Skip to main content

Yumi's Take on Being Korean

Yumi's comment about being Korean as "just another horrible encumbrance" demonstrates to us how present and large discrimination and prejudice were in Japan during this time period. Also, Yumi's comment in which she describes Japan as "a beloved stepmother who refused to love you" shows the complicated relationship that exists between Korea and Japan. This makes the readers think: should Japan look out for its more vulnerable bins of citizens and make sure they are integrated into society. The analogy of the stepmother who refuses to love you suggests that Japan is not doing its part to make sure that all of its citizens feel welcomed into the culture and community. A stepmother should care for her stepchildren, even if they aren't her blood because they are innocent and vulnerable and have nowhere else to turn.

Comments

  1. Noah English 11H BlogMarch 13, 2023 at 12:47 PM

    The beloved stepmother analogy is perfect because it not only represents the vulnerability of Koreans and refusal to support the by the Japanese, but also the yearn by Koreans to be part of the society. Just like the desire for the step child to be loved by the stepmother. But in both cases, that love, care, support is not given.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Biblical Names in Pachinko

I am a Catholic, but I haven't gone to Church in many years. I wouldn't be able to tell you about anyone in the Bible! However, after some research, I notice many similarities between Isak in Pachinko  and Isaac in the Bible. I chose to examine Isak's similarities to Isaac because I admire Isak for his refusal to conform to societal expectations. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Isaac is the only son of Abraham. Abraham nearly sacrificed his only son due to God's command. In Lee's Pachinko , Isak is not sacrificed against his will, but sacrifices himself for what he believes is right. He sacrifices his honor by marrying Sunja, a woman pregnant outside of wedlock. He also sacrifices himself for his religion when he chooses not to recant his Christian religion in favor of the dominant Shinto religion. 
3 comments
Read more

End of Literatures of the World

 I really enjoyed being in this class for the last two quarters. Originally, I was nervous and scared to be writing as much as we have because writing is not my strong suit. I was afraid I'd fall behind. While there was definitely plenty of initial struggle in the transition from high school writing to college writing, I feel like I have improved a lot as a writer. In particular, I have improved on writing research papers, something that was a serious endeavor for me in high school. Aside bettering my writing skills, I appreciated this class for all of the time periods we learned about. I also really enjoyed doing projects such as Neatline which incorporated map-based research. Learning about cultures from different time periods and different physical locations really widened my scope of the world. I was born in the United States when it was already considered one of the most powerful countries in the world. For that reason, my perspective is very limited and it is easy for me to b...
3 comments
Read more

Gender in Pachinko

 It is clear to me that gender plays a large role in Pachinko. Sunja has many social pressures that consume her life. Most of these social pressures are a result of her being female. For example, when she gets pregnant while being single, she is pressured to leave her life in Korea behind to find a man to marry and provide for her so that she is not judged by society. This demonstrates that society is not supporting women to live independent lives and/or pursue an education. The only expectations for women include being good mothers and good wives.  Another example of gender roles playing a big role in Pachinko  is women as part of the workforce. In Japan, it becomes apparent that women aren't encouraged to work. In fact, Yoseb takes it as a hit to his ego as a man when Sunja and Kyunghee tell him they wish to work. He is insulted because in Japan, a man is supposed to provide for women. 
3 comments
Read more