“I came to this country in 1952, arriving by boat in Seattle. It was cold and wet the day that I arrived in the United States from Korea. I spent the first night here in jail (or some kind of detention center) because my papers were not right and I could not speak English well enough to explain anything.” ~ Sok Nam Ko, ‘The Way Back Home‘
This is a story of an immigrant from Korea, who came to America and forged a new life for himself while retaining the essence of his homeland.
This is a story of how we form our families and communities, and how we celebrate and reconcile our differences and disparities.
This is a story of a journey through a life cut short, a journey that for so long felt somehow incomplete, but that in retrospect was a journey that completed itself in its accomplishments, and everything it left behind.
Above all else, this is a story about love: love for one’s family, love for one’s adopted country, love for one’s homeland, love for the homelands we each make around the world, and love for the ongoing journey of making connections across cultures and countries and differences.
This is a story of my best friend’s father, Sok Nam Ko, and his incredible and all-too-short journey on this earth. As a legacy and testament to him, the Sok Nam Ko Foundation works to continue Dr. Ko’s passion for connecting cultures and people around the world by providing support for students looking to travel to other countries and enrich their lives.
In so many ways, over so many years, Dr. Ko – ‘Uncle Sok’ in my childhood memories – has become like a ghost to me. This is my way of rediscovering the man I knew when I was just a kid, and finding a way back to him as an adult. Even though he is gone, there is still much to be learned, new stories to be heard, and new connections to be made. I invite you to join us on this journey as it continues on the new social media accounts for the Sok Nam Ko Foundation.
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/SokNamKoFoundation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundation_ko
“I was born in Kaesong, Korea. It is impossible to say whether it was a happy occasion or an unexpected accident that I came into this world on November 5, 1934…” ~ Sok Nam Ko, ‘The Way Back Home’
Back to BlogSok Nam Ko was born in Kaesong, Korea on November 5, 1934, during the Japanese occupation. Eleven years later, the United States and Soviet Union divided his homeland, setting the stage for Korea’s bloody civil war. Separated from his family by the fighting, Ko left in 1952 at the age of seventeen to begin a new life in a small American town. There he found a home with the Harrington family and the people of Castleton, Vermont. Ko immediately embraced America and its patchwork culture, participating in the political, educational ad social life of his chosen country. He adopted a distinctly American sense of individualism and a belief in the fundamental equality of all people, while retaining a strong sense of Korean identity, imbued by his childhood experiences. He died on March 16, 1991, but his spirit remains strong in the purpose and mission of the Sok Nam Ko Educational Exchange Foundation, which fosters the connections and exchanges between all the cultures of the world.
