Interviewee: Leona Werner
Interviewer: Kurt Harmening
The subject of this interview is Leona Werner, a 62-year-old mother, volunteer, and
dedicated member of the Korean community in Minnesota. Leona grew up with her sister,
mother and father in Pennsylvania. During the interview Leona discusses her mother Park Yung
Soon’s time in Korea, from the Korean war to her marriage to her American GI husband and
move to the US. Leona also shares about her own life as a biracial Korean-American woman and
how she has tried to pass along Korean culture to her and others in the Minnesota Community,
and the experiences of her daughter Shin Bee, who she adopted from South Korea. This
interview addresses the subjects of Korean food, culture, generations, the Korean War, racism,
Asian hate, community, and many others.
I knew my interviewee prior to the HI244: Modern Korea 1945-Present course and the
Korean Oral History project through my parents, who have been family friends with Leona
Werner and her husband, Bob Waldron, for many years ever since my father had Bob Waldron as
his boss. The interview was conducted over Zoom as Leona Werner lives in my home state of
Minnesota, while I currently reside in Maine.
The interview was conducted by Kurt Harmening, a Senior in my final semester at Colby
College. I am majoring in Neurobiology and minoring in Economics and am interested in how
diaspora cultures persist far from their geographical points of origin.
Leona Werner, is a 62-year-old mother, volunteer, and dedicated member of the Korean
community in Minnesota. Leona grew up with her sister, mother, and father in Pennsylvania.
Through her own research and from her mother, Park Yung Soon, Leona learned the
intricacies and importance of her South Korean heritage. Leona is married to Bob Waldron, and
together they adopted a child from South Korea named Shin Bee, who is now in her junior year
in college. Leona has volunteered her time expanding South Korean culture in her community,
through educational programs as well as more individualized interactions to help assist with the
transference of South Korean culture to those with South Korean heritage.