1946: Fleeing the Russians

My family had to leave our homes that had been filled with joy and music. The Russian army turned our house into its headquarters. My father, Yoon Doo-Sun, fled to avoid conscription and was thrown into prison when he arrived in Seoul. My mother, Song Kyung-Shyn, left to find him. Later, during cold winter nights, I was carried on a stranger’s back while my older siblings walked hundreds of miles from Pyongyang to Seoul. Farmers fed us the most wonderful noodles we have ever tasted.