Yumi's Quote

 When Mozasu’s wife described being Korean as "just another horrible encumbrance, much like being poor or having a shameful family you could not cast off. Why would she ever live there? But she could not imagine clinging to Japan, which was like a beloved stepmother who refused to love you,” I was shocked, but after thinking more about the deeper meaning, I understand why she stated that. Yumi describes Japan as a “beloved stepmother who refused to love you” which is very significant and highlights Yumi’s relationship with Japan as a whole. Stepmothers are not blood related and the connection is not direct which is how Yumi feels about Japan. She does not feel close to Japan and she also feels detached. Yumi does have respect for Japan as she states “beloved stepmother,” but she also does not have a deep connection with japan simply as some stepmother to child relationships are. Yumi also could not imagine clinging to Japan because as much as she could connect to Japan and get comfortable in jJapan, it is nothing like her home country which is saddening to her. This relates back to the stepmother comparison because in some cases, you may try to love your step mother, but sometimes the bond between you and your birth mother is stronger and deeper. Yumi also constantly lives with the deep shame that comes with being Korean which is very hard for her as all Koreans know you can not make that feeling go away as long as you live. Yumi has a complex relationship with Japan as a Korean and I will note how her feelings of Japan change over the remaining chapters of the novel. 

Comments

  1. Isabella FernandezMarch 7, 2022 at 12:09 PM

    I really like the connection you made between stepmothers and Japan. Using this analogy of birthmothers and stepmothers just shows how complicated finding a home or finding a country in which you feel accepted in can be. There are times when you are closer to your step mother, other times when you are closer to your birthmother, and some times when you have a no connection to either. I think this analogy works perfectly when describing Japan and Korea and showing how many Koreans have no connection to either place, but feel more comfortable in Japan rather than Korea.

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  2. Abby MatsonMarch 7, 2022 at 10:42 PM

    Yeah, I also really like the stepmother/Japan connection, I feel like it's really effective at communicating the difference between recognizing the security and home a country/family can offer you and feeling like its you, that you belong and are from somewhere.

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  3. KrisMarch 7, 2022 at 11:48 PM

    I may be misremembering, but I do believe that Yumi was born and raised in Japan, making it her home country. As such, I can't imagine that Yumi feels much love lost for Korea on account of it being different from Japan, especially since she seems to associate Korea with her abusive, alcoholic mother.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 7, 2022 at 11:56 PM

    It is very difficult to live never coming to terms with what you are. As someone who has lived their entire life in the bay area, I often times can think that the judgement on someone's race is something of the past but it is still a very real thing and it is mostly an artifact of colonialism where settlers need to be justified in their conquest of land.

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    Replies
    1. Critical Thinkers and WritersMarch 8, 2022 at 12:41 PM

      Your comment helps make it clear that the legacies of migration, forced or not, and of colonialism and diaspora, affect people everywhere, sometimes in ways that can be very difficult to find ways of belonging. Lee's novel makes all of this very clear through her characters and their experiences in Korea and Japan, but it also translates in various ways to many other parts of the world.

      Delete

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