to college instead. But Jonny believed the SEALs were the best way to protect his mother and younger brother.

In 2002, the family reached a breaking point. Jonny’s father came home drunk, carrying a gun, and threatened them. Jonny tried to protect his mother and brother. His father sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. The police were called. After a standoff in the attic, Jonny’s father was shot and killed.

Finding Strength

Jonny has often shared how these tragic events shaped his future. He told Jocko Willing, “It taught me and set the benchmark for me to do so many more things in my life. I don’t think I was meant to be a SEAL. I don’t think I was born to do any of the things I have done. But because of those experiences, I learned I could stand up to someone. Even to a person who threatened to kill me and the one I loved most. That moment was empowering. It freed me. It showed me I was not the scared little boy I thought I was. I can do these things. I can be part of something bigger than myself.” With this new belief, Jonny set out a few months later to join the Navy SEALs.

A teams guy

Jonny first trained as a combat medic. He later trained as a sniper. After finishing his training, he was deployed to Iraq. He served two tours and took part in more than 100 combat missions. He worked as a medic, sniper, navigator, and point man. Jonny earned several medals for bravery. One of them was the Silver Star, awarded for rescuing wounded Iraqi soldiers while under heavy enemy fire. These experiences shaped his outlook even more. He later told Jocko Wilkin, “We accept the risks of our job for the greater good. It helps our society, our country, and even our species. The same is true in space exploration at NASA. We accept the risks for the good of humanity and the knowledge it brings back.”

From the Battlefield to Medicine

Jonny’s next step was medical school. In 2009, he enrolled at the University of San Diego. While studying, he worked as a parking enforcement officer to support himself. To some, this seemed unusual for a decorated war hero. But Jonny saw the job as a lesson in humility. He said, “You should never think you’re too good to do a job. The moment you start to think you’re better than anyone else, you have poisoned yourself. You are on the dark path.” After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Jonny applied to Harvard Medical School. There, he met astronaut and physician Scott encouraged him to apply for NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Program.

Reaching for the Stars

Jonny finished his studies at Harvard in 2016. The next year, he beat more than 18,000 applicants to earn a place in NASA Astronaut Group 22. Only 12 people were chosen. 2020, Jonny was selected for Artemis Team 1. This crew will fly on Artemis III, the first mission to return humans to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. NASA has already scheduled three Artemis missions. Five more are planned before 2032. Jonny’s role in these lunar landings is secure. But NASA’s vision for Astronaut Group 22 goes beyond the Moon. Their ultimate goal is to prepare for future missions to Mars.

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