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My Freedom Trip: A Child’s Escape from North Korea by Frances and Ginger Park

October 3, 2008

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The phenomenal but often unnoticed heroism of many recent immigrants' journeys to freedom is recorded in this remarkable...

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MY FREEDOM TRIP: A Child's Escape from North Korea

by Frances & Ginger Park Park ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

The phenomenal but often unnoticed heroism of many recent immigrants' journeys to freedom is recorded in this remarkable tale of a young Korean girl's escape. After Korea has been divided in half, many of the families in the north escape to South Korea. In Soo's school, many of her classmates have already disappeared. Finally one night, Soo's father goes too, with a promise to come back for his daughter and wife. When many nights of waiting and wondering have passed, it's finally time for Soo to go; after a long train ride and a hike through the forest, only a river lies between Soo and her father. But that's also where a North Korean guard finds Soo and her guide. Though Soo makes it to freedom, war breaks out before her mother is able to leave and the family is never reunited. The illustrations are impressionistic and warm, reflecting Soo's dangerous trip and the once-bright security of her family. Despite the devastating ending, this touching tale of quiet bravery has universal appeal.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S

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• My Freedom Trip

audiobook (Unabridged) ∣ A Child's Escape from North Korea

By frances park.

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9781436191050

Frances Park

Recorded Books, Inc.

01 January 2014

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Frances and Ginger Park, authors of both children's books and young adult novels, based this inspiring and deeply affecting tale on their own mother's childhood. Winner of the International Reading Association Award, My Freedom Trip features a courageous girl named Soo who makes a desperate bid for freedom by journeying from North Korea to South Korea. Her father awaits across the border, but to achieve her new life, Soo must leave her mother behind.

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My Freedom Trip: A Child's Escape from North Korea Audio CD – January 22, 2009

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 1 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Recorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing
• Publication date January 22, 2009
• ISBN-10 1664497994
• ISBN-13 978-1664497993
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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Recorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged edition (January 22, 2009)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1664497994
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1664497993

About the authors

Frances park.

I grew up in an era when the U.S. Census Bureau need only come to my family's house to get a total head count of Koreans in my ‘burb. That reality is often reflected in fourteen books by publishers big and small for readers young and old.

BLUE RICE (Vine Leaves Press/June 2024) is a timely tale of a young woman from northern Korea who takes what fate deals her following the Korean War, including her acclimation to 1960s America when her husband deserts her.

On the horizon is a children's book SUKA'S FARM (Albert Whitman/March 2025), a testament to a hungry Korean boy's desire to feed his family during the Japanese Occupation.

THE SUMMER MY SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON (Heliotrope NYC/Sept 2023) is a revised and streamlined version of a novel originally published in 2000, long before the era of K-Pop and K-Dramas. A quarter century later, the Oscars have proven that stories about the Asian American experience have certainly come to light, and that audiences are receptive. That said, playing in my mind like vintage footage, I was always hoping that somehow, someday, I could bring the Moon family back to life, sisters Marcy and Cleo cruising around in that yellow Mustang on their way to Taco Town in the summer of '76. And here it is!

Other works include GRANDPA'S SCROLL (Albert Whitman/May 2023), my sixth co-authored children's book with sister Ginger, my includes my memoir THAT LONELY SPELL: STORIES OF FAMILY, FRIENDS & LOVE (Heliotrope NYC/2022) and CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE: THE TRUE STORY OF TWO SISTERS, TONS OF TREATS, AND THE LITTLE SHOP THAT COULD (Thomas Dunne/ 2011), Shorter works - stories and essays - have appeared in O: The Oprah Magazine, The Chicago Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, The London Magazine, Pleaides, Spirituality & Health Magazine, OZY, Slice, Folio, Gulf Coast Journal, and Arts & Letters, to name a few. One work earned a spot on THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2017 Notable List.

Moree co-authored and highly-praised children's books include MY FREEDOM TRIP: A CHILD'S ESCAPE TO NORTH KOREA (Boyds Mills Press/1998), winner of The International Reading Association Award; THE ROYAL BEE (Boyds Mills Press/2000), winner of The Joan B. Sugarman Award; and GOOD-BYE, 382 SHIN DANG DONG (National Geographic Children’s Books/2002), described by Newsweek magazine as "the perfect all-American story".

I've been interviewed on 'Good Morning America', CNN, the Diane Rehm Show, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and NPR.

When I'm not in writing mode, I'm at Chocolate Chocolate, a sweet boutique in Washington, DC breaking bonbons with customers. Books + Chocolate = A Dream Life!

Ginger Park

According to my life path number 3, I was destined to write (that is if you believe in numerology and I do). But as a youngster, I was an athlete, a gymnast with boundless energy, spending most of my time upside down, turning cartwheels and doing backflips – I was too carefree to tap into my creative side.

That all changed on my seventeenth birthday, two days after my father’s untimely death. Call it a gut-wrenching aha moment, a reflective day of tearful soul-searching when I realized that I knew very little about my parents – their lives and dreams growing up in Korea, their struggles to survive in a world of war, oppression, and life shattering events.

For the next few months, I was fretful, clinging to my mother, yearning to know her life story as well as my father’s, fearing our time together was like sand in an hourglass. Night after night, we stayed up late sifting through old photos as my mother shared anecdotal events of the homeland. I was mesmerized, listening, interpreting, and ultimately crafting my art while documenting my family’s rich past that spanned the Korean peninsula from the northern port city of Sinuiju to the capital city of Seoul.

And, so, began my writing journey.

While I never followed in my father’s Harvard footsteps, writing books and owning a boutique chocolate shop in the heart of downtown Washington, DC have been my true education. Yes, Books and Chocolate. As writer and entrepreneur, I’ve built a sweet life, surviving and thriving in an uncertain world.

I’ve written a delicious chocolate memoir and a cookbook for allergy sufferers as well as some whimsical picture books such as Where on Earth Is My Bagel? and The Have a Good Day Café. Do you see a theme here? Yes, I’m a foodie at heart! But it is the books inspired by my parents’ experiences growing up in Japanese occupied Korea, enduring the Russian invasion of their homeland and the Korean War, that have deeper meaning, bring a tragic yet vibrant world back to life.

Sadly, my mother passed away in 2019, but like my father, she lives on through my books, which have garnered many accolades including the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, The Joan G. Sugarman Children’s Book Award, Outstanding Merit, Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College, Parents’ Choice Award, A Junior Library Guild Selection, IRA-CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, and NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People Children’s Book Award.

My books have been published by National Geographic, Boyds Mills & Kane, Hyperion, Lee & Low, St. Martin’s Press, and Thomas Dunne.

I’m honored to add Regal House Publishing to the list with the publication of my latest work The Hundred Choices Department Store. Set in Sinuiju, Korea, this historical novel is inspired by my mother’s remembrances of her family’s painful struggles during the Russian invasion of their hometown and ultimate flight south, across the 38th parallel to Seoul, just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War.

When I’m not writing or spending treasured time with my human and fur baby family, I’m usually at my shop, behind the counter ‘breaking chocolate’ with my beloved customers. My shop motto: There’s a chocolate for every mood. But for me it’s always something dark and earthy that lingers on the tongue long after the chocolate has melted.

Visit me at: https://www.parksisters.com/

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/GingerPark_

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gingerpark_/

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Navigate Your Career Path Like the Road Trip of a Lifetime

• Carole-Ann Penney

Leave space for spontaneous detours and exploration.

Over the past few years, the way we work has changed. Recent data show that working in a single company, or staying confined to a single job title, for several years is becoming rarer. Not everyone’s career paths will be traditional and resemble a climb up a mountain. And that’s okay. We need a new way to approach our careers, one that allows us to be nimble and resilient. Why not  approach your paths like the road trip of a lifetime — to build an intentional career path that is unique, enjoyable, and adaptive to change.

• Get in the driver’s seat. You don’t have to be confined to a predetermined path and you don’t have to stay on a single track — you can curate a portfolio of experiences. You can embark on a diverse and adventurous journey filled with discovery.
• Know that the plan is iterative. When you set off on a road trip, you don’t plug your ultimate destination into the GPS and drive there as quickly and directly as possible. You ask yourself some key questions about what you want to experience along the journey: What kinds of places do I want to visit? What do I want to see and experience? When you embark on your career, know that it is okay to make detours.
• Be open to unexpected opportunities and load up your trunk. On a  road trip, change is expected — that’s what makes it a rich adventure. Approach your career path with openness to unforeseen possibilities and seize them. You can even loop back to revisit somewhere you’ve been before with fresh eyes and new experience under your belt. As you explore, practice articulating the connections between where you’ve been and where you’re going. You should learn how to transfer your unique skills to each new role, as they can make you an asset in new spaces.

Gloria, a client of mine, thought her career path would be traditional and resemble a climb up a mountain. She aimed to follow the steps to success: First, she would choose a mountain by picking a field of work. Then, she would put in her time and build specialized skills. Next, she would shoot for the summit. She’d always been told that when you’re aiming to grow, there’s no room for stagnation or complacency, only linear advancement.

• Carole-Ann Penney is a coach and trainer who helps mission-driven leaders navigate their careers with purpose and resilience. As the Founder of Penney Leadership  and a facilitator for Harvard Business Publishing’s corporate leadership development programs, Carole Ann guides professionals at all levels to step into their authentic leadership and craft an impactful career path that aligns with who they are.

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