When My Name Was Keoko (original 2002; edition 2003)

1827

Excellent novel that gives you a different perspective of World War II, as seen from Koreans. Sun-Hee and Tae-Yul are brother and sister, living in Korea when the Japanese took over. The novel switches from both characters point of view, so you can understand both a girl and boy's perspective. Wonderfully written, a must read! ( )

Christmas present from Adam's mum. A YA book about a Korean family in Japanese-occupied South Korea during WW2. Interesting and a quick read. ( )

Newbery Medal-winning children's author Linda Sue Park, whose A Single Shard chronicled the adventures of a young potter's apprentice in 12th century Korea, turns here to the story of Korea under Japanese occupation, drawing partially on her own family background for material, and producing a powerfully moving tale of identity, cultural oppression, and family love. Opening in 1940, as Korea struggles on under an increasingly repressive regime, one which forbids the use of the Korean language, and the teaching of its history and literature, When My Name Was Keoko is told from the alternating perspectives of two young children, sister and brother Sun-hee and Tae-yul Kim, who find (the latest edict from Tokyo being handed down) that they must henceforth refer to themselves as "Keoko" and "Nobuo Kaneyama."

Outwardly conforming to these new restrictions, the Kim family carries on being Korean, with Omoni (mother) hiding her last Rose of Sharon tree - the national symbol of Korea, all Rose of Sharon trees were, by imperial edict, to be destroyed - in the family shed; Uncle becoming involved in dangerous underground activities that involve his printing shop; and Sun-hee eventually deciding that she would like to learn Hangul - the traditional (and banned) writing system of Korea. After all, she reasons, words must be terribly important, if the Japanese go to such trouble to proscribe them: "How could an alphabet - letters that didn't even mean anything by themselves - be important? But it was important. Our stories, our names, our alphabet. Even Uncle's newspapers. It was all about words. If words weren't important, they wouldn't try so hard to take them away." With danger on every side, and disaster never far away, the Kims struggle to survive the hardships that come to them, with Uncle going into hiding, and Omoni working to create meals from a shrinking supply of food. Tae-yul, caught between his admiration for his boisterous Uncle, and his impatience with his scholarly father, who seems disinclined to oppose the injustices of the occupation, finds that the only way to stay true to what he believes, is to appear to betray it; while Sun-hee, wracked with guilt over her role in Uncle's disappearance, turns to words (always words) for solace, recording her thoughts in a journal.

Emotionally gripping and intellectually engrossing - I found myself moved to tears on more than one occasion, and searching for additional reading material on various topics, at others - this is a marvelous book, one that will expose young readers to an aspect of WWII that is often neglected in the pages of children's literature. I cannot count the children's books I have read and seen that are devoted to the experiences of Europeans - and, to a lesser extent, Americans - in the Second World War, but those detailing the experiences of the people of Asia during this time period are far fewer. For that alone, When My Name Was Keoko is worth picking up. Fortunately, it is also worth picking up for its own sake, as a moving story of one close-knit family caught up in the horrors of occupation, cultural imperialism, and war. Highly recommended! ( )

couldn't put it down! ( )