Sung M. Lim has lived what he considers the true American dream.

His life in the United States started in 1961 when he left South Korea with $100 in his pocket and a few changes of clothes. He was headed to Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss., to pursue graduate studies in plant genetics and breeding.

His 42-year professional career came to a close recently following his retirement from the University of Arkansas as the head of the department of plant pathology.

Sung, 74, describes his life as"work, work, work."

But work is not the only priority in his life. His dedication to his family runs deep and that trait flowed over to his interaction with colleagues and his students.

Many words have been used to describe Sung�- humble, honest, hardworking, dedicated, honorable and integrity among them.

Sung's life did not take the path he expected, but it took a path he has enjoyed.

"I still cannot believe I went to all those places and ended up where I am at now. I cannot explain how I did it, except I did my best and the good Lord helped me along to achieve my life," he said."That's why I am so grateful."

He was born in 1934 and grew up during wartime in the town of Suwon, about 30 miles south of Seoul, South Korea. Speaking of his youth is painful even today, but those experiences helped shape his life.

During his elementary-school years, South Korea was under Japanese occupation. When he entered high school, the Korean War was under way.

"Whenever you have war, nothing works right. When you are in war, everything is destroyed," he said.

Sung continued his education, though. The conditions may not have been ideal�- not all classes could be taught and teachers were not the most qualified�- but he graduated. His family was able to stay together. His parents had three boys and five girls, and Sung was the oldest son.

"We were very fortunate. At that time I was too young to be drafted in the army," he said.

But things were not so easy for his father, who had to hide in a crawl space under the floor of the family?s home for protection. His father was known in town for being well-educated.

"People like that were targeted by communists, North Koreans," Sung said.

Sung graduated from Seoul National University in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in agronomy and obtained a master's degree from the same institution in 1959 in plant breeding and agronomy. At that time Korea was considered an underdeveloped country and agriculture was its main industry.

He was recruited as a crop-protection agronomist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to review the country's old plant quarantine regulations and develop new ones. He was also charged with developing a nationwide project for fresh vegetable supplies for the U.S. 8th Army, stationed in Korea.

Before he started that project, the U.S. Army was shipping in fresh vegetables from the United States and Japan. The project was successful and helped raise more money for his country.

In January 1961, he resigned his position to continue his graduate work at Mississippi State University, on a fellowship.

"I did not know where Mississippi State was," he said.

The trip from South Korea to Starkville took two and a half days. The $100 he had with him was to pay for his first-semester registration fees. His fellowship funds wouldn?t kick in until he had completed his first year.

Sung spoke very little English when he arrived in the United States in 1961, and that made studying difficult. In most master?s programs there is little use of text books and the bulk of the lessons come from taking notes at lectures.

"I could not understand the lecture at all whatsoever. The good Lord always has a way to help you," he said."I had one of my best friends and classmates at Mississippi State; he was an American."

His name was George, and Sung said they took almost identical classes.

"George was a good note taker. I copied his notes, and I memorized. That's the way I studied," Sung said."I don't know how I got through, but I got through my master's degree there."

Sung planned to get his doctorate in seed technology at Mississippi State. He said he used a lot of reference material from one publication by a professor at Michigan State University. After Sung sent that professor a note thanking him for his publications, the professor called Sung and told him he needed to go to Michigan State to do his doctoral work. He boarded a Greyhound bus and took the three-day trip to East Lansing, Mich.

That was 1963, and Sung completed his doctorate in crop science and plant pathology in 1966 at Michigan State. He was the first Korean student there, and he still couldn't speak much English.

Sung then found himself at a crossroads. His Michigan State adviser told him that once he went back to Korea, he might not ever be able to return to the U.S.

That adviser wanted Sung to go to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where a friend was one of the 'best people known in the field of genetics and breeding.'

Sung said that was what he was really interested in.

Sung decided to stay in the United States. He bought his first car, a blue Volkswagen Beetle he purchased for $800, and made the drive to Champaign, Ill.

"I told my adviser I was not going to stay there more than three years. I need to go back (to South Korea). I got to get married," he said.

He was at the University of Illinois until 1991.

"Life is very strange. Good opportunities come unexpectedly when you do your best. That is my creed," Sung said.

His first 10 years at the University of Illinois he did research on corn leaf diseases. In the 1970s, his work focused on the corn blight attacking the country. He said the problem was even worse than the potato famine in Ireland in the 19th century.

Through research, he and a colleague were able to help solve the problem, and the University of Illinois created a new faculty position for Sung.

In 1977, he was recruited by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service to develop a soybean-disease program like the corn program he had established. He took that job because he didn't have to move anywhere�- he had a joint appointment teaching courses at the university and working on the USDA project.

"The only change in the move to the USDA was the source of my income," he said."I had unbelievable support. We had so much grant money from the federal government to solve this problem, and the University of Illinois awarded me the academic position. That changed my life."

It was 1967 when he met his wife, Oghie, at a Korean picnic. She was a student at the University of Chicago and mutual friends introduced them. They were married in 1968. Oghie had also planned a return to South Korea and said she never expected, or wanted, to stay in the United States.

"Things happen that change things," she said.

Oghie says Sung was not like most Korean men she knew�- he was very straightforward.

"He was interested in marriage rather than dating. After a few times we met he said he would rather think marriage than dating," she said.

And, after getting the blessings of both sets of parents, they were married six months after their first meeting.

At the age of 57, Sung had the opportunity to join the University of Arkansas.

"This country has been so good to me," he said."At that point in my career I was looking for something I could do in return. One way I can do this is help the upcoming generation in education. If you talk to my students how much I care about them as individuals. I really cared on an individual basis."

Rick Cartwright, the interim department head for the department of plant pathology at the University of Arkansas, backs up that statement.

"He has always been straight-up and professional. That is very influential on young faculty and graduate students�- they watch every move you make," Cartwright said."He treated his department like an extended family. Within that family, you felt like you belonged, but there are rules. They all benefited from his influence in a sense that it was all right to be a good person as well as a good scientist."

January 14, 2009
SNU PR Office