Soon Hong Olsen

Soon Hong Olsen passed away peacefully on October 10, 2026, at the age of 93, in Salinas, CA. She was born on March 25, 1933, in South Korea, to Han Yee (Lee) and Yung Duk Pai. She was one of eight siblings and the youngest girl.

Soon Hong Bae arrived in the US in June 1962, planning a temporary stay with relatives. Several months later, she was invited to host the Korean exhibit at an international festival in Los Angeles. There she met Edward Allan Olsen, then a photographer and art school student, who took her picture. As she would say, “The rest is history.” Soon and Allan married in 1965 and had two children. Always an ambassador for Korean culture, Soon was a great influence on Allan’s future academic pursuits; he went on to become an expert in Asian studies and US foreign policy.

Life with Soon was characterized by both a love of home and a sense of adventure. She and Allan took their young daughter to Tokyo for a year during his graduate studies. They traveled throughout the world, including to Norway, where they met some of Allan’s relatives, and back to Korea. Throughout her life, she kept in touch with family in Korea, first by blue airmail letters, and most recently by email, which she loved.

Soon was known for her lifelong love of nature. She was often outdoors, from the mountains of Korea to the hills of Monterey County at the Olsens’ eventual home in Toro Park, where they moved in 1980 when Allan joined the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. In a poem found among her papers, she described the “haunting sound of mourning dove / at early dawn of Toro Park.”

An English major at college in Korea, Soon was gifted at languages and an avid reader, especially of thrillers. A homemaker, she occasionally taught Korean later in life. She was a gardener, known for her green thumb with both houseplants and fruit trees. Most of all, she had a magical ability to make friends wherever she went. She always took a daily walk on the Fort Ord trails, where she set a quick pace but never failed to stop to enjoy a conversation with friends and pet their dogs.

Soon’s independence, lively spirit, and delight in life spread much joy to others, and she continues to be an inspiration to those who knew and loved her. Her survivors include her daughter, Erica Soon Olsen (Andrew Goodwin); son, Karl Yung Olsen (Lauren Farrar); many relatives in the US and Korea; and too many friends to count. A celebration of life will be planned in 2027. In the meantime, her family invites you to honor her memory by taking a walk, reading a good book, or writing a letter or an email to someone you love.