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Interview with Ock Soon Lee: A Life of Faith, Survival, and Service

Interviewed August 16, 2026 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 40 minutes

Ock Soon Lee tells the story of her childhood in Korea, the years she survived alone during the war, meeting the American serviceman she would marry, and the life she built afterwards in Pennsylvania.

Background

Ock Soon Lee was born in Korea in June 1933. She endured forced labor as a child and survived the violence of the Korean War. After marrying the American serviceman Frank Crimbchin, she immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1954 as a Korean war bride. Guided by her faith, she went on to help establish a Korean church and to fund wells for communities in need.

Transcript

Related material

Photographs and documents connected to this interview are in the archive.

Cite this interview

Interview with Ock Soon Lee, August 16, 2026, Korean War & Military Brides Project, https://kwasant7.github.io/kwb-project/

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