When My Name was Keoko

Bibliography:

Park, Linda Sue. 2002. When My Name was Keoko. New York. Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-13335-6

Plot Summary

There are no more Rose of Sharon trees planted in Sun-hee’s family’s yard. World War II is raging, and the Japanese have taken control of Korea. Every aspect of life for the Kim family and every Korean has changed. Food is in short supply; the family is forced to eat meager broth with corn maise, the food of chickens and livestock; and the Japanese have ordered the Korean National Tree, The Rose of Sharon, dug up, destroyed and replaced with Japan’s Cherry Tree. All Koreans are ordered to register under new Japanese names; no Korean may hold a ruling office--Sun-hee’s scholarly father can only be vice-principal at her school. The Korean language must not be spoken in public or printed; the schools have abandoned their lessons for more important war preparations such as building sandbags. Korean schoolgirls are told they are going to Japan to sew uniforms but are really forced into sexual servitude, and citizens are beaten in the street for no reason. Worst of all, home is no longer home when soldiers can march in at anytime and demand to search and or seize anything at anytime. It is during this time of turmoil and upheaval that Sun-hee and her brother, Tae-yal are growing up and becoming adults. The Kim family faces many challenges during this time, including an Uncle who is working for the Korean resistance and must go in hiding, Tae-Yal in an effort to protect his Uncle joins the Japanese army and volunteers to become a Kamikaze fighter pilot, and through it all, the father quietly guides his family through the difficult times, until at last the war is over and things begin to look up for the Kim family and all of Korea.

Critical Analysis:

Linda Sue Park, herself of Korean descent, has conducted much research to breathe life into the events of years past. She has even used actual experiences that her family remembers from the time of the second World War and weaved them into the novel, “Class…The Emperor has sent a gift to every student in the land. In honor of the victories of His Imperial forces in the rubber-producing countries of the tropics, you are each to receive a rubber ball!” (p. 59) This is an actual memory of Linda Sue Park’s father, and she has used it brilliantly in this novel to show Tae-yul’s feelings of anger towards the Japanese government, “What they take: our rice, our language, our names. What they give: little rubber balls. I can’t feel grateful about such a bad deal.” This novel makes the events of World War II relevant to today’s reader through the lives of the Kim family. The rationale of the Kamikaze pilot is learned through the eyes of young Tae-yul, and Park in her afterward explains that there were at least ten Korean Kamikaze pilots. Linda Sue Park’s attention to such details as a rubber ball allow the reader to become transported and absorbed into a time and place that would otherwise remain foreign.

In this story, the reader can identify with the two young main characters, both struggling to find identity in a time of wide-scale turmoil. This is a coming of age story for both Sun-hee and Tae-yal, and at the same time, we see them both standing up for what is right. In order to avoid being part of a military plot to capture his uncle, Tae-yal volunteers for the Japanese Imperial Army, risking his own life, “Everything is so inside out. I believe in Uncle and in the things he believes in. I’d do anything not to betray him. Anything. Even join the army of his sworn enemy.” (p. 121).

The setting is during the time of WWII in southern Korea and the reader learns of many details of day to day life, such as when rice and even barley become scarce during wartime and the family is forced to resort to millet, “That’s millet, nephew. Come, now—chickens and pigs love it, so I’m sure it will be good for you too!” (p. 31). The reader experiences raids in the middle of the night through the eyes of Sun-hee and Tae-yal, “When the officer asked ‘Whose scribblings are these?’ I’d answered at once. And right at that moment I hadn’t felt afraid. I’d felt proud.” (p. 105). The night raids and day-to-day life become exciting within the context of the story of the Kim family’s life.

The Newberry-award winning author, Linda Sue Park has made history palpable with characters young readers can identify with. Her writing is authentic, even though she is familiar with the Korean culture she conducted much research when writing this novel. This book is highly recommended for adolescents and adults.

Review Excerpts:

Amazon.com
Inspired by her own family's stories of living in South Korea during the Japanese occupation in the years preceding World War II, Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park chronicles the compelling story of two siblings, 10-year-old Sun-hee and 13-year-old Tae-yul, and their battle to maintain their identity and dignity during one of Korea's most difficult and turbulent times. In alternating first-person chapters, they relate their family's troubles under the strict fascist regime. The Kim family is stripped of their cultural symbols, only permitted to learn Japanese history and language, and forced to convert their names to Japanese. Sun-hee, now Keoko, struggles to reconcile her Korean home life with her Japanese school and friends, while Tae-yul, now Nobuo, attempts to convert his growing anger into a more positive passion for flight and airplanes. Both are worried for their uncle, whom they discover is printing an underground Korean resistance paper. When Sun-hee inadvertently puts her uncle's life in danger, she sets in motion a chain of events that results in her brother volunteering as a pilot for the Japanese near the end of WWII. While Sun-hee and her parents wait in breathless uncertainty to hear from Tae-yul, the war rushes to a close, leaving Korea's destiny hanging in the balance. This well-researched historical novel is accompanied by a thoughtful author's note that explains what happened to Korea and families like the Kims after WWII and a bibliography to entice interested young readers into learning more about a topic largely unknown to American audiences. (Ages 10 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
A brother and sister alternate as narrators in Newbery Medalist Park's (A Single Shard) well-constructed novel, which takes place from 1940-1945 in Japanese-occupied Korea. The Japanese government forbids the Korean language to be spoken and the country's flag to be flown, and even forces Korean families like Tae-yul and Sun-hee's to change their names (Sun-hee becomes Keoko). Through the use of the shifting narrators, Park subtly points up the differences between male and female roles in Korean society; and the father's process of choosing the family's Japanese name speaks volumes about his strength and intelligence. As the war intensifies, each family member asserts his or her individuality, from Sun-hee, who continues to keep a journal after a soldier calls it "a crime against our Divine Emperor," to her uncle, who prints a revolutionary newspaper in hiding, to Tae-yul, who joins the Japanese army to avoid helping the military police capture his uncle only to be chosen as a kamikaze pilot. The son comes to an understanding of his father rather abruptly at the novel's close, and some readers may wonder why Tae-yul was not labeled a chin-il-pa ("lover of Japan" ). But, in the end, telling details provide a clear picture of Sun-hee and Tae-yul and their world. Readers will come away with an appreciation of this period of history and likely a greater interest in learning more about it. Ages 10-14.

From Publishers Weekly
PW said, "This wrenching WWII novel traces the relationship between two 13-year-old

Reviews accessed at:

http://www.amazon.com/When-My-Name-Was-Keoko/dp/0440419441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5566611-7598454?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194399917&sr=8-1

Connections:

Park, Linda Sue. 2002. The Kite Fighters. Yearling. ISBN 0440418135.

Park, Linda Sue. 2003. A Single Shard. Yearling. ISBN 0440418518.