“My mother was a Korean woman named Wol-soon Lee. She was separated from her family during the Korean War and longed for them her entire life but passed away without reuniting. I’m her second daughter, and I plan to visit Korea to trace her footsteps.”

Nancy Gonen (68), currently living in Ra’anana, Israel, will travel to Korea in September with her two daughters. Her sole purpose is to embark on a journey to find the roots of her mother, who lost her family during the Korean War.

Nancy’s mother, Wol-soon Lee, was born in Gangwon-do and married U.S. soldier Earl Sorenson in the 1950s, immigrating to the U.S. in 1956. Her elder daughter, Louise, was born in Seoul in 1955, and Nancy was born in Los Angeles in 1957.

“My mother, separated from her family during the war, told me she had an older brother and a younger sibling. Whenever she spoke of them, deep sadness filled her voice,” Nancy recalls. Her father, Earl, passed away in 1977, her mother in 1979, and her sister, Louise, in 2001. Now, Nancy is the last living witness to their family’s story.

Nancy married an Israeli man in 1982, moved to Israel in 1985, and raised two daughters. She retired from her career as an HR manager at a broadcast media technology company and now splits her time between the U.S. and Israel, spending time with her grandchildren. For years, she avoided confronting her mother’s painful past. But a few years ago, a book changed her perspective.

“Reading Crying in H Mart, I couldn’t stop crying. The relationship with my mother, Korean food, identity, and loss—it felt like my own story. That book opened my heart and gave me a strong conviction to find my mother’s family.”

Nancy is pinning her hopes on a single English-translated family registry issued in 1955. According to the document, Wol-soon Lee was born on August 14, 1933, in Sanggyu-ri 52, Dong-myeon, Chunseong-gun, Gangwon-do, to parents Tae-won Lee and Soon-nye Lee. The family’s address at the time was recorded as Wadong-ri 663, Hongcheon-myeon, Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do.

Nancy is seeking assistance from Korean government agencies, consulates, community associations, and family-tracing organizations.
“Korea is my mother’s homeland and the land where family I’ve never met may still live. Even if I return without finding anyone, I felt this journey was necessary. It’s a belated gift to my mother and a chance to find the final piece of my life’s puzzle.”

Contact: gonen.nancy@gmail.com

By Sehee Roh, Reporter