In Korean, a death is referred to as 'a return.' Early in the morning of October 4, 2021, Hyunjung "Helen" Sakong returned to her father, Ahn Tae Jin, her mother, Ko Jae Woo, and her sister, Ahn Hyunseon. She was 66 years old.

Hyunjung was born in Busan, South Korea in 1955; she was the second of five sisters. She grew up in Seoul, where she met her husband and had her first child. In December of 1985, after graduating from Hanyang University and passing the CGFNS qualifying exams, she achieved her dream of emigrating to the United States. She moved to the Bronx, became a Registered Nurse, and had her second child. She worked the night shift in the Emergency Room.

Hyunjung and her family moved to Woodbridge in 1987. She raised her children here. She was a Nurse at the Woodbridge Developmental Center for almost 10 years. She cared for those in need. She tended to her gardens of peonies, morning glories, roses, hibiscus blooms, cucumbers, lettuce, perilla leaves. She loved Van Gogh. Daily, she cut roses and brought them inside. She filled her house with flowers and paintings and color. She loved watching deer graze in her yard. She delighted in her husband's stories, her children's adventures, her granddaughters' ebullience. She showed them through example the deep necessities of art, love, tenacity, and faith.

Throughout her life, Hyunjung endured more pain—and faced them with more courage—than most can fathom. But she was always the first in the room to laugh, the first to hug. She gave everything and wanted nothing. She was a lifelong Catholic; she trusted in Christ and centered her days on prayer. She did her best, all through her life; it was enough. She was the heart and hearth of her family; her warmth was life-sustaining, and is now missed fiercely.

Hyunjung is mourned by her husband of 41 years, Sok Hwa Sakong; her sons Austin Sakong and Jay Sakong; her granddaughters Arienne Sakong and Elise Sakong; her daughter-in-law SiAe Sung; her sisters Ahn Hyunkoo, Ahn Hyunsin, and Yoosin Ahn; her brothers-in-law Hwang Changguk, Yang Oh Seung, and Jeongsoo Choi; her nieces and nephews Hwang Jeong Won, Hwang Jeong Soo, Yang Dongjun, Yang Seyeon, Juho Choi, and Sunho Choi; and a wide wake of all the innumerable lives she made warmer by her grace, wit, and compassion. The heartbreak she leaves behind is lessened only by the knowledge that she is at last at peace in her return to God.

Funeral services will take place on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 9:15 a.m. from Costello-Greiner Funeral Home, 44 Green Street, Woodbridge, NJ. A Mass of Resurrection will follow at 10:00 a.m. at Saint James Catholic Church in Woodbridge. Cremation will be private. Visitation for family and friends will be on Friday from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Funeral Home.