Korean who began school as World War II ended, but never finished, off to university at 87

At an age when most people reflect on their lives, 87-year-old Kim Gap-nyeo is starting a new chapter as a university student.

After years of raising five daughters alone while working in markets, factories and bathhouses, Kim graduated from Ilsung Women’s High School, a school for adult learners in Seoul, South Korea, on February 25, and is set to begin her studies at Sookmyung Women’s University next month.

Born in 1938, Kim began primary school after Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945. However, her education was cut short when her mother asked her to quit school and help with housework.

Her teenage years were spent caring for her younger siblings and working in the fields. At 17, after her father died and financial hardships deepened, her mother urged her to get married.

Refusing to accept that fate, Kim ran away with a friend to Busan, where she worked as a housemaid at a shoe store. A year later, her employer encouraged her to move to Seoul.