Korean Creation Myth

One of the most important myths of the Huichols Indians is about the creation of the world. These types of myths are categorized as origin myths which “are typically the most sacred of a culture’s myths and provide the foundation upon which other myths are built” (Lindell “Professor’s Notes 4” 2). The article “Journey of Grandmother Rain” by Jack Eidt tells the story about the first humans, the creation of the land, and the creation of the sun. From a structuralist perspective, the binary opposition that shapes the worldview of the Huichol Indians is apparent in this origin myth. According to Eidt, in the Huichol origin myth the first human, named Watacame, and his black female dog, Tziku Mayuri, had to “withstand five days of monsoons, wind, waves, flooding and storming” (Eidt). After Watacame had successfully survived the storm, the Goddess Takutzi Nakawe (Grandmother Rain)

In the book each of the Poh Poh’s are seen as old and wise but as well as have a deep sense of culture they are the heart of the home. Suk-Lung and Jung-Sum both had a relatively good relationship with their grandmother as they were cared for dearly”Suk-Lung and his illness. The concept of grandmother was seen throughout all three stories demonstrating their importance in Chinese culture as well as the characters lives.

So far the story is like other creation myths in that there is a world of gods (the Sky-people) similar to Greek/Roman and Egyptian beliefs. Also the world is very plain and empty similar to Christian/Jewish beliefs.

The main characters go through character development in the novel, maturing in both their thoughts and state of mind. After facing the intense guilt from thinking that her uncle was going to be caught by the Japanese government, Sun-hee makes sure to not jump to conclusions: “Tae-yul was going to be a kamikaze...But maybe I was wrong. Remember Tomo-remember Uncle. I’d been so sure, and had made a terrible mistake. Don’t make a mistake this time” (Park 143). After her uncle had run away because of her misinterpretation of a warning, Sun-hee had blamed herself, not trusting anything she thought. Instead of completely discrediting her thoughts, she only warned herself to think it through more. Her careful mindset allowed her to confirm her Korean identity and that her culture had to be protected. This maturity gave her the freedom in knowing her thoughts about her culture were well-thought-out. Tae-yul’s growth is evident by his body language and reactions to certain events. Near the beginning of the story, he is

Kim. the one who started the garden, her father died before she was even born. Her mother and sister would cry for hours and Kim couldn't cause she never knew him or had any idea who he really was as a person. Kim says “I started at my father's photograph - his thin face stern, lips latched tight, his eyes permanently peering to the right. I was nine and still hoped perhaps his eyes might move” (1).She explains how her father had died and she didn't ever get to meet him, nor did he get to meet her, and she wishes she had some connection with her father like her sister and mother had had. Kim did know one thing

Yun Abernathy was born Gao Yun in the popular city Beijing. Her parents were both artists types, with her mother being a dancer and her dad playing in the orchestra. Growing up Ms. Abernathy went to a boarding school in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only coming home on the weekends. Being the eldest of two in a Chinese society every time she came home for school she had to cook, clean, do laundry etc. Most of Ms. Abernathy’s child consisted of a studying and going to school on a daily basis. Besides studying and going to school one fun pastime Ms. Abernathy remembered was visiting her grandparents on holidays. They lived on the sino-soviet border so winters there were extremely cold. She would make dumplings with them on cold days, and look at ice sculptures. On

In this work, Kang’s family is living in North Korea when he and his family are sent to Yodok prison camp for the supposed crimes of his grandfather. It is important to note that Kang was only nine years of age at the time. He, his young sister, his grandmother, his father, and his uncle were sent to Yodok where they were placed in a cold hut and immediately forced to learn how to survive without the amenities they were accustomed to in

P Kim expressed the difficulties of raising children that he and his wife Hyunhee have been blessed to experience. The passage was explained one by one along with several verses that expressed the great responsibility God has given us in co working with him.

미국. With the character 미 meaning beautiful and 국 meaning country, the two come together to form the word beautiful country, or America. Like many others who have not been raised in the United States, I have grown up with the perception that America is a utopian society, a land where the grass is always green and the water always clear. However, after immigrating to the United States at nine years old, I have come to realize that living in America is not as perfect as I had always thought; from daily microaggressions to just the reality of being part of a minority group, my self consciousness about my race and culture gradually heightened. This idea of struggling to finding one’s place between differing lifestyles could also be seen in the short story “Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu. This story held the most personal meaning for me because as a minority, Jack’s struggle to find himself as well as the symbolism of Laohu, the tiger, were meaningful to me and left me thinking about my own life in relation.

Not much is given about his early life and family structure, except that he had three brothers. Since he could not afford to attend a university in Korea, Kwon applied to work on Hawaii’s sugar plantations. In 1905, the year that the Korean labor supply to Hawaii was cut off, he successfully immigrated as a seventeen-year-old sugar plantation laborer with the hopes of fleeing poverty (Pai 4, Takai 238). Approaching his mid 20’s as a young bachelor, he was working as a yardboy for a Mr. Hackfeld when his picture bride sailed across the ocean. Afterwards with the help of a friend, Kwon took up a more respectable job as an apprentice upholsterer at the Coyne Furniture Company. As years passed and he became noted as one of the most prestigious upholsterers in Hawaii, the company he was working for shut down, causing him to lose his job in 1928. Young Soon Han states, “The most viable businesses would be the same ones they [Koreans] did before, because…they have only this experience” (249). Just like the solution to the Korean liquor storeowners who lost their businesses in the L.A. riots, Kwon’s solution was to get back into the same business. The only difference was that this time he was an entrepreneur.

The family was considered to be part of the lower class system because Tae-woo is of South Korean origin. After he fought in the war he was taken as a POW in what was now part of North Korea and had to assimilate in the communist country. This meant he was sent to work in the mines and would never be able to achieve any higher ranking. This unfortunately was also the case for anyone related to Tae-woo, especially his children. No matter how hard they would study and work, they were to meet the same disappointment their father had faced. “Your song-bun, as the rating was called, took into account the backgrounds of your parents, grandparents, and even second cousins “(26). Even ordinary citizens were subjected to invasive screening in order to rank their political trustworthiness.

The novel begins with O-Lan, Wang Lung 's unattractive first wife, who he married while he was very poor. Wang Lung was looking forward to this marriage because his wife would take over the chore of boiling water in the morning and cooking for his father. A passage in the book stated, "Now father and son could rest. There was a woman coming to the house. Never again would Wang Lung have to rise summer and winter at dawn to light the fire. He could

The examples of Khouy and Meng providing leftovers for their family and the numerous sacrifices made by Pa, Ma and Kim for the good of the family are expressions of how much those in their family mattered to them. Loyalty

Hải Trung ultimately found a woman that he decided to settle down with in 1998. The family went to Oregon to have the wedding and Hùng was so pleased that his son had found a wife. “It was so heartwarming to see my son be able to grow into a strong independent man, the happiness was overwhelming,” Hùng stated. Two years later Hùng became a grandparent, Hải Trung had a son named Jimmy Phạm. “The joy I felt was unimaginable, I was a grandfather, I have created a generation,” exclaimed Hùng. Hồng and Hùng then packed their bags and left the apartment and moved to Oregon. They bought a house near their son’s home in 2001. During this time, Hùng’s 3rd child was in Vietnam has found his potential wife, Loan Phạm. The wedding was hosted in Vietnam, so Hùng return to his homeland to see his 3rd son get wedded. Hùng and his wife returned to their home in Oregon afterwards would then take care of Jimmy and help him get to school. In 2003, Hùng’s 2nd grandchild was born, but this time it was a girl and was from his youngest son, her name was Jennie Phạm. Hồng especially was excited to have a Jennie because she had all boys and grew up with all brothers. They continued to live in Oregon, occasionally visiting Jennie in California to see her grow up. In 2004 they sold their house and moved to California, they moved into their old apartment in Alwood with their

Han Kang’s use of comparison between two closely related but very different characters demonstrates society’s definition of a dutiful wife. Unable to withstand the embarrassment of having a wife he is not proud of, he leaves her. Han Kang used the sense of pressure to depict not only the public opinion, but also the force that drives Mr. Cheong’s actions.