From North Korea to America Through Three Wars

Stretching across eight decades, this memoir covers Sung Yoo’s harrowing childhood escape from North Korea, the miseries of life as a refugee in South Korea as war followed her, the difficulty of finding dignity as a lowly nurse, the pain of splitting her family during the Vietnam War, and the struggle to find language, stability, and a career in the United States.
Forced to focus on survival from a very young age, Sung Yoo still managed to live a vibrant life. She experienced a personal and professional transformation within the nursing profession, ultimately leading to a whole new worldview. In vivid emotional detail, she brings us through the uphill battles she faced. This memoir is a war story, an immigration story, and a nursing story like no other; Sung Yoo speaks to the contemporary world with a wealth of experience, the dignity of age, and the determination to always keep learning.

Sung C. Yoo escaped with her family from North Korea shortly after the communist regime took power in 1948. She had a long career as a nurse in South Korea, Vietnam, and the United States. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Sung C. Yoo
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 10 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9792-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5585-7
Imprint: McFarland