About Sonbok

Elena Sonbok McMillanThe scars of the Korean war can still be felt to this day in Korea, but as a child growing up in Seoul, South Korea I can never explain the feeling in words. It actually was not till I painted “Not for Us…For Them!” did I realize just the amount of impact the war had on me.

Though I was born over 20 years after the Korean War ceasefire, families would still share their tales of all that occurred in the war. The families torn apart at the 38th parallel, or those we still do not know what happened to. Lives were forever changed.

In my case I found power in my history. Knowing the sacrifices made for me to have the chance at freedom pushed me to focus on my passion and pursue it at all cost. Lucky for me my passion found me at 7 years old in the form of a manga book.

From those early days my heart knew where I would end up, but my brain took almost 10 years to catch up. When it did though there was no stopping me.

Fast forward 17 years and I moved from Seoul, South Korea to the United States. Eventually becoming a proud citizen of this amazing country, and earning my:

  • Master of Education, Hyles-Anderson

  • Master of Art, Texas A&M

  • Master of Fine Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art

Once I earned my degrees, I was blessed to be able to become a college level professor and teach actively for 6 years, as well as own and operate my own gallery in San Diego, CA.

All of these experiences led me to today and the opportunity to pursue a dream I have had since I was a little girl reading manga in my room. Today I am a full-time artist painting my heart out.  Each day feels like I am waking up in a dream as I get to do exactly what I love to do.

To show my appreciation to the art community for allowing me to do what I love my husband Michael and I have starting the Overfed Artist Foundation.  This foundation will be dedicated to helping starving artists learn the REAL business of art.  The one thing they NEVER teach us in art school.  This will be done completely free of charge to help eliminate the idea of starving artists from the world!  Our plan is to have this foundation launched by January 1st, 2020.