Park was born on March 25, 1960 in Urbana, Illinois and was raised outside Chicago. Linda Sue Park's parents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s, for their education. Park has been writing poetry and stories since the age of four. Park published her first poem when she was nine years old for "Trailblazer" magazine. Through elementary and high school, she continued to publish poems in magazines for children and young people. She published her first book in 1999, "Seesaw Girl".