By Robert Neff
Anna P. Jacobsen in the mid-1890s / From Prof. Oak Sung-Deuk's book "A Pictorial History of Modern Nursing in Korea."
"A Pictorial History of Modern Nursing in Korea" by Prof. Oak Sung-DeukOne of the first Norwegians in Korea, and possibly the earliest to be buried here, was Anna P. Jacobsen, a young nurse whose past is relatively unknown and only remembered with a small plain stone in the Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery. Anna's life was one of hardships and sacrifices brought upon her by her extreme religious devotion.
Anna was born April 18, 1866, on the island of Nottero, near the town of Sousberg, Norway. With the passing of time, Sousberg has disappeared from the map, but it was most likely a large village of fishermen and farmers. She grew up in a large family. Her father, a baker, appears to have made a good living and had several employees working for him. Not only was he successful, he was also very conservative and domineering. Like most of the population, her father was Lutheran, and he demanded that his entire family follow his faith, thus, at a young age, she was forced to become a member of the Lutheran Church. It was not her wish. She was troubled by attending the Lutheran Church because it violated her own personal beliefs, and she was obviously afraid of her father's wrath, but, while still young, she summoned the strength to declare that she would no longer attend the Lutheran services and instead switched to the Presbyterian Church. "After a long hard struggle, she found Christ and the forgiveness she craved."