When My Name Was Keoko

“I wasn’t supposed to listen to men’s business, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t really my fault. Ears don’t close the way eyes do.”

Though WWII and Japanese occupation is at the forefront of this story, there are also other “battles” happening in a cultural sense. In the first chapter, gender gaps and household divisions separate the characters from each other. Sun-hee—a girl and the youngest child—can only be a house cleaner while her brother, Tae-yul, can speak with the men. However, as Sun-hee’s quote reveals, she doesn’t easily conform to the social expectation and she inevitably finds ways to interact and gain information by listening in the background. It’s an introduction to the intrepid nature and boundary-breaking attitude which defines her character in this novel.

“The person at the top had to be Japanese. The principal was the father of my friend Tomo. All our lessons were in Japanese. We studied Japanese language, culture, and history. School weren’t allowed to teach Korean history or language. Hardly any books or newspapers were published in Korean. People weren’t even supposed to tell old Korean folktales.”

Japanese occupation and social conditioning is prominent in this narrative. In every situation, the Japanese have revoked Koreans of their status and power by relegating them to second-class citizens. As stated, Japanese “had to be” above the rest, therefore perpetuating their ability to keep the Koreans below them in every aspect. In addition, all schooling and education related to Japanese history and culture, blatantly negating Korean heritage as a way to strip the community of any unity or pride.