Lost Names : Scenes From A Korean Boyhood '

In Jamie Ford’s historical fiction Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, this split narrative focuses on two eras: 1942 and 1986. Within these era’s, Ford’s novel focuses on a Chinese boy, Henry Lee, and what it was like to grow up in the international district with prejudice everywhere, especially in his own family being a first generation American. His novel tells the story of Henry, as well as a Japanese girl by the name of Keiko. The novel tells the story of these two young friends and the hardships faced when the government sends Keiko and her family away to the Japanese internment camps in the Northwest in the 1940’s. His novel displays the effects

Japanese American families were sent to internment camps located at a desert in Utah almost in less than 24 hours during World War ll. It was supposed to be luxurious and a dream, yet it was the complete opposite. In the book, When the emperor was divine, Julie Otsuka describes each character and their stories through different points of views. She tells their story by recounting each of the main character's emotional experiences while showing the life of Japanese Americans and how they were labeled in others eyes. Otsuka writes not only about the venture of being taken to an internment camp, but how each character changes in the process. Through each person comes a story and why they changed into somewhat the opposite of their

Cultures around the world are divide by their distinctive characteristic of people, and how people interact within their society. Most cultures are driven by the way their environment has been set for them. Many of cultures have to adapt to the way their environment are due to the conditions that are set for them and the amount of resources that they are provided. The biggest drive for culture are the historical custom. Most countries continue to carry their ancestor custom so that the tradition may stay with them throughout their years, in which making other countries distinctive from one another. One of the particular country that will be discuss in this report is North Korea. In this report, I will be discussing the North Korean culture, with describing their living condition in the country, common issues that they face with on a daily bases, and common threat that they pose on other countries.

In Linda Sue Park’s When My Name was Keoko, personal struggle is essential for cultural freedom. The novel takes place during World War II, when Korea was under Japanese rule. The main characters are faced with laws made to destroy Korean culture and replace it with Japanese culture. The book is told through two siblings’ points of views. Sun-hee, an 11-year-old, and Tae-yul, a 13-year-old, are forced to change their name to a Japanese name because of a countrywide law. They discover that their uncle is printing a resistance paper for the illegal independence movement after they hear their father and uncle arguing with each other. Sun-hee receives subtle warnings about her uncle from her friend, Tomo, and mistakenly perceives it as danger

“I am Korean. South Korean to be exact.” These were the words I would always use to describe myself during new encounters. My race seemed to be what people noticed about me first. Whether I was at a leadership conference, church, or cross country event, there was always someone asking where I was from. For this reason, being an immigrant from Korea has been a big part of my identity as an individual and student.

In her novel When the Emperor Was Divine, author Julie Otsuka presents the long-lasting effects that isolation and alienation have on a person’s self- image and identity. During WWII, Japanese-Americans living in the United States were forced to move to isolated and horrific internment camps. The US government ensured they were separated from the rest of the country. This even included their own families. When the Japanese-Americans were allowed to return home after the war, the result of the isolation they experienced created irreversible damage. They continued to experience alienation, often making it impossible for them to recover emotionally, mentally and financially. Otsuka uses characterization to bring to life the traumas of the war and the effects it had on her characters, the girl, her mother and her father.

When the Koreans are forced to change their family names to Japanese ones, their Korean identity is weakened. Going through this traumatizing experience is

In this essay, written by Dwight Okita, the narrator, a young 14 year-old girl doesn’t realize what’s happening and that her family will be deported to relocation centers for being of Japanese descent. The cause of this was the current battle during World War II between USA and Japan. Denise, who is white and the girl’s best friend, was probably told by an adult about the American against Japanese matters, and mistreats the girl for this “She was sitting on the other side of the room. “You’re

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,

Lost Names: Scenes From A Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim is an autobiographical fictionalization of the author’s youth in Japanese occupied Manchuria. Though not a traditional autobiography, the author tells his own story through the eyes of a nameless young man. The story takes place between 1932 and 1945. The young man grows and changes from the start of the novel to the end and meditates on the nature of war, family, duty and education among other things. However, the most important aspect of the novel is the way in which it portrays the Japanese occupation and the state of the main character’s family as a result of it.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy’s “human resources were stretched thin,” forcing the Japanese government officials to turn towards Korea for extra manpower. In 1942, the government-general of Korea (GGK) announced that twenty-year-old Korean men would be conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. To promote Korean acceptance of conscription, the Japanese encouraged assimilation of Koreans into Japanese culture and society. This included learning Japanese and taking on a Japanese name. The attempts at assimilation and the draft left Koreans wondering whether they would become full citizens or “remain second rate subjects” after the war. Even Korean soldiers, who were supposedly equal to Japanese soldiers, were left wondering about their position in Japanese society. Through an analysis of Kasayama Yoshikichi’s recount of “The Korean Guard,” this paper argues that Kasayama reveals the nature of Korean conscription in the Japanese Army. In doing so, this paper shows how Korean soldiers were forced to comply to Japanese official orders, otherwise they would be punished; although, some Korean soldiers resisted towards the end of the war.

This passage from “My Innocent Uncle” written by Chae Manshik reveals to readers how the author viewed Japanese colonialism in Korea. First of all, “I” keeps using the word “scotchalism” through the story while his uncle always uses the word “socialism.” The author tells readers that “I” is half-educated unlike his well-educated uncle. “I” thinks that his uncle ought to make money and “scotchalism” is his worst enemy. However, according to “I,” scotchalism not only affects his uncle, but also "every Yi, Kim, and Pak of ‘en.” The author uses Japanese names in the story repeatedly, yet readers can find Korean names only in this passage. He even avoids the character “I”'s name intentionally. This would imply that Japan made Koreans abandon their

In his work “Right to Kill, Right to Make Live” Takashi Fujitani compares and contrasts the Japanese treatment of colonialized Koreans leading up to World War II with the American treatment of the Japanese residents following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This work highlights how both the Japanese and the Americans treated the Koreans and Japanese Americans, respectively, and offers several different viewpoints. Thus, this work is exceptionally important and provides incredible insight into both cultures and the harsh reality of wartime. Additionally, Fujitani also explains how the Korean and Japanese populations are still influenced today.

Under the Black Umbrella tells the many captivating stories about the 35 years of Japanese occupation in Korea through both world wars. The memories are all from the perspective of Korean men and women who lived through some or all of it. Many of their stories and the history during that time are influenced by several factors, some of which include their location in Korea or surrounding areas and the government’s involvement in recording history. The Japanese were not all awful to the Koreans, since they were humans all the same, but they committed enough atrocities to have a bad reputation with the Koreans. In attempts to unify, North Koreans employed nationalism and ethnocentrism to fuel their way to become a strong nation again. South Koreans did not rally around such extreme ways and did not utilize their northern brethren’s methods of fear for power. Back then and now, globalization is a part of life and it should not be stifled. Nationalistic thinking will bring about more pain and suffering rather than just trying to coexist. Korea faced many hardships with the Japanese occupation. In recovery to their rule, issues arose when it came to accuracy in history, nationalism, ethnocentrism, and the different roles they all took between the north and the south.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s North Korea started abducting Japanese citizens for the purposes of teaching spies on the Japanese language, culture, and the such so that they could easily slip into Japanese culture and life. 17 Japanese citizens have been acknowledged to have been abducted by North Korea, one of these being Megumi Yokota. She was 13 and excited to grow up and be a proper young lady, just as her mother had been. It was November 1977, not far from her home, it was a chilly winter’s night, the kind Megumi’s mother said she loved. Her family was at home waiting for her to join them for dinner, when she never returned home the family became worried and phoned the police. The young girl was never heard from, who was thought to