Mike Spellman arranged to have Hyon Kim speak to our club today. Hyon is a member of the Roseville Rotary club and owner of an engineering firm with her two sons. She has written a book in Korean about the history of her life and the historical events leading up to the Korean War. Her family was ripped apart during the war. When war broke out in 1950, her father joined the Communist Party and 4-year old Hyon was sent to live with an aunt in the south of Korea. Her early years were very difficult, filled with poverty and loneliness. School mates jeered her because of her father's communist affiliation. At 17 she joined the military. She married a Minnesotan in 1970 while working for the U.S. military in Seoul in 1970, relocated here, and became a U.S. citizen in 1974. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota, served as a member of a council on Asian Minnesotans set up by former Gov. Rudy Perpich and was the first Asian American to serve on the U of M's Board of Regents. Hyon's book, entitled "Her Name is Maria", tells the harrowing details of the Korean war, which many younger Koreans don't fully appreciate. 80% of the country was destroyed and 4.8 million Korean citizens were killed. She expresses gratitude for the American troops who fought for a free Korea. She recounts this powerful history and her own harrowing personal story - I look forward to reading her book when it comes out in English in 2021. August 4 - Club Meeting
Mike Spellman arranged to have Hyon Kim speak to our club today. Hyon is a member of the Roseville Rotary club and owner of an engineering firm with her two sons. She has written a book in Korean about the history of her life and the historical events leading up to the Korean War. Her family was ripped apart during the war. When war broke out in 1950, her father joined the Communist Party and 4-year old Hyon was sent to live with an aunt in the south of Korea. Her early years were very difficult, filled with poverty and loneliness. School mates jeered her because of her father's communist affiliation. At 17 she joined the military. She married a Minnesotan in 1970 while working for the U.S. military in Seoul in 1970, relocated here, and became a U.S. citizen in 1974. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota, served as a member of a council on Asian Minnesotans set up by former Gov. Rudy Perpich and was the first Asian American to serve on the U of M's Board of Regents. Hyon's book, entitled "Her Name is Maria", tells the harrowing details of the Korean war, which many younger Koreans don't fully appreciate. 80% of the country was destroyed and 4.8 million Korean citizens were killed. She expresses gratitude for the American troops who fought for a free Korea. She recounts this powerful history and her own harrowing personal story - I look forward to reading her book when it comes out in English in 2021.