Habitual Sadness Film Summary

Korean men made the journey to America as a way to start anew and generate new opportunities. Some saved for the expensive trip and some signed contracts in order to work off the cost of their trip. Korean women’s journey to America was one that offered much more difficulty and disappointment. Korean picture brides was a common

“Hana’s suitcase”, written by Karen Levine, records a painful memory of a Toronto resident, Gorge Brady, to his lost younger sister in the World War II (WWII), Hana Brady. This memory is provoked by an unexpected package from Japan. Which tells him they are exhibiting his sister’s suitcase as well as her drawing photographs in Tokyo Holocaust Center for a purpose of education about the Holocaust to the Japanese children. And they hope to get more information about his sister, Hana Brady’s life. In the continuing communication with the Japanese children, Gorge gives them all the details about Hana’s short life, and what happens to her in the WWII.

Her unforeseen actions are due to the rest care tradition, which has progressively worsened her mental state and caused her to overlook her role as a caring wife in desperation to escape the imprisonment of the tradition. As witnessed from the two short stories, conflicts arise amidst families due to the events of old traditions, establishing a divide between family members that is difficult to overcome once constructed.

Throughout time, humankind has been known for many characteristics that make it notable and fascinating. Man is praised for many capabilities like creativity, art, and altruism, but perhaps the most notable trait we claim as our own is the ability man possesses for adaptation and survival, both emotionally and physically. In the memoir The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Chol-Hwan Kang, the author details the events that led to his imprisonment, his time in captivity, and his release from prison camp as well as his escape from North Korea. The autobiographical work is not only touching because of the suffering Kang and the other prisoners he writes about experience, but primarily because the story focuses on the desperate struggle of individuals to survive and adapt to even the most horrendous of circumstances. The memoir shows the tenacity and resilience of man through its accounts of prisoners’ struggle to feed themselves and their families, Kang’s desire for comforts as coping mechanisms, and the reluctance of Kang to adapt to change.

In conclusion, Korean had suffered to overcome the challenges in the period between the late 19th to the early 20th century because of the foreign countries’ forces to take the benefit out from Korea. Starting with the forced treaties and wars of China, Japan, and Russia on Korean peninsula, Korea even lost its independence in 1910 by Japan. Korean government’s reaction to these events was disappointing: emperor Gojong even ran away to Russia after the first Sino-Japanese war, which is also called as Agwan Pacheon. As a result of continuous invasion of foreign forces and irresponsible government’s reactions, Korean showed three major responds to the depressing situation: depending on Japan to take control of Korea to modernize, studying abroad

Asian Journal of Women's Studies; Seoul 5:3, ( September 30, 1999 ))” Through her experiences

The setting of these two stories emphasize, on visually showing us how the main characters are based around trying to find freedom despite the physical, mental and emotional effects of living in confinement. While on the other hand, dealing with Psychology’s ugly present day behavior showing dystopia of societies views of women during the time period they lived.

Jeanne was aware and scared at the time but overcame her fear living at a camp for almost four years of her life. The living situation for the Japanese families was horrendous, but Jeanne’s story was captivating and caused me to hope for the end to interment camps.

Written by Margaret K. Pai, the Dreams of Two Yi-min narrates the story of her Korean American family with the main focus on the life journeys of her father and mother, Do In Kwon and Hee Kyung Lee. Much like the majority of the pre-World War II immigrants, the author’s family is marked and characterized by the common perception of the “typical” Asian immigrant status in the early 20th century: low class, lack of English speaking ability, lack of transferable education and skills, and lack of knowledge on the host society’s mainstream networks and institutions (Zhou and Gatewood 120, Zhou 224). Despite living in a foreign land with countless barriers and lack of capital, Kwon lead his wife and children to assimilate culturally,

During WWII, two families were in hiding. The Frank family and the Van Daan family were hiding together. Both families are Jews and they went into hiding because Jews were being killed by the Nazis. A family member of the Frank family named Anne Frank wrote in a diary. She wrote down information that happened in the Annex. In the next three paragraphs I will talk about courage, compassion, and sacrifice.

Stetz and Oh indicate although WWII has ended and is now a mass piece of history, the “comfort women” ordeal still exists today. They continue their isolated existence in poverty and poor health. They have not regained their honor nor had their pains eased. These women continue to endure insulting comments made by irresponsible Japanese officials and by neoconservative nationalists, who claim that many Asian women were merely sex workers for money during WWII. As of the end of January in 1998, the top aide to Japanese prime minister Hashimoto suggested that many women became “comfort women” for money and that the Japanese military’s use of these women was justified by the moves of the times. Within a month of the inauguration of South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, a lifelong fighter for democracy

In the 1900’s Russia was a world superpower. But the only port, Port Vladivostok, was only accessible in the summer seasons of Russia. But Japan’s fort, Fort Arthur, was open all year long. Russia, who looking to expand out farther, asked Japan if they could use Fort Arthur for their Navy, and maritime trades. Russia even went as far as to set up a neutral buffer zone in North Korea on the 39th parallel to negotiate. Japan however misunderstood this and took it as a threat, bombing their own fort, and starting the first great war of the 20th century.

Similarly, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” offers many insights into the suffering that life can sometimes offer. Her account does not have the same subtle optimism found in “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, however, it similarly shows how many can take their luxurious lifestyles for granted, by outlining the suffering or even discussing a woman who was happy her child was dying and would be removed from a life of pain (23). Both of these texts clearly outline how resilient human nature can be – they both tell the stories of women who are put into incredibly challenging situations and yet they both continue to survive. This survival mechanism of humans is an intriguing recurring theme in both texts and is a similarity that links them both together.

The Russo-Japanese War The Russo Japanese war was a conflict between Russia and Japan in 1904-1905. The cause of the war was because Russia wanted to expand into Asia and ran into Japanese plans for gaining a foothold on Asia main land. In 1898 Russia leased Port Arthur from china, with the intention of making it into a great Asiatic port and the headquarters of Russian naval power in the pacific. Russia already had troops in Manchuria during the boxer rebellion in 1900, but Russia had to face the anglo-japanese alliance of 1902, which promised to leave Chinese territory. The promise was not kept and in June 1903 Japan proposed a mutual agreement recognising japans interest in Korea and

My return to Korea in the summer of 2001 was nothing short of a culture shock. I was in a country I thought I had learned by heart. It was the country I always rooted my identity and pride from. I wasn’t ready for the shock. I