When My Name Was Keoko Essay

After Pearl Harbor, people were making generalizations and stereotyping Japanese Americans. “For it was true, they all looked alike. Black hair. Slanted eyes. High cheekbones. Thick glasses. Thin lips. Bad teeth. Unknowable. Inscrutable (Otsuka 49). People tended to stereotype that Asian people “all look alike” which shows that nobody took the effort to know them personally. The mother is unable to cope with the reality of the present so she retreats into her past memories. Her depression takes over as the camp will slowly chip away at her

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

This reading was set about 50 years after Japan annexed the Ryukyuan Kingdom, as chain of islands near Japan. During this time, Japan forced the Ryukyuan people to act more Japanese, have more Japanese behaviors. The people were forced to take lessons on how to speak the Japanese language. On the mainland, people that came from the island was treated with racial discrimination, making is very difficult to find a job and housing.

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

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

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.

Since the first immigrants moved into American neighborhoods, many issues have arisen between Americans and the Korean community. In 1911 and 1913,

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

Jun-sang was one of the interviewed defectors and was the son of two relatively wealthy Japanese parents, which leads to an issue of equality in terms of class. In an attempt for North Korea to be the “true” Korea, they tried to remove any foreign influence. As a result, there was a lot of hatred against Japanese collaborators. Japanese Koreans that were prominent in society were purged, which perhaps meant being sent to the gulag (Demick 35). As a result, Jun-sang’s family is already at a disadvantage socially as they are forced to remain in the lower class to

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.

The kingdom of Korea was destroyed and the Korean royalty were killed or deported by Japan. At times, every Korean was in a difficult situation. There was no exception to a Korean princess who born in 1912. Deokhye was an only daughter of the King. She had to live in Japan, which conquered her country, was forced into a political marriage with a Japanese, and lived most of her life in exile, 38 years after she left. The king was really old when she was born. He had just one daughter. So she was so precious to him. Deokhye was a very bright child. She used to study in the Korean palace. However, she had to study at the school for Japanese nobility, learning lessons, and wearing Japanese or Western clothes. In 1925, she was sent to Japan to join the Crown Prince Youngchin, who was to be married to her. It was just a part of the policy to absorb the royalty of Joseon into the Japanese Imperial family. It was to prevent the Joseon Royal Family from becoming the symbol of the anti-colonial movement. She missed her country and family. Princess Deokhye’s life in Japan was not happy. Even though she was royalty, she was just an imposed one. She was a deported person, always anxious and in fear for her safety. She tried to overcome her loneliness by being with her half-brother’s family, but her loneliness was deep. King Gojong passed away in 1919. Her mother also died in 1929. She could not wear proper mourning clothes for the