She played 13 instruments as part of what some consider to be the first ever K-pop group.

Sue Kim is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

("Charlie Brown" performed by The Kim Sisters.)

♪ Fe-fe, fi-fi, fo-fo, fum ♪ ♪ I smell smoke in the auditorium ♪ ♪ Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown ♪ ♪ He's a clown, that Charlie Brown ♪♪ -Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon, and the three women you just saw are The Kim Sisters.

An agent discovered them in South Korea, where they sang for US troops stationed there, and they later became the first Korean artists to perform in Las Vegas.

It's here where the siblings made their home and also where Ed Sullivan first noticed the trio.

After numerous appearances on his show and decades of entertaining audiences on the Strip and around the world, one sister continues to call Southern Nevada home.

Sue Kim, musician, entertainer, and trailblazer, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

(Sue Kim) Thank you for having me.

-You were going to tell me a story about what we just saw.

-Yes, I was going to tell you somebody put it in, you know, the people watched that, and they said we are the first K-pop group, because K-pop is very famous now.

But I don't think we were first K-pop group, but that's what they say, so I accept that.

You know, it's okay.

-So you disagree with it?

-Yes.

-Why?

-Well, because our mother formed The Kim Sisters.

So K-pop group is it's like an organization.

They form them, they raise them, they teach them, but our group was just "Boom!"

Just we went on and performed.

The "Charlie Brown" you just showed, someone put short version of it.

I couldn't believe it.

6 million people watch it, and they all say we are the first K-pop group.

So can I argue with that?

I cannot argue with that.

We just go along with that, you know?

-Okay.

And so when did you first see that video?

-My sister passed on, Aija, who is dynamite out of the three of us.

She was really something else, and she passed on 1987.

Her husband, who also passed on, he sent me a first video of 22 Ed Sullivan Show.

We did-- I don't know how we got it.

-You did 22 Ed Sullivan Shows?

-Ed Sullivan Show.

See, Ed Sullivan Show was live.

I have no way of watching what my sister does, or I can't even watch myself.

So I had no clue how I'm going to get that, but he sent it to me, video.

And first time I watched, I cried the whole time.

And second time, I go, Dang, we were good, because it's a live show, nobody made a mistake, you know?

So if we made a mistake, I don't think they would have shown that YouTube anyway.

Yeah.

And third time, my husband and I enjoy watching it.

I go, My gosh, my sisters were very good.

-As were you.

-Yeah, we were on stage all together.

We moved together, we sang together, play instrument together, no way of watching them.

-Right.

So after you performed-- -Yes.

- --it was live, you would leave the show, and nobody gave you a copy to go watch after?

-We never had a copy.

We didn't think Ed Sullivan was that big either.

-No?

-No.

We had no idea what kind of show there was, variety show.

Our manager just said, Go on.

You're gonna go on this show.

We did our thing.

That's it.

-Let's watch a little bit more of you doing your thing right now.

("Fever" performed by The Kim Sisters.)

♪♪ -Oh, how cool.

You are in the middle, correct?

-Yes.

I'm playing tenor sax.

-Okay.

And this is unique, because usually, you told me, you're the one playing the only instrument?

-Yes.

-And why is that?

-No, solo.

-Solo, like here, what we're watching here?

-Yes, solo.

The reason why I did all the solo, Aija and Mia, my two sisters, are singing higher note.

They had a tremendous voice problem.

They have a, you know, they had to go to doctor.

So I said to myself, you know what?

We cannot just sing.

Of course, we learn instrument because our mother.

She gave us a, you know, idea, but I said, We need to change our program little bit.

So while they sleeping-- they needed to sleep, eight hours sleep till we go on.

Let me tell you something.

Our first show started 1:25 a.m.-- -Oh.

- --Las Vegas.

-In Las Vegas?

-In Las Vegas.

On stage at 1:25 a.m. until the 7 a.m. We got 30 minutes on, 10 minutes of break, 30 minutes on, six shows a night.

-Wow.

This is why they couldn't carry their voice that much.

So what I had to do?

All right, we got to have a change of program, so we will play lot of instruments to save the voice.

That's why all the solo part, I did it.

Not because I'm better than them.

They could have done exactly same thing, but I had to save their voice.

-It was a strategy-- -That's right.

- --to allow them to rest their voices.

-While they sleeping, I was in living room practicing solo, and that's how it was.

-And it was also your mother's strategy to have you play instruments in the first place.

-Here's the thing.

My mother was a very smart and wise woman.

She said, There is a sister group--Andrew Sisters, McGuire Sisters, Fontane Sisters, DeCastro Sisters--they're all over at that time, 1959.

You guys go to America, even you sing better than them, you're not going to have big hit.

You have to play instrument.

So she knew we were talented, because we were singing, our parents in show business, since I was four years old.

So she got an idea.

These girls are talented.

So I started with the guitar first, you know, then tenor sax, then on and on, but my mother is the one who gave us idea, and I'm so grateful.

She's my hero.

She gave us idea to you go to America, you want to be successful.

And by the way, she said when we left Korea, she looked it into my eyes, says, Don't come back unless you are successful.

Do you know what kind of a pressure there was?

But I knew we had to become successful.

So practically, we slept, we work, we rehearse, no date.

She told me, You girls is not going to date until you're 23.

I said, Why?

We didn't even date in Korea anyway.

We were working all the time.

Why?

And she says, When the boys comes in, group break up.

How right she was.

-Tell me about your mother.

I believe you told me that she was also a hero in South Korea, or is.

How so?

-My mother is huge.

She is like Elvis Presley in Korea.

Not that kind of song, but she made this one she recorded.

She was 19 years old.

She recorded this song about Mokpo, one of the harbor city in the south side of Korea.

And she made that city very famous.

So that song became second national anthem.

Even today they don't know my mother, but they know the song.

That's the way how it is.

You know, I went back to Korea two years ago, her memorial, and I went on stage, sang her song, and I realized that how much these people worship my mom and love her.

And every singer in Korea sings her song, even today.

That's how big my mother is.

And, unfortunately, she passed on early age, 1951.

Our father was captured by North Korean, and they assassinated him, and she was left with seven children.

First time they took him in the local, the police station.

Then they kept him about three days.

They let him go.

Second time, there were seven soldiers with a machine gun.

I remember very clearly.

They came to our house, and they opened the door.

They handcuffed him.

He didn't have shoes.

He didn't have any decent shirt.

That was the last time we saw him.

They put him in the jail for three months.

My mother will go see my father, and he was already shaved his head.

And he was a very pretty heavy man.

And see my mother, he will not look at him-- look at her even.

Just go, go home to children.

So she comes home, and I-- I remember-- Sorry.

I gotta calm down.

She was hitting the floor.

And she will cry, Why?

Why?

Why?

And I remember this so clear today, you know.

She doesn't understand why they have to take him.

And my mother had to support seven children all by herself.

We didn't have any money.

We didn't have any rice in the house.

At the time, they use every penny to production for the Cleopatra.

So there was nothing there.

So we will lay down, seven of us, crying, Mom, we're hungry.

We had a shed.

Our house burned down, so a little shed we lived in, 22 people, and she will go there and tear the scenery.

They used to draw the, you know, material, white material, and draw that scenery.

She will tear that and wash it, and she rolled up and carry on her shoulder, go to North Korean soldiers to sing her song.

They all knew her song.

She would sing that song, get cup of rice bowl, and come home and put it in her children's mouth.

-So then you have to start making money for your family, and that is how-- -No.

My mother.

My mother had group of singers that-- from my father.

So she started singing for G.I.

troops.

And, you know, I remember she was so beautiful on stage singing for G.I.

troops, and she turned around.

She thought about it, just by myself, it's hard to carry on like 22 people, feeding them.

I need your guys' help.

I'm gonna form The Kim Sisters.

So first time me and my older sister tap dance and sing, and I remember: (singing) Chi-baba, Chi-baba, Chihuahua Enjilava kooka la goomba.

This is the song we sang.

Then my mother said, You know what?

I'm gonna form The Three Kim Sisters.

So first debut, we don't know the English.

We don't know what we singing.

-You have to perform English songs because you're performing for US troops.

-The first song, she got it from black market, is "Ole Buttermilk Sky," candy and cake, Rosemary Clooney.

Now I found out later, later, what the song was all about.

We just sang, and our vocabulary was terrible.

You know how that was.

But these little, three little girls go on stage and sing, and these G.I.s just fell over.

They loved it.

So we sang the same song until we learned next song.

That's how we made debut, our first with the through the G.I.s.

-Sue Kim, thank you so much for joining Nevada Week.

-Thank you for having me.

-And your story is so remarkable that we are going to be splitting it into two parts.

So make sure that you tune in next week to Nevada Week In Person to see the rest of this fascinating story.

-We thank Las Vegas.

Gave us this wonderful life, yes, and it's time to give back.