About Our Foundation

Dr. Ko's Story

Sok Nam Ko was born in Kaesong, Korea on November 5, 1934, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Eleven years later, the United States and Soviet Union divided his homeland, setting the stage for Korea's bloody civil war. Separated from his family by the fighting, Ko left in 1952 at the age of seventeen to begin a new life in a small American town.

There he found a home with the Harrington family and the people of Castleton, Vermont. Ko immediately embraced America and its patchwork culture, participating in the political, educational, and social life of his new home.

He adopted a distinctly American sense of individualism and a belief in the fundamental equality of all people, but still retained a strong sense of Korean identity, imbued by his childhood experiences. He died on March 16, 1991, but his spirit remains strong in the purpose and mission of the Sok Nam Ko Educational Exchange Foundation, which fosters the connections and exchanges between the cultures of the world.