Kim graduated from Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky,[1] in 1989 and from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1993 where he double-majored in government and English and played for the varsity lacrosse team.

[2] The son of Spencer H. Kim,[3] an aerospace company executive and internationalist,[4] he and his wife, Kati, owned two retail stores in San Francisco, California.

After spending the 2006 Thanksgiving holiday in Seattle, Washington, the Kim family (James, Kati, and their two daughters, 4-year old Penelope and 7-month old Sabine) set out for their home in San Francisco.

Instead of returning to the exit, they consulted a highway map and picked a secondary route along Bear Camp Road that skirted the Wild Rogue Wilderness, a remote area of southwestern Oregon.

Media outlets reported that vandals had cut a lock on it, but a subsequent investigation showed that BLM employees had left it open to avoid trapping local hunters and others who might have ventured past it.

Search efforts began shortly after November 30, when Kim's coworkers filed a missing persons report with the San Francisco Police Department.

[11] On the afternoon of December 4, John Rachor, a local helicopter pilot unaffiliated with any formal search effort, spotted Kati, Penelope, and Sabine walking on a remote road.

[12] Law enforcement officials said that the discovery of the cellphone connection, and the subsequent analysis of the log data, was the critical breakthrough that ultimately resulted in Kati, Penelope, and Sabine's rescue by helicopter.

[14][15] (42°38′44″N 123°43′25″W / 42.645575°N 123.723575°W / 42.645575; -123.723575 (Location of Kim's Body)) Lying on his back in one to two feet of icy water, he was fully clothed and had been carrying a backpack which contained his identification documents, among other miscellaneous items.

[20] Kati later recounted that, after they had been stuck for four days and were studying it for help, both she and Kim noticed that a box in the corner bore the message: "Not all Roads Advisable, Check Weather Conditions".

[21] Bear Camp Road is lightly used between October and April, even by local residents, because of its difficult terrain, spotty maintenance, steep drop offs, and often inclement weather.

The Oregonian was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for a distinguished example of local reporting of breaking news, presented in print or online or both, for their coverage of the Kims' story.

[25][26] The staff of The Oregonian was lauded for "its skillful and tenacious coverage of a family missing in the Oregon mountains, telling the tragic story both in print and online".

[29] In December 2009, Kati, Penelope, and Sabine made a surprise appearance at a Christmas party being held by the membership of Josephine County Search and Rescue.