A conversation between Acclaimed Author Margaret Juhae Lee and Journalist/Author Carol Smith re Margaret's Memoir "Starry Field"

As a young girl growing up in Houston, Margaret Juhae Lee knew nothing of her grandfather, Lee Chul Ha. His history was lost in early twentieth-century Korea and guarded by Margaret’s grandmother, who was widowed in 1936 with two young sons after Lee Chul Ha’s untimely death as a young man. To his surviving family, Lee Chul Ha had been a criminal.  Margaret suspected that there was more to his story and she became determined to uncover it.

Starry Field: chronicles the exhaustive search Margaret undertook to find her grandfather’s story, and the story she uncovered. Combining investigative journalism, oral history, and archival research, Margaret reveals the shocking truth — he was no common criminal, but an influential and brave student revolutionary imprisoned in 1929 for protesting the Japanese occupation of Korea in the lead up to WWII. He was a hero, and as a result of Margaret’s efforts, was honored as a Patriot of South Korea almost 60 years after his death.

But learning of her grandfather’s bravery isn’t what Margaret finds most valuable. Rather, the sense of recognition, of connection to her family’s past that she had been missing her entire life, discovered through a series of three long interviews with her grandmother, is the treasure she and her family gained. A story of healing both old wounds and the reputation of an extraordinary young man, Starry Field weaves together the stories of Margaret’s family against the backdrop of Korea’s tumultuous modern history.

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet Margaret and Carol and learn from Margaret’s powerful memoir.

RSVP using the link below to ensure your spot at what will be a fascinating evening about one aspect of the run up to WWII that has received little attention