Liberia: Nakie Suh Is Looking for His Korean Father

Liberia: Nakie Suh

Nakie Suh, 30, is facing his second winter in South Korea. He moved there from the West African country of Liberia in July 2017, and he finds it challenging to cope with the cold weather. But Suh is trying to staying on until he meets his objective. He is there to find his father.

“People said my dad’s name was Nakie Kang. My mom met dad when he worked with my uncle at Daewoo E&C, and they were in a relationship for one year. My dad already had a wife and two daughters in Korea,” Suh told Korea Expsoé.
Suh was born in 1988. He is among an estimated 30 Korean-Liberian children who were born in Liberia between the mid-eighties and early nineties, roughly the same time that South Korean firm Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) was building a highway between Monrovia, the Liberian capital, and Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
Most South Korean fathers left Liberia and severed all connection with their Liberian wives and lovers.
“When my parents found out that mom was pregnant, dad said he was not sure if he could raise an African baby. Mom brought dad to the court for a child support, but dad angrily said, ‘In Korean culture, a couple will be lifetime enemies if the wife brings her husband to a court,’” Suh said.
“He went back to Korea and disappeared after changing his phone number and address.”