Africa Yoon shares multicultural experiences in her book ‘The Korean’

Africa Yoon was born Suzanne Engo in the West African nation of Cameroon. When she was 6, her father was appointed ­Cameroon’s ambassador to the United Nations. Growing up in New York, an ambassador’s daughter, she socialized with diplomats and celebrities, became involved with political and social issues, and had friends from many parts of the world.

A Korean friend introduced her to the luxurious pampering of Korean day spas. A chance meeting with another Korean woman became her point of entry into learning about Korean cooking — its nutritional value, its ingredients and how to prepare it. She began experimenting with ingredients and created her own variations of traditional Korean dishes.

Yoon also continued her involvement with social issues. One of her most memorable projects was running from New York to Chicago in 2008 to raise awareness about AIDS and education initiatives for children in at-risk environments. By the time Yoon reached Chicago, she’d been invited on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to talk about her run and the causes that inspired it.

She wasn’t expecting to find a husband when she met the publicity-shy man she calls “the Korean.” To their mutual surprise, they hit it off immediately. When she got married to Byongchan Yoon in 2013, Engo became Africa Yoon — her new first name represents her pride in her African heritage; her last name reflected her husband’s.

Yoon shares some of her experiences and lessons learned in her book “The Korean,” which was released in November. She also moderates a Korean cooking page on Facebook. For more, go to thekoreanbook.com and facebook.com/groups/ koreancookingfriends.

Yoon, 43, her husband and their three children divide their time between Korea and Hawaii.

Your book describes an inspirational journey overcoming obstacles and also helping other people. Where did that start?

In Cameroon when I was a little girl, there was a handicap center for children that my father would visit every Christmas. I would go with him and give them some of the gifts I’d received, and I got joy from doing it. When we came to America, I learned at the U.N. that something that happens far away from you can affect you just like people affect you. You affect them in the same way, so you should be mindful that you’re connected to all these other people. I’m still really conscious of how what I do affects people, and it comes from watching diplomats and world leaders at the United Nations.

You’ve said “The Korean” is not a self-help book, but I found a lot of good self-help content as well as a great introduction to Korean and Cameroonian food. How did that come together?

When I started writing, it was about my experiences not getting the medical treatment I needed when I had a postpartum thyroid condition, and it was depressing. I had never written a book before, and I had someone helping me figure out how to do it. They saw this Korean thread to my life even before I met my husband, and also how everything tied together even though I didn’t see it at the time. I’m actually kind of a self-help kind of gal, but I much prefer that somebody may learn from me because they see some commonality in our stories than think of me as a guru. Everybody is a guru these days.

In your book, you talked about doctors not taking you seriously because of your gender and race. Do you think your health concerns were ignored because you’re a woman or because you’re Black?

Because I’m a Black woman. When somebody’s treating you different because of your race, you know what’s going on. “Why don’t you listen to me?” When I watched the Serena Williams documentary, where she talks about how she had to advocate for herself when she was hospitalized, I thought, “If me and Serena Williams are treated like that, just imagine what women experience that don’t have our exposure!”

What are you working on now?

The book has just been translated into Korean, so that’s gonna come out soon. And I’m working on a musical. … When I finished running from New York to Chicago, I wrote a complete musical called “The Skinny.” It’s finished, but I wrote it before the husband and the kids, so I’m trying to marry that musical with all the new elements. I hope to be finished before the end of next year.

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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.