When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Parks

Bibliography:

Parks, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoke. 2004. Yearling Publisher. ISBN-10:0440419441


Plot Summary:

Linda Sue Parks gives great insight from a Korean Family point of view. Sun-hee and Tae-yul are the main characters. They alternate telling of the days of living in Korea as it is occupied by the Japanese. The Japanese occupation of Korean is one of humiliate. They had to change their names to Japanese names, learn to speak Japanese and could no longer wave their Korean flag. They are forced to give up their culture and honor the Japanese empire. Sun-hee name changes to Keoke and Tae-yul name changes to Nobubo. Sun-hee and Tae-yul show great proud and strength as they are forced to live under the Japanese rule. As a young girl Sun-hee experiences are different from Tae-yul. Sun-hee is expected to be silent and must investigate to find out what is going on. She has to deal with being a female in both cultures. Tae-yul is a young boy as while but is given a little more insight than Sun-hee. He takes his role very serious and enlist in the Japanese air force as a suicide bomber to save his family, especially his uncle who is hiding out because he is against the Japanese rule and will not give in to their culture. Linda Sue Parks leaves the readers on the edge as the story ends. The reader knows that Tae-yul is a live but no word of uncle is stated. This leaves the reader waiting for a part II.


Critical Analysis:

Linda Sue Parks novel When My Name Was Keoke is written in first person of alternating voices between two siblings. It is set in Korea during 1940-1945. The main characters are Sun-hee who is 10 years and her brother Tae-yul who is 13 years old. These characters seem real and believable. Sun-hee and Tae-yul must change their names under the Japanese regime. Sun-hee name is changes to Keoke and Tae-yul name is changed to Nobubo. The reader can feel their pain as they are striped of their culture. Under the Japanses regime they must change their names, learn the Japanese language and give honor the the Japanese Emperor. Also, the readers hearts falls when Tae-yul box of belongings are returned to his parents, one is left to keep reading to see if he following through with the suicide mission or does he do the right thing and not complete this mission. The plot was not sugar-coated it was written where the reader could enjoy and follow alone. It was at times suspenseful; such as will Tae-yul and his Uncle return home. The readers wondered if the Japanese would find out the real reason Tae-yul joined the Japanese military. Will he live or die. The theme of this novel is of dignity and courage during turbulent times. Sun-hee and Tae-yul as well as their family maintain their dignity and courage for their culture. Their mom hides a Korean tree and flag. When possible, mainly at home, they call one another by their Korean names and speak to one another in Korean. This steam less novels allow the readers to follow along and develop vivid pictures as he or she reads the story.

Review Excerpt(s):

From School Library JournalGrades 6-9--Living in Korea in the 1940s was difficult because the Japanese, who occupied the country, seemed determined to obliterate Korean culture and to impose their own on its residents. Sun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, still go to school every day, but lessons now consist of lectures and recitations designed to glorify Japan. To add to their unhappiness, everyone, adults and children alike, must give up their Korean names and take new Japanese ones. Sun-hee, now called Keoko, and Tae-yul, newly named Nobuo, tell the story in alternating narrative voices. They describe the hardships their family is forced to face as Japan becomes enmeshed in World War II and detail their individual struggles to understand what is happening. Tension mounts as Uncle, working with the Korean resistance movement, goes into hiding, and Tae-yul takes a drastic step that he feels is necessary to protect the family. What is outstanding is the insight Park gives into the complex minds of these young people. Each of them reacts to the events in different ways-Sun-hee takes refuge in writing while Tae-yul throws his energies into physical work. Yet in both cases they develop subtle plans to resist the enemy. Like the Rose of Sharon tree, symbol of Korea, which the family pots and hides in their shed until their country is free, Sun-hee and Tae-yul endure and grow. This beautifully crafted and moving novel joins a small but growing body of literature, such as Haemi Balgassi's Peacebound Trains (Clarion, 1996) and Sook Nyul Choi's The Year of Impossible Goodbyes (Houghton, 1991), that expands readers' understanding of this period.Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



Connections:

Students could use novel as a supplement when studying Korean during World War II. Students could even use novel for reading theater.