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Newly ReleasedThe Northern Wind: Forced Journey to North Korea
The text you type here will appear below the link BiographyTherese Park came to the United States to be a cellist with the Kansas City Philharmonic (now the Kansas City Symphony) in 1966. After 30 years, she retired and began writing fulltime. Her first novel A Gift of the Emperor (published in 1997) is about a Korean schoolgirl forced into military prostitution by the Japanese government during World War II. With this book, Park was one of the featured authors at three national bookfairs in 1998: The Los Angeles Bookfair, The Miami Bookfair, The Heartland Bookfair. A Gift of the Emperor was selected in the reference volumes Reading Groups Choices for 1998 and Contemporary Authors 2001. It was also published in Turkey in 2001.
Reviews: "A valuable addition to World War II literature..." --Kansas City Star "...a horrible story beautifully told, a graphic, fictionalized account of Japanese brutality..." --Sojourner: The Women's Forum "She controls the story with magnificent restraint... She juggles the responsibility of storyteller and historian with remarkable restraint..." --American Reporter "Lyrical bittersweet moments shimmer throughout..." --MSRRT Newsletter Her second novel "When a Rooster Crows at Night: A Child's Experience of the Korean War" was published in 2004. This story is based on what she witnessed during the Korean war (1951-1953). Her essays and articles have been published in such publications as The Kansas City Star, The Sun Publication, The Best times, and Our Family (Canada), The Beat Magazine and Korea Bridge (South Korea) and others. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University-School of Music and Master of Cello Performance from Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, France. She studied with the legendary Andre Navarra. After two novels and 80 published articles and essays, she now writes Commentary for the Kansas City Star-Johnson County Neighborhood News. In 2006, she was selected to write "Midwest Voices" columns, which appeared on the Star's Opinion Page. She is mother of three daughters--Susanne, Irene, and Christine--and grandmother of four--Alex, Emma, Sara, and Oliver. |
The Kansas City Star Commentary
Members of St Therese Little Flower Catholic Church dream big dreams for the declined Blue Hills neighborhood.
Thomas Jefferson said "The tree of liberty must be watered by the blood of patriots."
Education is a privilege
...their beloved country in whose honor they defended my helpless homeland in the Far East six decades ago has become my own beloved motherland.
Kim Jong-il inherited the Hermit Kingdom as it is today from his powerful father, Kim Il-Sung, who, with the help of Russians, established the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948 and ruled it until his death 1994.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Messages on Violence
Two local students made Kansas City proud by winning two of five top prizes at the 2011 National History Day Competition in June, Washington, D.C.
A Korean Grandma and her American Grandkids
Sometimes water demands a high price
Power of dreams
Average people made the world we live in today.
A person can lose a hand and can still live a full life, but the empty space one spouse leaves in another’s life will never be filled.
The square before the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima is the spiritual sanctuary where troubled souls and hearts seek peace and solace
Confucius hometown Qufu has been one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites since 1994
Aging is a blessing
Behind a tough cookie, there's a culture that nourished her soul
Not biting is a sign of appreciation
After Tucsan shooting rampage
Without a healthy brain, one cannot live a healthy life
This holiday season, remember what love really is
Gen. Douglas MacArthur said, "In War, there is no substitute for victory."
Dementia is a devastating disease, and yet...
Our home became a church when homeless priests and nuns moved in with us.
Victor Hugo's view of his old age
Forgetfulness comes with aging
Learning is for all ages.
Mixture of feelings about seeing Amercans' departure from my country Korea
Home away from Home
Foreigner's view of today's China
Emperor Qin and Terracotta Soldiers
Working Mothers' duties
Trauma of wearing hearing aids for the first time
The "Wake up call" isn't only for Chinese parents but for all American parents.
Coca-cola was introduced to our family during the Korean War
The Korean War isn't "Forgotten"
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
I once had compassion for all caged birds. I even thought the bird owners were a heartless bunch. But since I became one of them, I feel a lot differently about the noisy, obnoxious critters.
The Kansas City Star
During the Korean War, long segregation in the U.S. military ended.
The Kansas City Star
The Rabbit has been busy to bring peace to humans Year 2011
During the trip to Korea together, our mother-daughter roles were reversed. My daughter seemed to think that I needed her care, not the other way around.
The Kansas City Philharmonic enriched the lives of many during its 49 years.
The Best Times
He liberated music from a cloistered form set by earlier composers...
The racial discrimination the white American inflicted upon their black neighbors.
Magazine Article
Traditional Chinese medical doctors have been using bird-nests for centuries to treat respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis, to rejuvenate skin, and to boost energy for both young and old.
It takes courage to deal with the human condition called "aging."
Feature article
Inchon Landing was one of the most successful operations in modern military history.
Magazine Articles
Korean War Prisoner-of War Story |
